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What’s your #1 mod regret?

#81
The only bass I ever made modifications to was a '76 Precision Bass which was as horrible as they come. I won't go into the many issues with this bought-new bass but I started with a pick-up change. Went to an early DiMarzio Model P. It helped, it did sound better but it also no longer sounded like a P bass. Next up was a metal pick guard to replace the plastic one which cracked at the jack from the lock washer chewing through the foil ground and causing the jack to wiggle around as I would yank on the cord to get good contact. Next came a replacement bridge. Thinking the lack of tone and sustain was due to the Fender bridge, I went with the heaviest bridge I could find, that big DiMarzio thing that probably added five pounds to the already ridiculous eleven pounds the bass already weighed. Next up was the addition of a Jazz bass pick up, also a DiMarzio which did nothing for the sound of the bass but make me swear off P/J basses forever.

I don't recall any more mods to the thing. I think I may have stuck a fretless Precision neck on it at one point. That bass scared me away from P basses for a very long time and I was happy to sell it to a guitar player.
 
#83
Okay, I’ll confess. Years ago I had a 1968 SG standard. I got the brilliant idea that if two humbuckers were good, three would be better, and there’s room right there in between them anyway, so why not? I removed the PG and chiseled out the cavity, installed the HB and put it back together. It sounded fine, and my hack job was hidden under the PG, but I still cringe when I think about it. The real tragedy was selling the guitar after I started playing bass.
 
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#84
I bought an EBO back in 1969 . I loved how it played but didn't like the sound much . After a year with it I had a tech in our area put in the little pickup and controls for a EB3 . My brother and I had stripped the red finish and I had a guy that had worked in the Martin factory route the edges and put abolone stripe like a Martin D-45 . We used a walnut stain on it and then my brother put a few coats of clear on it . It looked great but still sounded awful .

I sold it and bought a 67 Guild Starefire II . We also refinished it with the same walnut stain and clear coat . It was really a nice looking bass so no regrets there .

My main regret was putting an Audere preamp in my Ibanez Talman TMB605 . The bass sounds great with that preamp and the Audere does just what it is supposed to do but I could't use the Passive switch anymore and the bass sounded great with that . No knock on Audere , they make a great pre , I have them in three of my four basses but it was a mistake to change the good Ibanez pre and not have the passive option .
 
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#87
I had a wonderful Fender Jazz Plus 5 string that I thought would be better as a fretless. I took it to a luthier who did an excellent job but the bass was never the same. It had no "mwah" factor. It was somewhat of a dead fretless and I thought it sounded good but eventually the other guys in the band voted that I should buy another bass. That's when I found my EB MusicMan Stingray, so maybe it wasn't such a bad mod after all!

PS. yes it killed the resale value completely.
 
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#88
I bet somebody regretted this

b-ric08.jpg


b-ric02.jpg
 
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#90
Oh! That Ric reminded me of another. Had a 73 Telecaster around the house (my mom was a bass player too). Decided since it was the mid-80s that I was gonna Sheehan up that beast. Took forever, was a half-assed job, and it was never a player. Should've just kept it original and sold it. Couple years ago, I sold the neck & electronics, and literally threw away the body. :/
 
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#94
Yamaha TRB5. I decided to replace the electronics for no good reason.

Bartolini soapbars and an Aguilar OBP-3 preamp.

The OEM Yamaha pickups were oddly shaped and I had to cut small pieces of ebony to fill what turned into 1/2” gaps on each side.

I tried to wire the preamp myself, got beyond my capability, and fried it. Had to buy another one and pay Steve Surine to put it in (he lived in my hood at the time).

Total bill around $500. Pretty much sounded the same.
 
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#95
Took binding off of a Ric 4001 Blonde body, then painted it fluorescent orange. Took out pickups, put in EMG P. Didn't help me at all. Still couldn't get right with that thing. Traded it for an Aria Pro II and sold that thing for over a grand. Happy ending.
 
#98
The only basses and guitars I ever modded were cheap garbage or kit guitars. Outside of that I bought an American deluxe Jazz V with a Seymour Duncan in the bridge slot. It's a good bass, probably wouldn't have swapped the pickup, or sold the original pickup either, though. After getting modding out of my system I don't want to say that I don't get it, but honestly if somebody is selling a bass, guitar, or guns with irreversible mods I really just start thinking of negotiating the price downwards.
 
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#100
MisterUbu said:
Replacing the rosewood saddle bridge on a Danelectro longhorn for an adjustable one and replacing the stock strap buttons with shallers without relocating them. The worst part is after paying a guy to do that I sold the bass for the same price I bought it + the mods.

A REAL contender is something I did myself with a hammer drill and an electric screwdriver. I cant get the screw out.
View attachment 4093350
View attachment 4093351 View attachment 4093352
Here's the original bridge
View attachment 4093357
Essentially I tried replacing the original bridge on an old Goya bass with a hipshot, but it turns out the holes of the original were not the same measurements as a standard fender so I moved the hipshot back away from the nut, but my measurements were crummy so I drilled the new holes lopsided and not deep enough. So I ended up with a crooked bridge and hipshot screws that dont go all the way in in the middle 3 holes
Click to expand...
If you have a dremel, mount a cutoff wheel and grind a slot in the screw head. Use a common (flathead) screwdriver, or better use a hand impact driver with a flathead bit.
 

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