Show Your Pandemic Mods

[seedokebass]

The world's least comfortable bike saddle.

True, but it looks great!

 

[wraub]

Pretty standard import 37 key xylophone, a basic student model. Sold under names like Gearlux, Orff, Stagg, etc.
Surprisingly good tone for the lower 2 octaves, the upper notes get a little thin and plinky imo. Padouk bars. One note is a little flat.
Currently available online, mine was a thrift store find I got for a tenth of the new price. My SO literally told me to get it.

It's currently in the garage awaiting a proper cleaning, it's not really dirty, I'm just cautious.

It looks like this, although this one isn't mine-

At least show a pic of the xylophone!!

 

[DingwallDingus]

True, but it looks great!

That will look great on a thumb, also I'd love to see a Dingwall with a wenge neck and fretboard with those. I think I have maybe seen the latter floating around somewhere.

 

[MIMike]

Technically, I only had a “un-mod” project over the last year.
I had previously taken all of the electronics out of my Jazz Bass 24 and wired Bart pickups (through a 3 way selector switch) directly to the jack.

It’s now back to the stock active electronics.

My iPad takes pretty crappy pics (OK, maybe it’s the operator).

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Not only was it a big time for buying guitars and basses during the pandemic, but it was also a pretty big time for modding, or so industry reports lead me to believe. I am no different. I made a handful of mods right before the pandemic so they don't count, but I'll show you what all I did during the pandemic.

First up is my highly modded 76 Precision body with an 83 neck. Has been many colors but was stripped with one coat of tung oil since the 90's. Developed a thing for black over the years, resented it wasn't black but didn't want to cover up the awesome ash woodgrain, so I ebonized it myself with wood dye, wood stain, and gunstock oil. Also replaced the Schaller bridge I had on it since 83 with a bent plate and added a Hipshot Xtender but that was before the pandemic.

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Next up, I tried my hand at cerusing. My 1991 Guitar Factory bass was also stripped of its finish, so it had to become black. And since the body wood was mahogany, there was a whole lot of grain I could fill, so I filled it and left the maple all black:

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Then I didn't do anything for a long time till I bought a Yamaha BB235 on a whim a couple months ago. Swore I'd never get another 5 string but just decided one night to pick up a cheap PJ 5 just to have. Black and white...looked pretty cool, plays and sounds pretty amazing for a budget bass:

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I just decided the tuxedo look isn't for me. I priced new pickguards...no thanks. So I went digging for a couple cans of Rust Oleum, found a gold and a copper. Tried the copper first and stuck with it:

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Still has a mod or two to go, though it'll be a while. Got a Duncan CS SPB-1 for a 5 coming in a few weeks. Might keep the J pickup but I do like humbuckers, so I might replace it with a Duncan Apollo. But it's going to be on backorder for a while so I have a lot of time to decide.

OK, whaddaya got?

Not really quarantine, but I finally found "cosmo black(black chrome) tuners & bridge during Q! havent installed yet but I do have them now! Also ordered most parts for my current build!
still trying to find Geezers for my #1. but thats about it for now...

 

[Ric Vice]

Only one mod here, I restrung my newly purchased Lakland 55-94 with a set of Thomastick Jazz Bass strings changing the bass to a High C vs the Low B and my Hipshot bass extender with the Double Drop just arrived. To be added later.

 

[lfmn16]

Every time I see this I keep seeing "Show Us your Pandemic MEDS."

 

[JohnWessels]

OK, whaddaya got?[/QUOTE]

I bought a Harley Benton Jbass kit, assembled it and started learning how to play the bass. Then I reshaped the body into a Jaguar style, replaced the stock bridge for a Fender HI-Mass and changed the neck pu for a p style pup. Replaced the crappy pots for 250K Alpha pots. Next thing to do is change the bridge pu for a humbucker which will be split coiled with a push pull knob. But that's for the future

 

[AudioTaper]

I was pretty busy, I would have gotten more done if it weren't for the kids and still trying to work from home during part of it.

I bought a 1994 Warwick Fortress Masterman and took it completely apart to clean it, fix a few things, and install new Hipshot Ultralights. The truss rod end broke, so I machined a new one out of a 304 Stainless steel bolt. It still needs some nut work

I modded my Eden WT400 early in 2020, thread here.
Eden WT400 repair/mod

I continued with my Peavey FrankenCirrus project, thread here.
Peavey FrankenCirrus mod thread
I particularly like the way the control plate turned out

And the pickup mounting ring

I picked up a Lakland Skyline neck and decided it needs a body, thread here.
First bass body build, come watch me screw it up!
And here.
Is this a real Lakland?
The wood is almost dry, so I'll be getting back on this one soon.

