What’s your #1 mod regret?

[rholler]

For me, that's an easy one...
It's become one of my biggest regrets! :-(

I just realized that I left out another part of the story, which even further displays my stupidity at the time...

When I refinished the bass body, I left the equally-beat-up and cigarette-burned headstock untouched. Someone later asked me why I didn't refinish the headstock to match the body finish, and I explained that I didn't want to sand off the Fender logo!

I was embarrassed when he told me that it was just a decal and could have easily have been replaced. Man, I was stupid back then! <sigh>

 

[Plain Old Barry]

I was embarrassed when he told me that it was just a decal and could have easily have been replaced. Man, I was stupid back then! <sigh>

Don't feel bad...

I refinished a few instruments in the 80's and 90's and those decals were really tough, maybe even impossible to get for most people. I never did the face of the headstock.

Nowadays, there are plenty of people pirating, I mean making unauthorized "vintage reproductions" , on eBay, Etsy, etc...

I remember doing some Fender necks I personally owned and being told by Fender there was no way, no how they would sell me a decal because they had no idea where it would be applied. I even went so far as to offer to send photos of the instrument and original purchase documents. No dice...

At the time, I was also into model building, cars and railroads... There were several custom decal makers advertising in hobby magazines but none would do a copyrighted logo. It's funny how inexpensive technology and online selling have made many trademark and copyright holders simply give up chasing violations.

 

[Old_Noob]

Well, safe to say, this guy regrets this. https://photos.app.goo.gl/wEcnAXVzDTMmMYs67

more photos here
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/GFYAAOSw3v1f42xm/s-l400.jpg

 

[BurningSkies]

No regrets for this mod.
View attachment 4096891

Ah, the age old drama between the Mods and the Walkers.

 

[zortation]

No regrets for this mod.
View attachment 4096891

That's a very old mod.

 

[soonercub85]

After years of modding and thousands of dollars lost my main regret is all of them. If you don’t like the way your bass sounds find something else that fits the bill. Basically everything you could want is currently available.

So very, very true.!

 

[Logic_11]

I've done almost everything bad under the sun.

- added a second pickup with improper tools
- diy defretting
- diy fretting
- diy shielding
- nut adjustments
- routing an output jack to the lower side of a bass
- sanding down a bass body (only to find out I didn't like how it looked)
- ripped out a 4 string bass bridge to try to fit a 5 string bridge
- ripped out the electronics of a bass to put it onto another and burned many pots and wires in the process
- unstrung the ends of strings to use on a short scale bass
- drilled holes into pick guards to fit more "stuff"
- making a bridge string-hole bigger so that a low F# string can fit
- .. the list goes on

Reflecting on it though, I learned a lot, but a lot of time and money was wasted. I'm going to have to agree with this quote:

After years of modding and thousands of dollars lost my main regret is all of them. If you don’t like the way your bass sounds find something else that fits the bill. Basically everything you could want is currently available.

A. Never mod a bass if you can't bring it back to it's original form (for resale purposes)
B. Save and get what you actually want instead of buying something cheap with the intent of "upgrading it"

 

[Logic_11]

Moral of the story for me, don't mod anything else ever again that is not reversible. The end.

True!

 

[Ron Berenato]

I had a beautiful Fender Jazz Plus 5 string during my "Jaco" phase and had it de-fretted. Played good but eventually I had to replace it when the other guys in the band had enough of it. Totally killed the resale value.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I mod basses and guitars that have no resale value. I see it like refurbishing a vintage thrift store find. If you're modding a USA Fender you've already wasted your money, IMO.