Upgrading Basses

[DreadyDiggs]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this place. I've been self-teaching myself bass for a few years now (on and off). I've gotten pretty decent, and want to form and play in a band before I graduate college ( 2-3 years). I have two basses:

a Johnson Dual-Pickup

a Squier P-Bass

Right now they're both as they come, Squier bought on Ebay, Johnson given to me as a gift from my uncle. The Squier's tone nob is broken, the Johnson I believe has the same problem. Top knob is broken on Johnson, bottom on Squier.

I want to play reggae. Some of examples being:

The Tamlins - Baltimore

Culture - Wings of a Dove

Steel Pulse - Rollerskates

The last example showcases the bassist that inspired me to pick up bass. Alvin Ewen is his name. After watching that concert a few years back, I knew I wanted to play.

I don't care to learn to slap and pop, but of course I'll learn as time goes down the line. Tapping...meh.

What I come to ask you guys is would you recommend any upgrades to these basses to help me find the sound I'm looking for. I have a small amp right now, and will upgrade that later and even that might make me content, but any advice will help.

 

[bwv1013]

new pickups perhaps? you could always sell them towards another bass you find appealing. either way i say get your hands on some instruments and see what gets your sound.

 

[Stealth]

Well, for one, swap the electronics, a broken tone knob won't do you any good. Other than that, if you're satisfied with the woodwork, go for a new set of pups. Plenty of brands to go around.

 

[DreadyDiggs]

Yes, I thought about selling both for a new bass. I've always been fond of headless basses. Very fond of them in fact.

 

[DanielleMuscato]

Amp is much more important than the bass when it comes to tone, if you ask me.

A $4,000 Modulus bass will sound like crap through a $150 amp, no matter what you do with the EQ knobs. Total cost = $4,150.

A $400 Korean-made Schecter Jazz copy will sound amazing through a nice, $1500 rig. Total cost = $1,900.

There's nothing wrong with the stock electronics in a Squier P and you will not get your money back out of upgrading a bass like that... My advice is to upgrade your amp first.

YMMV.

Welcome to TB!

 

[DreadyDiggs]

I hear ya man I do need to work on getting these tone knobs fixed though, if I want to keep both of them. The knob on the Johnson spins continuously in either direction, and the Squier stops but when you turn it there is no adjustment whatsoever.

 

[BurningSkies]

If you're ok with doing electronics yourself, then by all means get new pots and replace them. Or take it to someone and have it done. It's a quick and easy repair that shouldn't cost you much.

I would consider upgrading amps before upgrading basses too.

You could switch out pickups, but you're in danger of having your pickups being worth more than the bass.

 

[DanielleMuscato]

Oh, definitely fix the pots! I just meant, rather than spend $150 on pickups, save up toward a better amp My 2 cents,

 

[DreadyDiggs]

Yea, I'll save up for the amp, and the pots are definitely gonna get fixed. I like the feel of both basses, with the Johnson being heavier than the Squier of course. The Squier's E sounds kind of dull to me, maybe truss rod? I bought it on Ebay, and haven't had anyone look at it. I was reading about that today, I know the Johnson sounds a lot more like what I want when it comes to the E string haha.

There's still a lot I have to learn, but that's part of the fun.

 

[Mushroo]

With those two basses, you have the P-style and J-style covered. These are the 2 most popular designs and can cover a wide range of sounds. You can fix the tone knobs yourself for less than $10 if you are willing to do the soldering yourself. Another option (a bit pricier, but still cheaper than new pickups) is a pre-wired harness. This will upgrade all of the wires, pots, and jacks at the same time, with very little effort (just have to solder the pickup leads and bridge ground).

I wouldn't swap pickups on the Squier personally, unless I heard another specific pickup that I just HAD to have. The Squier P pickup is the same basic design used in every P bass you've heard a million times. Not familiar with the Johnson pickups so I can't say.

A big +1 to upgrading your amp. If you are playing reggae, you absolutely need to move a lot of air.

 

[Mushroo]

I doubt the truss rod is the source of your weak E on the Squier; the truss rod is used to straighten/add relief to the neck. Have you changed strings since buying it off of Ebay? That's where I would start. Also, raising the E side of the pickup closer to the string might help.

 

[62bass]

Amp is much more important than the bass when it comes to tone, if you ask me.

A $4,000 Modulus bass will sound like crap through a $150 amp, no matter what you do with the EQ knobs. Total cost = $4,150.

A $400 Korean-made Schecter Jazz copy will sound amazing through a nice, $1500 rig. Total cost = $1,900.

There's nothing wrong with the stock electronics in a Squier P and you will not get your money back out of upgrading a bass like that... My advice is to upgrade your amp first.

YMMV.

Welcome to TB!

There's a lot to be said for this approach. While the bass should be playable and sound decent, a bad amp will make everything sound mediocre.

However, there is a point where it's pointless to put money into upgrading a poorly made bass, particularly when you can find some amazing deals on high end basses used.

New pickups can run you $120 or more for the Jazz clone. Do a good setup and put on a set of good strings first. Sometimes that's all it takes.

 

[DreadyDiggs]

I'm appreciating all the help guys. I'll be fixing them up ASAP. Haven't changed the strings on the Squier since I bought it, but I will. I bought some Epiphones just for the heck of it, but I was definitely reading about Thomastiks.

I will be saving up for a nice amp.