I build up a number of pedals, I'm really liking my EQD Ghost Echo and Terminal clones from PedalPCB.com

I picked up a 1998 Peavey Cirrus wenge/walnut 4 string. It wasnt cared for well. I stripped it down, buffed the wood up to a nice natural luster (worked up to 8000 grit Micromesh) and conditioned it. New Hipshot A style bridge and Ultralite tuners. This is a really great bass.

Most recently, I'm modding my 2001 MIM Jazz Bass. Theres no thread yet, but I've installed Graphtech Ghost saddles to go with the Fender 60's Custom Shop pickups I installed in 2002ish. I just installed the Hipshot BT7 tuners, its getting a Bass/Mid preamp (passive treble rolloff), piezo buffer, and blender from Passingwind Electronics. Preamp will be bypass-able and pickups will the magnetic pickups will have a seriesþparallel push-pull. I'll make a thread when it's done.

 

[Clark Westfield]

My Schecter JD Signature edition. Painted the body gloss black and installed a Sadowsky preamp. Eliminates the wonky effect that the original EMG preamp had.

Before:

After:

 

[AudioTaper]

Only one mod here, I restrung my newly purchased Lakland 55-94 with a set of Thomastick Jazz Bass strings changing the bass to a High C vs the Low B and my Hipshot bass extender with the Double Drop just arrived. To be added later.

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Very nice, love -94's with flame tops.

 

[TerribleTim68]

I'm not sure it counts as a "mod". But I started with this pile of lumber -

And so far I've "modded it" into this -

Still a ways to go, but we're getting there.

 

[AudioTaper]

I'm not sure it counts as a "mod". But I started with this pile of lumber -
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And so far I've "modded it" into this -
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Still a ways to go, but we're getting there.

This is AWESOME, do you have a build thread?

 

[Passinwind]

25280440[/URL], member: 55676"]Not only was it a big time for buying guitars and basses during the pandemic, but it was also a pretty big time for modding, or so industry reports lead me to believe. I am no different. I made a handful of mods right before the pandemic so they don't count, but I'll show you what all I did during the pandemic.


OK, whaddaya got?

Last year at the beginning of lockdown I made a new three band preamp for my fretless Marco Bass, it was purple. Last week I made and installed a red one with some new tweaks:

I also lost the vol/blend format and went to vol/vol, which made a substantial positive difference in that particular bass.

 

[Lysdestic]

I had my guitar guy work on a few instruments like my 12-string guitar and stuff like that during the pandemic, but when the pandemic really set in and I was stuck at home all the time, I took it upon myself to take my Squire VM Jag that's been my main bass at punk shows since about 2012 and do some TLC on it myself. I'm not super handy, but it was a good bonding experience and I'm glad I did it!

I swapped out the stock bridge with the always popular Hipshot badass and replaced the (admittedly, not bad) Duncan-designed pickups that came stock with some Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders.

After that, I figured I was bored with the tort, so I hit up this guy on Reverb and ordered a white pearl pickguard which looks *amazing*.

I also took the neck off and decided that due to some slight discoloration and weird feeling on the neck to give it a light sanding and do the tru-oil treatment that I've read about both here and elsewhere. I think I was a bit out of my element doing this step in particular, but I'm happy with the results. Plays like butter!

While she was still disassembled, my lovely wife decided that for my birthday she'd get me a nice gift to commemorate the project, and once she was all back together, I was able to top it all off with a new neckplate courtesy of the wife.

I've since added a Rickenbacker 4003 (jetglo, of course) and Ampeg PF-500 w/ cab to the family, and to be quite honest, I'm *still* not sure who is going to get #1 bass position once the punk outfit is back out and playing. It's gonna be tough, because they both are sexy as hell and sound *nasty.*

Here's the best before photo I could find, followed by a shot with the Ric and new Ampeg.

 

[funkmaster p]

I had Warmoth make a fretless neck for my American Standard P bass. I fit it with Hipshot Ultralite tuners and string retainer.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

not sure why pictures didn't attach properly...here they are.

I forgot I put Lace Sensors in my pink tele as well. amazing pickups, greatly underrated.
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Those tele basses look fantastic, just sayin!

 

[mikecd1]

Rewired new pots and put conductive shielding paint in control cavity on my '87 Peavey Fury. Also grounded the bottom of the magnets which has led to a rather hum-free Pbass which I couldn't be more pleased with. Thought of replacing the ultra-heavy Grover tuners, but they are so cool and work so well I just can't do it even though it would take away the neck dive they add to the look and vibe of the bass so I'm leaving them for now.

 

[Ric5]

here's one for you all

not my work

 

[Son of Wobble]

My Mod was unintentional... And unfortunately, it was to my eye!
For years my wife has been saying, regarding my headstock, "You're going to put someone's eye out with that thing."
Well, obviously, this in the bitterest of ironies.
Hopefully that's my last mod for awhile!