What mods “add value” to you ?

[Dark Horse]

If you were shopping for used basses .....what mods would make you willing to pay more then say, what a stock used bass in similar condition would cost?


I'm often curious about this. Some people say mods don't add any value to the bass. Other people say it does.

What do you believe ?

And if you believe mods add value, what mods do you believe add value and how much?

 

[JRA]

What do you believe ?

i've made modifications to every instrument i own. i do not believe that any of them are worth more because of the mods i've made. big whup. they're now more playable* for me. "resale value" has no value to/for me.

* some mods were made for cosmetics and have nothing to do with playability.

 

[redneck2wild]

Hipshot Xtender for a 4 string bass.
Phase switch for a passive dual single coil bass.

 

[TDR1138]

Mods are such a personal thing that it's hard to quantify. I mean, if someone put a $100 pickup in a bass and that wasn't a pickup that I wanted, wouldn't add any value to me. But if it was a pickup I wanted or would probably put in anyway, might give me incentive to pay a little more, but not the full $100 more.

 

[P. Aaron]

I am unimaginative, I just like a nice stock bass. Even if I have to pay more, it's how I roll. Don't wanna be liable for screwing something up.

 

[christpncher]

ive bought cheap Squiers that I wasnt that interested in just to get the SD pickup, BadAssII bridge, Schaller tuners

 

[CallMeAl]

Jazz neck on a P bass!

Even if I can trade necks or buy one/sell the old while still breaking even, the convenience is mighty tempting.

 

[two fingers]

I don't know. I've never seen a Dark Horse five string!!!



In the case of your basses (for me anyway) it's the "whole package" rather than any one thing. You have an eye for cool.

 

[Dark Horse]

I don't know. I've never seen a Dark Horse five string!!!



In the case of your basses (for me anyway) it's the "whole package" rather than any one thing. You have an eye for cool.

Thanks

It's an interesting thing, mods. I guess if you are the buyer, they add zero value. If you are the seller, they add a ton of value!

 

[Bill Staudt]

I think the only time a mod would increase the value is if it were worth more than the cost of the bass. Like Aguilar / Nordstrand pickups in a SX bass.

 

[Gorn]

A graphite neck.

 

[catcauphonic]

An upgraded pre on an active

 

[Floppystrings]

If it's a cheap bass a pickup upgrade would nice.

I bought a guitar for $275 that has about $350 in upgrades (pickups, locking tuners, high end bridge). Who ever owned that guitar loved it enough to dump some serious cash into improving it.

 

[JZQuantum]

Maybe Hipshot lightweight tuners. Other than that, the most valuable "mod" is a great setup for your style of playing.

 

[felis]

....Who ever owned that guitar loved it enough to dump some serious cash into improving it.....

But not enough to keep it.

 

[Wfrance3]

Depends on the bass. If it had cheap/wonky tuners, for example, some nice replacement hipshots would be add value. I guess any upgrade of something that was worn out or less than par in the first place.

 

[gln1955]

I'm surprised no one has said it.

Tort increases the value of everything.

 

[Bolsyo]

If it has some pickups I like, I might pay slighly more than a similar stock used bass. Or if the pickups are very popular on the used market, and I know that I can flip them easily to buy the pickups I actually want for that bass.

The thing is, a lot of upgrade might add some kind of value, but it's maybe only a small fraction of the original price.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Hipshot d-tuner. But it probably doesn't add a lot of value because I can add one myself easily. On higher end basses you usually are just swapping components for different components and depending on the instrument could add nothing or more likely, detract from the value. Who wants a Sadowsky with a Bart preamp? The preamp is part of the Sadowsky package. I've also seen people putting $6-700 into a cheap ($200) bass and then expecting to get $800 for the bass. You would get more money by returning it to original condition and selling the upgraded parts separately.

 

[micguy]

Hipshot ultralites for me. I would never play a bass with the big iron Fender tuners. Yes, that takes me out of the Vintage Fender market -why would I pay $X,000 for bass where I'm gonna change the hardware?