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What’s your #1 mod regret?
- Thread starter ReillyProductions
- Start date
My first and only mod so far has been passivizing my 99 Am Dlx JB. I'm still not sure if it's been a mistake or not, but the preamp on that bass has never had anything fancy and I've used it flat for 20 years so I took it to the shop after getting my first P and seeing how nice the passive sound was.
Now I'm not too happy about the passive sound of the noiseless pups... (They're the first gen after the suhrs and before the samariums, the ugly ducklings in the family).
Next chapter, I pulled the trigger on a couple of 70's Lollar JBs which will be arriving soon and I hope that gets the bass a new life. I love everything about it except it's never sounded really like I think a JB should!
So I'm still not sure if I'm regretting this, I agree with many that on a nice bass the best mod is the one not done... But I only own two good basses and this one's been with me 20 years, is a great player and I think the model has no "mojo" to be lost ...
I'll probably let you know when I get the Lollars set up.
Now I'm not too happy about the passive sound of the noiseless pups... (They're the first gen after the suhrs and before the samariums, the ugly ducklings in the family).
Next chapter, I pulled the trigger on a couple of 70's Lollar JBs which will be arriving soon and I hope that gets the bass a new life. I love everything about it except it's never sounded really like I think a JB should!
So I'm still not sure if I'm regretting this, I agree with many that on a nice bass the best mod is the one not done... But I only own two good basses and this one's been with me 20 years, is a great player and I think the model has no "mojo" to be lost ...
I'll probably let you know when I get the Lollars set up.
Gibson Les Paul Custom.
It was my dad's. I was very young (still in high school), and very into guitar tech work. I put so many pickups in the guitar for him, because it sounded like such garbage. Pure mud, no matter what.
Finally, he said screw it. I want you to put P90s in. They sound good in anything, and no humbucker sounds as good as they do. So I did. I did a nice and neat job, removing as little wood as possible. In the end, I just had to take a small amount off the pickup ring mounting ears.
They sounded the best out of everything, but still muddy. He played the guitar that way for many years. He passed away. I got the guitar.
I finally learn, over a decade after putting the P90s in, that many Gibsons of that era came with 100K pots. I knew nothing about the pots at the time. I check. Sure enough: 100K pots. D'oh!
I pull the original wiring harness as intact as I can, and put in brand new standard Gibson Les Paul wiring. Voila. It sounds killer. But the guitar still looks odd, as a Black Beauty with P90s and goof rings. It's kind of a shame, and these guitars of this era are shooting up in price. There is still enough wood left for the original pickup rings to just barely hold on, at least enough to test out the original Tim Shaws. So I put them in and test them through an amp. And wouldn't ya know it; they sound heavenly.
I decide I must restore the guitar.
The original pickup rings need to be replaced, as they are cracked and otherwise just worn out. It takes me a few years to track down the right ones, with screws and all.
I track down the right pick guard. The original and its bracket had gone missing. I am still looking for an original era-correct bracket and screws...as well as the Posi-Lok ("diamond") strap buttons. The guitar had Schaller strap locks put on it a long time ago; the Posi-Loks are long gone.
I track down the right type of chainsaw case for it. The one it came in (though not original) I had traded off with another Les Paul back when I hated the chainsaw cases (now I like them).
But, the hard part: the reconstructive surgery. I wanted it to be absolutely seamless. I made custom routing templates for everything. My first step was to completely rout away the remaining pickup ring mounting ears, all the way down to the bottoms of the cavities. This left me with simple rectangle pickup cavities, so I could easily and seamlessly rebuild the cavities as they were originally. I laminated mahogany and maple, tall enough to cut "towers" out of to replace the missing ring mounting ears. I glued the towers in, using custom jigs to hold them in properly as the glue dried. I leveled them with the top of the guitar, carefully using a chisel and sandpaper with custom made sanding blocks. I routed again, using a standard humbucker template, all the way down to the bottom of the cavities. I mocked up the new rings, and masked right up to them, where there was already a depression in the lacquer from the original rings. I sprayed black nitro lacquer, then clear. Blended it all in nicely.
The end. Well, almost. I'm still searching for that pickguard bracket and screws, and the Posi-Loks.
In the end, it was a dead perfect job. You can't tell the guitar isn't totally stock. But it was a whole ton of work over a period of 20 years, when all the guitar ever needed was some 500K pots.
It was my dad's. I was very young (still in high school), and very into guitar tech work. I put so many pickups in the guitar for him, because it sounded like such garbage. Pure mud, no matter what.
Finally, he said screw it. I want you to put P90s in. They sound good in anything, and no humbucker sounds as good as they do. So I did. I did a nice and neat job, removing as little wood as possible. In the end, I just had to take a small amount off the pickup ring mounting ears.
They sounded the best out of everything, but still muddy. He played the guitar that way for many years. He passed away. I got the guitar.
