$5 shine on a $2 pair of shoes. Dean Stylist sporting TV Jones ThunderTrons.
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Show me your cheap basses with expensive upgrades
- Thread starter Sindhu Partomo
- Start date
WOW! You're telling me these Basses are available RIGHT NOW on the Rondo site?!!absolutely, it's not like having a 1k€ first bass is gonna make me any better
sx vintage pj 62
I think it's a little brighter colour like this
should be getting here in the next couple of days... can't wait
Tell me that's true and I'll go and buy one right now ... well, maybe next week 
I found this Peavey Fury V import on craigslist for very little money. Had read some good reviews and got it. The reviews were right. Great player with a set up and sounded good with the active flat top humbuckers/Cirrus type preamp. I changed the hardware from satin silver (not enough bling) to chrome with Gotoh GB707 tuners and put 5 of the old "P" type T-60/40 knobs on it. The current epay price of the knobs plus the tuners is over twice what I paid for the bass, so I thought "I was putting lipstick on a lily".
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,129
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,129
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Squire VM Jag bought new for $200 cause it supposedly had a blemish on the headstock that I never found.
No matter, the next morning that neck and everything else came off and the following $1000 worth of parts were added:
Moses custom 34"/35" Fan fret graphite neck
Fender "F" tuners Plus hipshot "D tuner, plus Fender A string washer retainer thing.
Fender "F" logo neck plate.
Badass II Bridge
Upper jaguar control plate added: Tone, tone, 3-way switch
Strat boat jack inset into lower control plate with master vol.
Bartolini pickups. passive.
Elixir Stainless strings
Sounds rather bright and modern. Ridiculous amount of sustain. Good muting skills are mandatory.
Not everyone's cup of tea, but it sure is mine!
That fretboard's grain is killer! drool
Come to think of it, the Indonesian factory seems to be pretty adept at getting their hands on fantastic pieces of rosewood. Case in point…
I put a strap and tape wounds on my Rondo - does that count - it was 44% of the price of the bass.
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I am a guitarist and play bass sometimes. This is the first bass guitar I've owned, it's a Yamaha TRBX174 and it plays great out of the box. I usually modify my guitars and the bass wasn't an exception. I installed a Nordstrand PJ set and later changed it to Dimarzio DP126 set, both pickups are more than half the price of the guitar.
I have a Wilkinson bridge and saddles waiting to be installed.
I also want to change the tuners for mod sake (does any body know any upgrades to these tuners?) the stock tuners are ok though.
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I am a guitarist and play bass sometimes. This is the first bass guitar I've owned, it's a Yamaha TRBX174 and it plays great out of the box. I usually modify my guitars and the bass wasn't an exception. I installed a Nordstrand PJ set and later changed it to Dimarzio DP126 set, both pickups are more than half the price of the guitar.
I have a Wilkinson bridge and saddles waiting to be installed.
I also want to change the tuners for mod sake (does any body know any upgrades to these tuners?) the stock tuners are ok though.
My beloved Ibanez Mikro main bass, on which I did some visual mods myself (pretty inexpensive, juts a bit of paint, some chikenhead knobs and me pounding a screwdriver into the body to chop a star like figure on it, together with some paint and nailpolish attempting to give it a broken glass star effect), installed a pretty inexpensive standard fender like black bridge on it, and here comes the expensive part, at least compared to what the bass cost me from new, swapped the stock pickups with a new pair of EMG Geezer Butler P/J pickups (which are now wired directly to the output to the bass, making the knobs and switch just a part of the decoration).
Also plan to have done a fret job on it, as it came with some minor issues in that department.
The thing with this bass, as with most budget basses, is that the factory usually skip the last part of the fret leveling procedure, to cut production cost, in order to be able to sell it cheaper, which means what you get is more or less a matter of luck.
As I said mine have minor issues, which means, to me at the string action I prefer, I experience no issue, as I use relatively slim string gauge, 040-095, which on a 28,6" scale bass like this means pretty floppy, and I kind of compensate for that by having relatively high string action.
Because of the relatively floppy strings, which I actually prefer, I have no issues with fretting, even at my string action level.
However if I at some point should wish to swap to thicker string gauge, for whatever reason, I would most likely want to lower the strings, and that would not be possible for me, since at any lower string action than I use, some of the strings on some of the frets will produce some buzz.
Anyway, the fret job lies a bit out in the future, though it is definitely happening at some point.
I guess a pickup swap would not be considered a major expense by most people, but since these pickups cost me nearly as much as the entire bass cost me from new, I still think it qualifies to this thread.
And for the question on how it sounds and play:
Well, I honestly haven't ever had or laid my hands on any other bass I enjoyed playing as much, such great playabillity that it even beats some 1000$+ basses I owned.
And this is why I decided to invest further in it in the first place.
The pickup swap made it's tone go from decent, while somewhat lacking in clarity and definition, to absolutely amazing with lots of definition and clarity as well as a good deal of added punch and growl compared to the cheap stock pickups, which are probably the Mikro's weakest link, and that is especially true for the stock J pickup, which tone I would descibe as weak, thin or even anemic.
