So far best mod has to be the Treble Bezel cover I installed on the Rickenbacker. I picked chrome so it would look like it came like it looks from the factory
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What's the best modification you've made?
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So far best mod has to be the Treble Bezel cover I installed on the Rickenbacker. I picked chrome so it would look like it came like it looks from the factory
Slapping a maple neck on my Jazz Bass was a good decision. I suppose that’s in borderline mod land, so I’ll add switching out wiring harnesses to include what’s called a “Tropical Fish”. “Orange Drop” and “Sprague” are cool too. There is a guy on EBay who does really, really cool custom and high quality work.
Bartolini QuadCoils in my 2001 American Jazz. It was one of those things where I wasn't unhappy with the tone of the stock pickups, but once I made the switch, it was a "Wow" moment.
I've been a "decent" bassist for over 30 years. A little over a year ago I decided to install a bass ramp on my J, just to see what the deal was. To say my playing improved in leaps and bounds is an understatement. And as an improved player, my tone, attack, and consistency have greatly improved, so I think it's worth mentioning in a thread about sonic upgrades. I wish I discovered these decades ago! I've installed 3 of them now on various basses I own, and I've also started printing them out on my 3D printer.
Dropped two jazz bass pickups wired as a bucker and on an angle (so the poles would align with the strings) in the bass positon of my 70,s Rick ala Roger Glover. It sucked, can see why he went back to Fenders...
Tried some Nordstrand J-Blades "Clean & Clear" wind. Really clean and clear, almost to a fault! Didn't keep them as I was looking for a bit more warmth, but I was shocked at the difference in tone. Could be exactly what someone else is looking for and not finding with any of the traditional 2-pole per string designs.
Switched from electric to upright. Of course now I spend more on back adjustments and vehicles.
Without question, adding a John East Mid01 mid freq/level stacked pot to my two favorite fretless basses, which are even *more* favorite (is that a thing?) now! A mid freq adjustment really allows me to dial in the perfect "mwah". Both those basses already had bass and treble boost/cut, and the side effect is that now I can plug into ANYTHING and get "my" sound.
I should add that I had a really good guitar electronics guy do the work, not me. He actually broke into the circuit board on one of the basses -- certainly not something I would ever have been able to even BEGIN figuring out.
I should add that I had a really good guitar electronics guy do the work, not me. He actually broke into the circuit board on one of the basses -- certainly not something I would ever have been able to even BEGIN figuring out.
- Jul 19, 2000
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Upgrading all my EMG-equipped basses to 18v. Hands down, best bang for buck.
Coil splits on humbucker pickups, or strap button relocations on certain basses, mainly BC Rich basses.
Assembled a Fenderbird and then installed an Audere 4 band preamp. Only used the existing 3 potentiometer holes (3 stacked pots: volume/blend, hi/lo miss, treble/bass) and room in the back with no routing. Love it!
I have an Ibanez sr400 and always loved the looked and hated the sound. When the active pickups started acting up it was time for an overhaul. Replaced active pickups with Geezer passive emg’s. Replaced the bridge with a Leo Quan badass bass bridge ll. Also sanded off the finish on the back of the neck and rounded the edges of the neck to the fretboard. Holy cow what a difference all this made. I love this bass so much now. It’s a whole new animal.
Put back the pickup and bridge covers on my Fender basses as a hand support. (James was right)
On upright it had to be converting them both to 5 stringers. On electric, better bridges and nuts.
Hipshot Kickass bass bridge, Hipshot HB-7 tuners with a D-tuner, shielding electronics with conductive paint, LaBella tapewounds, and installing a series-parallel switching pot in my Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz bass. Some of the other basses got updated bridges (Badass II in my '78 P-bass, Kickass in a fun to beat up Jay Turser), better tuners and D-tuners....all have Dunlap strap lock systems.
Fitting a pull-pot switch to my Jazz to give the two pickups in series = P type sound and volume boost.
quit playing bass for bar gigs for $100. The busboys make more money. SMH. A dying art and instrument. When we all die it's over.
