The bass that needs no modifications?

[Ric5]

Rickenbackers (4001s or 4003s). Sure you can throw a Hipshot bridge on it if you want, but I never have. They are just perfect straight out of the box.

Most players take off the pickup covers. Many players remove the .0047 capacitor out of their pre 1986 Rics so they can have some low end. Many players have to fix the tailpiece because it pulls up. Some remove the ric-o-sound because it malfunctions on many Rics. Many players have to replace the old Grover tuners because they fall apart. Many Ric owners go for a toaster neck pickup mod. Many more would put in a horseshoe if they could get one. Others like to put in the old style pickguard. And I like to turn them into 5 string basses.

 

[logicman69]

My Peavey Cirrus.. I don't think I've even set it up in the past year or so.

 

[JamesTaylor85]

Deluxe Fender Jazz

 

[lordcorn]

08 american standard jazz

 

[Stee Flo]

My Peavey Cirrus.. I don't think I've even set it up in the past year or so.

+1 I don't have my cirrus anymore, but loved everything about it when I did. An awesome bass of high quality in stock form. Kinda regret selling it

 

[Nedmundo]

Other than adding Hipshot drop-tuners to fours, I see no need to mod G&L L-2000/2500 and SB-2, Music Man generally, and any good P or J type that comes stock with fantastic pickups (Lakland, Lull, etc.) I love Fenders, but often prefer other pickups.

One exception is my 2008 Am. Standard Jazz V. It needs nothing, and I even like the stock Fender strings. The only reason I'd mod would be to go noiseless, but I doubt I'll bother.

 

[amimbari]

Modded basses in my family will come and go, but my only out-of-the-box player is my 94 Jackson Tbird, never had any mods since day 1.....never will.....

 

[okTem]

Call me dumb, but I wouldn't buy a bass that I didn't like as it is - just as I purchased it.

+1000

 

[steamthief]

My 97 California Precision Special. Sometimes I get gassy reading about Fralin vs. Nordstrand vs. Lollar, but then I plug in and realize my P/J is simply the one.

 

[NickInMesa]

Steinberger headless stick bass, or the Hohner copies.

 

[Clank]

Anything G&L

 

[gkbass13]

my r-bass 4 string was bought used but needs no mods whatsoever. hipshot bridge and ultralight tuners, dunlop straplocks, bart pj pickups, haz labs 3 band preamp, brass nut.....good to go!

i had a lakland joe osborn 4 string that was almost needing no mods, but if i had kept it i wouldve put straplocks on it and a tort pickguard. the hipshot hardware and fralin pickups rocked.

 

[ronin614]

My Hohner Jack bass. Although I guess converting it lefty would count as a mod...

 

[WoodyG3]

Rickenbackers (4001s or 4003s). Sure you can throw a Hipshot bridge on it if you want, but I never have. They are just perfect straight out of the box.

Most players take off the pickup covers. Many players remove the .0047 capacitor out of their pre 1986 Rics so they can have some low end. Many players have to fix the tailpiece because it pulls up. Some remove the ric-o-sound because it malfunctions on many Rics. Many players have to replace the old Grover tuners because they fall apart. Many Ric owners go for a toaster neck pickup mod. Many more would put in a horseshoe if they could get one. Others like to put in the old style pickguard. And I like to turn them into 5 string basses.

And here we have the two ends of the spectrum. I've never changed the stock parts on my '99 Mustang. Others have changed the exhaust, added headers, lowered the suspension, etc.

I think a lot of us on this forum are gear heads, so we like t otinker. I've built a couple of basses from parts, changed out pickups, added shielding, etc. Most of the time it has been for fun, though, and I had no NEED to make these mods. In some cases, the mods made the bass sound or play worse, and I wound up changing things back to the way they were in the first place.

 

[lousybassplayer]

For me...

My Modulus VJ is "perfect" stock from Modulus.

-Hipshot Bridge
-Passive Bart Js
-Bart preamp
-Lightweight Gotoh tuners

I don't care to "upgrade" anything because I like it straight.

100 percent. Saddest day of my life when I sold mine. In all fairness it had a hipshot drop-d tuner, but I didn't put it on and didn't really need it.

And the mustang does need a significant mod right out of the box. It needs to be scrapped for a Bow Tie

 

[lousybassplayer]

Ric5, when you build a 5 string SG type, let me know. I would love to have something like that.

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

What's the one bass that you don't need to have any modifications? The past basses I've bought, I've gotten new pickups, bridges, etc., but I haven't found one where I want to do no modifications.

Also, it can't be a custom bass because you choose what you want, not what comes stock.

For me, it would be a Lakland Decade or a DJ.

I've actually never modified ANY bass I've owned. I think it's more a personal inclination thing than which bass a person owns. Some people are habitual tinkerers and some aren't.

 

[MikeHaught]

Only one I've never done a thing to, and probably won't, is my Ernie Ball Sting Ray 4. Perfect finish and setup. Built like a tank and very playable. It's never let me down.

 

[ghiadub]

I have owned 7 modulus basses now and I have never had to adjust anything on any of them including intonation and setup.

I have owned a lot more wood necked basses, some boo-teek, some Fender. I have had to do a lot of adjusting/changing out of parts to get them playable on pretty much everything except my Roscoe.

 

[Toshiro]

My Fender HWY-1 P bass fits the criteria.

It's a 2003, before Fender "upgraded" with a different neck and the BAII bridge.

Every other bass I have has been modded or will be modded.