After the swap to Geezer Butler pickups, I personally think it lives up to being fully on par to some of the best sounding basses I owned, including the 1000$+ ones, though with it's own unique character, somewhat a bit cheeky and raw tone.
So absolutely 100% worth the upgrade, in my opinion, as well as further investments!
You can hear how it can sound in this piece I made (programmed percussion/drums, bells and synth, with a first take improvisation, also by me, on both baritone guitar and this bass):
Note though, that even if the tone of the bass on this track is not being too far off how my main bass rig sound, it is heavily processed, and at the same time, though fully intentional, a little softer, lacking some of the punch and aggressive edge and bite my main bass rig delivers.
Anyway, here's the beauty:
Also plan to have done a fret job on it, as it came with some minor issues in that department.
The thing with this bass, as with most budget basses, is that the factory usually skip the last part of the fret leveling procedure, to cut production cost, in order to be able to sell it cheaper, which means what you get is more or less a matter of luck.
As I said mine have minor issues, which means, to me at the string action I prefer, I experience no issue, as I use relatively slim string gauge, 040-095, which on a 28,6" scale bass like this means pretty floppy, and I kind of compensate for that by having relatively high string action.
Because of the relatively floppy strings, which I actually prefer, I have no issues with fretting, even at my string action level.
However if I at some point should wish to swap to thicker string gauge, for whatever reason, I would most likely want to lower the strings, and that would not be possible for me, since at any lower string action than I use, some of the strings on some of the frets will produce some buzz.
Anyway, the fret job lies a bit out in the future, though it is definitely happening at some point.
I guess a pickup swap would not be considered a major expense by most people, but since these pickups cost me nearly as much as the entire bass cost me from new, I still think it qualifies to this thread.
And for the question on how it sounds and play:
Well, I honestly haven't ever had or laid my hands on any other bass I enjoyed playing as much, such great playabillity that it even beats some 1000$+ basses I owned.
And this is why I decided to invest further in it in the first place.
The pickup swap made it's tone go from decent, while somewhat lacking in clarity and definition, to absolutely amazing with lots of definition and clarity as well as a good deal of added punch and growl compared to the cheap stock pickups, which are probably the Mikro's weakest link, and that is especially true for the stock J pickup, which tone I would descibe as weak, thin or even anemic.
After the swap to Geezer Butler pickups, I personally think it lives up to being fully on par to some of the best sounding basses I owned, including the 1000$+ ones, though with it's own unique character, somewhat a bit cheeky and raw tone.
So absolutely 100% worth the upgrade, in my opinion, as well as further investments!
You can hear how it can sound in this piece I made (programmed percussion/drums, bells and synth, with a first take improvisation, also by me, on both baritone guitar and this bass):
Note though, that even if the tone of the bass on this track is not being too far off how my main bass rig sound, it is heavily processed, and at the same time, though fully intentional, a little softer, lacking some of the punch and aggressive edge and bite my main bass rig delivers.
Anyway, here's the beauty:
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Black Epiphone EBO. Hipshot lightweight tuners and replacement bridge, Novak EB-DS pickup, custom tort pick guard, T-I rounds. I can't find anything else to replace. Setup and a little fret work by Matt at 30th St guitars NYC. Huge tone with short scale comfort. Pix if I can get it together.
Some really nice basses in this thread, I love to see basses that are loved independently from their price!!
I think it looks great! I wish that SX were a little easier to get over here, well, actually, scrap that, I already have too many basses!!
Actually, I do not have any kind of "bassial prejudice" towards any instrument, regardless of it color, shape, size or country of origin
You sure are
I think it looks great! I wish that SX were a little easier to get over here, well, actually, scrap that, I already have too many basses!!
he'd like it better if it was a benton
Actually, I do not have any kind of "bassial prejudice" towards any instrument, regardless of it color, shape, size or country of origin
I don't know if they are on the Rondo site, I bought mine from muziker.ptWOW! You're telling me these Basses are available RIGHT NOW on the Rondo site?!!
It's the only site that I found that has SX's and ships to Portugal for free if you spend over 100€ and they also offered the set up for free
Have you looked at sxbassesspain.com?. The models seem quite different from what rondo are selling and include music man knockoffs.Some really nice basses in this thread, I love to see basses that are loved independently from their price!!
I think it looks great! I wish that SX were a little easier to get over here, well, actually, scrap that, I already have too many basses!!
Actually, I do not have any kind of "bassial prejudice" towards any instrument, regardless of it color, shape, size or country of origin
I'll play!
My Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass 5 String. I bought it "almost new" for $210 and I've added $465 in upgrades. (Yes, a bit overkill but.....)
Hipshot licensed ultralites
Hipshot A style bridge
Back of the neck sanded lightly
Dunlop dual design straplocks
B/W/B replacement pickguard
Fender pickup
New barrel knobs
CTS pots, .047 Orange capacitor, Switchcraft jack & New Wire
Fully shielded cavity