I finally learn, over a decade after putting the P90s in, that many Gibsons of that era came with 100K pots. I knew nothing about the pots at the time. I check. Sure enough: 100K pots. D'oh!
I pull the original wiring harness as intact as I can, and put in brand new standard Gibson Les Paul wiring. Voila. It sounds killer. But the guitar still looks odd, as a Black Beauty with P90s and goof rings. It's kind of a shame, and these guitars of this era are shooting up in price. There is still enough wood left for the original pickup rings to just barely hold on, at least enough to test out the original Tim Shaws. So I put them in and test them through an amp. And wouldn't ya know it; they sound heavenly.
I decide I must restore the guitar.
The original pickup rings need to be replaced, as they are cracked and otherwise just worn out. It takes me a few years to track down the right ones, with screws and all.
I track down the right pick guard. The original and its bracket had gone missing. I am still looking for an original era-correct bracket and screws...as well as the Posi-Lok ("diamond") strap buttons. The guitar had Schaller strap locks put on it a long time ago; the Posi-Loks are long gone.
I track down the right type of chainsaw case for it. The one it came in (though not original) I had traded off with another Les Paul back when I hated the chainsaw cases (now I like them).
But, the hard part: the reconstructive surgery. I wanted it to be absolutely seamless. I made custom routing templates for everything. My first step was to completely rout away the remaining pickup ring mounting ears, all the way down to the bottoms of the cavities. This left me with simple rectangle pickup cavities, so I could easily and seamlessly rebuild the cavities as they were originally. I laminated mahogany and maple, tall enough to cut "towers" out of to replace the missing ring mounting ears. I glued the towers in, using custom jigs to hold them in properly as the glue dried. I leveled them with the top of the guitar, carefully using a chisel and sandpaper with custom made sanding blocks. I routed again, using a standard humbucker template, all the way down to the bottom of the cavities. I mocked up the new rings, and masked right up to them, where there was already a depression in the lacquer from the original rings. I sprayed black nitro lacquer, then clear. Blended it all in nicely.
The end. Well, almost. I'm still searching for that pickguard bracket and screws, and the Posi-Loks.
In the end, it was a dead perfect job. You can't tell the guitar isn't totally stock. But it was a whole ton of work over a period of 20 years, when all the guitar ever needed was some 500K pots.
The most egregious was when I tried to have a Vox Apache 2 converted to a bass uke because it had a built in amp and speaker, which I thought would be a good choice for when a few members of my uke group and I would go to UCLA/Mattel Children's Hospital and roam, playing for the kids and giving them ukuleles. I only play 21" to 24" scale bass and thought I would have Eric's Guitar swap the standard bass neck for a 24" I had, move the bridge and cut down the body to be more portable, and off I go, WRONG!
The body wasn't anywhere near light enough to walk around for an hour and half, and the amp sounded terrible. It was a complete waste of time and money, I kept the 24" neck and into the scrap heap the rest went (below is my mockup). I realized I'm much better off staying with my 20.5" acoustic bass uke and my Blackstar Fly 3 Bass Duo amp hanging over my shoulder.
The body wasn't anywhere near light enough to walk around for an hour and half, and the amp sounded terrible. It was a complete waste of time and money, I kept the 24" neck and into the scrap heap the rest went (below is my mockup). I realized I'm much better off staying with my 20.5" acoustic bass uke and my Blackstar Fly 3 Bass Duo amp hanging over my shoulder.
I had a PJ I tried to make Switch/V/T, but after 3 different switches didn't fit into the control cavity for various reasons, I gave up and returned it to V/V/T. I was never able to get the thing to sound "right," so I sold it.
All my other mods have been going wonderfully.
All my other mods have been going wonderfully.
Love the red one with reverse headstock especially.
I still need to measure/mount the bridge. Also, no finishing beyond the rattlecan has been done. It still needs to be "finished," as well. But yeah, it's my fave, too. An inverted left handed short scale neck on a full sized P body, with an O-bass inspired pickguard. I'm going for a "Soviet" look.
My biggest regret happened just after 4am on July 4, 2018. It took the form of a mild stroke that effected my right side and has made the one thing I wanted to do during my retirement very difficult...playing music. I cannot currently play guitar or piano at all like I used to but I am able to play bass. While my bass playing is getting better it's not yet as effective as before and I have to make some accommodations for my condition.
I definitely regret the stroke but I'm extremely grateful it wasn't worse and I continue to try.
I've modded guitars and basses for decades and most recently have had stumble through making some mods and builds to accommodate my new impairments but I don't regret any of them.
I definitely regret the stroke but I'm extremely grateful it wasn't worse and I continue to try.
I've modded guitars and basses for decades and most recently have had stumble through making some mods and builds to accommodate my new impairments but I don't regret any of them.
