Single best upgrade on a bass? (Poll)

[fhm555]

i voted "new neck."

Which is why I'm so glad I started with Peavey when I started back playing. I quit at thirteen and started back in my middle thirties so I essentially started from scratch. I got my old bass from my dad and it was in such poor shape I went looking for something else. I wound up with a T40 needing some work so I took it to a local Peavey dealer to get it looked at. While there I tried a Foundation. It was nice but I had the T40 and I was lined up for lessons so I just got the (minor) repair done and went to the grind. About a year later I got a side job rebuilding a Sportster engine and it paid enough to allow me to add a little mad money and get a low mileage Foundation. A week later I traded the T40 for an old Bassman head, and was a dedicated skinny neck geek for the next fifteen years. Five years in I ran across a brand new Fender model, the Jazz Plus. In addition to being the inspiration for the Warmoth dinky jazz, it had a neck so slim I was first concerned about how long it would last under tension, but it played so fine I took a chance. Thirty three years later I've still got that J Plus. I've branched out to current C necks on MIM J basses, but every time I play the Plus, I wonder why I bother with any other bass.
Sadly, time and abuse of my hands have forced me to go to short scales as I learn to live with a non functioning pinky on my fretting hand. I'm offloading all my 32" scale stuff, but so far I've managed to rationalize keeping the Plus.

 

[perfektspace6]

on less expensive active basses the preamp is often what is lacking in my experience. So that is my vote. Pickups may be in tandem.

 

[City]

New Preamp and Pickups......both wasn't an option in you poll.

 

[fretlessman71]

Over 40 posts and only a single mention of "Tort"? SLACKERS!....

 

[sheltjo6]

I start with the strings 1st. Then PU's, PG, bridge, tuners, neck, and then finally the body.

Concur.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

I understand the sonic attachment to single-coils, but I can't stand hum. So "noiseless" is how I roll.

 

[sheltjo6]

It wasn't an option, but I would add your favorite musician's fingers since they say tone is in the fingers.

 

[prowla]

Swap it for a Rickenbacker!

More seriously, put a Hipshot drop-D eXtender on it; that's something which just works on any bass they are available for.

 

[bobyoung53]

As long as you have a decent bass to begin with with decent pickups etc. strings will change your sound more than anything. You can go anywhere from a deep thump with flats and a mute with fingers or thumb to sharp treble with Stainless round wounds like Rotos with a pick for example with the same bass and anywhere in between. I have Rotos on most of my basses because I can hand mute them with a pick and get a nice punchy sound or play with fingers with an understring mute and get that old thumpy sound or get up to a very trebly sound with a pick or fingers if I want it all with the same bass. I learned on a P bass. Also your style has a lot to do with how your bass sounds, get proficient if you're not already with both fingers and a pick playing in different positions, close to the bridge, close to the neck and anywhere in between, also get a good amp you like, your amp is part of the sound too. I'm a tube guy, not that I play with distortion because I don't but for me tube amps always sound bigger and fuller, i have played some nice SS amps though too so not bashing them.

 

[Avezzano]

Out than the strings, obviously, I think that (I might be wrong) the tweaking mania grows fast mostly on Fender (or Fender like) basses owners: so many parts available. So tempting... More rarely you see that about Ibanez, Gibson, Warwick, Ric or Yamaha (for the large production) then Sadowsky, Lull or other independent small builders... my 2c.

 

[newwavefrank]

It depends on what you start with. For my Rick 4003 it was the bridge hands down. For my Dingwall NG2 it was the preamp.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

It depends on what the weakest element is on a particular instrument, but I've usually seen the biggest upgrade in a good setup.

 

[Lowendchamp]

While I voted strings I also believe in a lot of practice. At least an hour everyday.
That being said I wanted to share a most recent experience with you. I had my P bass set up perfect and to my liking after I had determined my set up was good, neck straight, intonation good etc......
I like most strings and believe each type has a bass best suited for it. Most of my Ps wear flats with one with rounds, and the weirdest one, tapewounds. Got rid of my residual clank on my P from my stupid harsh attack. I set my basses a little high for that reason but this one needed something a little more and tapes were it.

 

[red_rhino]

I went with "Other"; as in "finding the perfect bass that doesn't need upgrading".

