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Upgrading a Jazz Bass (suggestions are wanted)

#21
I'm with most other folks. Nothing really to upgrade. Unless something is actually worn out, nothing will get better and it would just sound different with different PUPS.

Get some fret shields, polish the frets. I prefer to oil or wax the finger board. Get some chrome polish and do the Keys, Bridge and control plate. Put some fresh strings on it and play it for a while. If it floats your boat, then dump more coin in it. Personally, I like the older style heart shaped heavy tuners from schaller and the Kickazz bridge mentioned earlier. Brass nut too.
 
#22
Nice get!
The MIM basses are usually awesome, these are mods that I do and aren't necessarily needed for everyone. The few personal mods I usually do for new-to-me used instruments at that level are:
- Setup/new strings
- Frets dressed if needed, if not, just a good polish
- Upgrade to better pots and jack, not always needed but I feel is a good starting point
- Straploks
- Tort, of course, lol!
 
#24
If you want to upgrade the pickups I’d look for some true, vintage-style single coils (yes the noise but .. who cares?); being the super-good Fender PV ‘64 almost unfindable, I’d opt for a pair of jazz-bass pickups from Lollar !
Then, the strings ... strings are super important .. get a new set of TI JF344 and send them with the bass to a good technician for a proper setup and your Rick will have quite a decent competitor !
 
#26
You can't go wrong with EBMM Slinkys on a Jazz. You should be the judge on your tuners. Once you have new strings and the action as you prefer, see how "stable" the factory MIM hardware is.
I have had every hi-mass bridge known to man, as millions of other TBers have as well. They all work well and make a difference, despite what you may think. My flavor of the minute is Babicz, but I have always been a sucker for pre-slotted BadAss'es as well. I like the idea of fret shields and a polish job if you want to put the time in. As far as pick-up, even upgrading to Fender MIA pickups will be a notable difference in tone and not empty our wallet. I am digging the Nordstrand Warm & Wooly's at the moment as well.

One thing that some may over look is where you rest your thumb. A ZeroMod thumbrest for a Jazz is a really nice, inexpensive add as well.

Good luck, have fun, make good choices, make mistakes, it's all part of the ordeal!
 
#27
Change the strings, clean it up, and play it for a few months before you do anything else. Then decide what you want to do with it. I could spend a year with a new bass just trying out different sets of strings. Pickups are another whole world unto themselves.

Hipshot D-Tuner, and a Series/Parallel switch are good mods. Pickup swap if needed/desired.
 
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#29
When I had an MIM Jazz, I made three mods, and was happy with all of them:

1. Gotoh 201 bridge, which IMO improved focus and sustain;
2. MIA Fender pickups, similar to stock but better; and
3. tort guard, obviously! ;) Mine was black though. I think yours looks great as is, but an aged white pearl guard would look cool.

However, if you want to beat single-coil hum without spending a ton, DiMarzio Area J pickups are excellent. You'll get rid of the hum, and might prefer the tone.
 
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#36
Oliversan said:
earlier I had posted a thread about finding a second bass to go with my rickenbacker, and I believe I found one.
I got this fender jazz MIM from GC for $410 and it’s quite pretty. It was listed as a seafoam green but it looks more like the Sherwood green, I’m not too sure really. Rosewood fingerboard, I’d assume. I’m assuming it’s all stock; the middle poles on both pups are raised so it definitely has a nice midrange sound which I really like
It is a bit worn out and beat up a bit sure. There’s some chipping on the back, some of the frets are starting to get that rusty worn out feel, screws are close to rusted, control plate is very worn out (I have a spare to replace it), machine heads still work but feel gross to the touch but that’s about it!
My current plans for right now is just to change the strings with some super slinky’s I have lying around since they came dead, oil the fretboard, wipe the body clean, replace control plate and screws for pickguard, and look inside the cavity to see what I’m working with.

I guess I’m open to any suggestions what else you’d do with a jazz bass like this? Replace any specific parts for better ones, change the pups (I like the ones already but open to any midrange specific pups), strings etc etc?

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Pickups may be Lindy Fralin raised pole pickup, so that's probably not original, but a good upgrade. They do help with equalizing the string output which sometimes happens on MIM Jazz Basses.
 
#38
Oliversan said:
earlier I had posted a thread about finding a second bass to go with my rickenbacker, and I believe I found one.
I got this fender jazz MIM from GC for $410 and it’s quite pretty. It was listed as a seafoam green but it looks more like the Sherwood green, I’m not too sure really. Rosewood fingerboard, I’d assume. I’m assuming it’s all stock; the middle poles on both pups are raised so it definitely has a nice midrange sound which I really like
It is a bit worn out and beat up a bit sure. There’s some chipping on the back, some of the frets are starting to get that rusty worn out feel, screws are close to rusted, control plate is very worn out (I have a spare to replace it), machine heads still work but feel gross to the touch but that’s about it!
My current plans for right now is just to change the strings with some super slinky’s I have lying around since they came dead, oil the fretboard, wipe the body clean, replace control plate and screws for pickguard, and look inside the cavity to see what I’m working with.

I guess I’m open to any suggestions what else you’d do with a jazz bass like this? Replace any specific parts for better ones, change the pups (I like the ones already but open to any midrange specific pups), strings etc etc?

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I just slapped some quarter pounders and 500k pots in my kestrel. Couldn't be happier. I'd suggest a push/pull pot for series mode.
 

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