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Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
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Replaced the Lakland pickups in my US 494 with Duncans. I like the stock pickups better. Luckily, I still have the originals so I'll be putting them back in at some point
Pulling the frets out of my first Warwick back in the 90s, which I had saved forever to buy. It was pretty much useless to me afterwards and I sold it for a song.
I refinished a maple board with multiple layers of Tru-Oil. I regret not doing it in a dust-free environment because its not as smooth as I would have liked. I'm reluctant to take any abrasives to it at this point. It still looks better than the original finish, though.
So a buddy of mine bought a cheap Stat knockoff and begged me to get it playable. Im no professional luthier, but i do pretty well so people toss jobs my way. Well anyway, for some reason i agree to this for free cuz friedship and stuff. I pull off the strings and go to loosen the the screws in the trem and the particle board the body is made of immediately shatters. I end up drilling out the body and putting in dowels so the screws have something to grip and fix the trem. The neck is slightly warped, i do what i can. I go to put fresh strings back on, and two of the cheap tuning machines just strip while winding the strings. I buy new tuners out of pocket. Nothing great, mind you, but useable. When i go to replace the tuners, it turns out that they sprayed over the bushings when they put on the fake Fender decal. I get small cracks in the headstock finish replacing the tuners, and decide im not refinishing this piece of junk I've been working on for free. The guitar is now playable, but you would never mistake it for a quality instrument. It was the best i could do on this piece of crap. My buddy is pissed about the cracks in the headstock and tells a bunch of our friends how i "messed up" his "Stratocaster."
I was a guitar tech at my Dads music shop before I had the money to blow.
I learned the same lesson at an early age doing other people’s guitars/basses all while other people footed the bill.
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I've never done any modifications. I figure, if the bass needs to be modified, it isn't the bass for me, so time to trade/sell for a bass the way I want it. Reminds me of someone who would buy a Nissan Sentra, only to spend 10-15K on spoilers, rims, sound system, etc.. might as well have saved your money and gotten a lower level BMW or Mercedes to begin with.
I only modded one bass and I didn't really mod it myself. I bought parts and paid a luthier to do the work, and that kind of added to the regret. I don't actually regret doing it because I learned a lot from the project and the bass sounds fantastic now. My regret was the amount of money I spent on the project.
This started as a cheap SX fretless Jazz that I bought a used fretted SX neck for (and also replaced tuners, had a bone nut installed, and added a string tree) and then I replaced almost every other part on it. The only remaining original parts are the unloaded body and the rear neck plate. I bought many of the parts used but they still cost about 4-5 times what the bass originally cost, and then I added to that cost by having a luthier I trust assemble it for me (he did a great job). It does sound amazing now and I do use it, but I'll never spend that kind of money modding a bass again!
This started as a cheap SX fretless Jazz that I bought a used fretted SX neck for (and also replaced tuners, had a bone nut installed, and added a string tree) and then I replaced almost every other part on it. The only remaining original parts are the unloaded body and the rear neck plate. I bought many of the parts used but they still cost about 4-5 times what the bass originally cost, and then I added to that cost by having a luthier I trust assemble it for me (he did a great job). It does sound amazing now and I do use it, but I'll never spend that kind of money modding a bass again!
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Man. That's rough. We never know do we?
So good to hear that you can still play bass. I had carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists a couple of years ago, while talking with the doctor I told him that I was a musician and asked how long it would be before I could start playing after the surgery. He said "You can start right away, it may make playing the guitar a little difficult at first but it is excellent physical therapy". I told him I played bass and he quickly said " Bass? Oh, you'll have no problem at all"!
My wife was in the room. She busted out laughing...
In all seriousness I wish you all the best in your recovery Sir!
First - Tried to install the mutes between the strings above the bridge on my my Fender Jaco Pastorius fretless and let's just say "botched" is a good word for it. I'm still upset and kicking myself over that one.
Second - I wanted to replace the pickup in my Aria Pro II SB-RI so I ripped out the factory pickup, planned to drop in EMG MM pickup and stupidly realized that it doesn't fit. Attempted using a dremel to make it fit and now I don't even want an EMG MM in there for that bass anymore. I want the original back in but it's long gone now. So at the moment it's sitting in a closet with no pickup, no hardware, no strings, no nothing. Again, still upset and kicking myself whenever I think about it.
Moral of the story for me, don't mod anything else ever again that is not reversible. The end.
Second - I wanted to replace the pickup in my Aria Pro II SB-RI so I ripped out the factory pickup, planned to drop in EMG MM pickup and stupidly realized that it doesn't fit. Attempted using a dremel to make it fit and now I don't even want an EMG MM in there for that bass anymore. I want the original back in but it's long gone now. So at the moment it's sitting in a closet with no pickup, no hardware, no strings, no nothing. Again, still upset and kicking myself whenever I think about it.
Moral of the story for me, don't mod anything else ever again that is not reversible. The end.
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