 

[bigdaddybass12]

strings.
1.Tuners? If it stays in tune, new tuners will not help
2. Bridge ? I had a badassII on a p bass, no difference.
3. Pickup? I had 3 different sets on a P bass, a little noticeable difference. If the bass has active EQ, you will notice more. You can listen to @LowEndLobster's reviews and hear differences of brand of pickups. Listen to his reviews on Sterling Ray4 with different PU's and preamps.
4. Wiring/pots? you can change the ohms on the pot and a different capacitor on a passive bass, supposed to help.
I have a bass with factory EMG's, 3 band EQ that sounds good. I will not change anything but different brands/types of strings. I also have a Sterling Ray4 I would like to replace all the electronics.

 

[rojo412]

It's truly a case of bass by case of bass basis.
All of the various aspects can either compliment the good things happening or exacerbate the bad things.

- Like many would likely agree, strings are one of the lowest cost:greatest change things you can do, assuming the strings are bad (or just not what you want).
- However, if the tuners don't keep the strings of any type in tune, they need to be replaced, assuming all measures of either fixing them or making them function at their best have failed. Even if you have good sound and feel, out of tune is just offensive. And if it stays in tune, replacing tuners will only get you a different feel or weight of them in action. You won't notice much sonic or playability difference (unless you're extremely particular or the neck dive was the "feel" you needed to correct.
- If the strings are good and it's properly staying in tune, obviously a proper setup will make it just that much better for feel and even response in the sound. You'd be surprised what proper pickup height can actually do for sound response.
- Pickups truly make the most change in the sound going to the amp. A preamp has a lot of controls, but tends to only modify what is going into it. If what's going into it is awful, there's little chance that what will come out will be drastically better or different (and yes, some preamps do wild stuff, I get that, but imagine how much better they work when they are working with nicer signals to play with).

There's this guy I know - maybe you met him? - and he has this bass I used to have. When I first got it, aside from the looks, the sound was nothing great. But once I changed the pickup to something more intended for what came with the instrument, it came alive in amazing ways. The poles lined up with the strings, the pickup had way more output and information going to the preamp, which in turn shone better after that. It had been set up okay, strings were fine, but the tangible difference in sound was definitely due to the pickup. It was honestly mind blowing just how effective that was for changing what was pretty much nothing to write home about, into something to behold.

That's why I voted for that.

(And if I'm gonna be slightly pedantic about things, a setup and strings are not upgrades, they are needs. Improvements, yes, but that's like saying if you're slightly dehydrated, a glass of water is an upgrade.)

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

I chose "other" because I can't remember the last instrument I bought which didn't come standard with a bone nut where I didn't immediately put in a bone nut.

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I enjoy making and installing nuts for my instruments)

 

[Isaac_James]

First and best are not the same thing.

I change the strings first if I don't like what came stock. Which is highly likely, as I prefer flatwounds. Unless something is broken, I'll give the instrument time to settle before making any other changes. As an example, the tuners on one bass aren't the highest quality. But they work well, so there's no reason to change them now. IMO, feel is first, so the right strings can make all the difference.

If you're still not achieving what you want, I'd look at technique first, and then the other gear you're using. Once you've gone through the signal chain, if you're not getting the sound you want, the only other change to really make is the pickup(s). Strings will impart their own tonal signature, but it's really the pickup (and preamp if you have one) that determines the sound going to the amp. Different pickups have different sonic signatures, so I like to play an instrument for at least a year before changing anything (again, supposing nothing is broken).

Personally, I like passive basses with an outboard preamp. But there's no rules. Just find what you like.

I've got a 20 year old Mexican P bass, mostly stock except for a bridge I had replaced after I dropped it and bent the old one out of shape. The tuners on it are certainly nothing special, but I can leave the bass untouched for months and pick it up, and the dang thing will still be in tune, give or take a few cents. I've never had a bass with such stable tuning. Similarly, the pickups are just whatever Fender installed in their P basses 20 years ago but they sound just great. The only upgrades I've made beyond the bridge have been strings (Labella DTFs) and a thumb rest between the pickup and bridge. This is very much a "it ain't broken so why fix it" instrument.

 

[jnuts1]

a ramp is the best upgrade

 

[MCS4]

I've had good experiences with swaps on basically everything on this list, but the one that has made the biggest difference on average is changes to the pickups (on both bass and guitar).