Why do you mod your basses?

We have the technology to make them better.

 

I think it's like a salesperson told me when I bought my bass; "You'll either spend at least $1200 on a good bass the first time, or you'll spend about $800 getting a $400 bass to sound like one." Personally, I enjoy the challenge and the customization. My bass now is exactly what I like, it just took a little longer to get there.

 

both reasons

 

So they bring me pleasure.

 

I defretted a bass because I wanted a fretless; pretty much my only mod job so far.

 

More personalized, easier to use, better looking, fun/because I can, nicer tone and less chance I'll ever sell it.

 

It's fun. And making a **** bass sound excellent is a task that gives me a relative bit of pride.


Plus, with the amount of great aftermarket stuff and different sounds, most stock instruments just can't compare IMO.

And furthermore, I can get a great sounding piece of wood for anywhere from 150 to 600 bucks, and by the time I fix little things, they play and sound IMO the price of 2k instruments.

 

After building one bass I was hooked, and know exactly what basses I wanted to build next in order to learn even more about neck/body wood/pickup dymanics. I've worked on my cars for many years also, just because.

 

I'm a habitual tinkerer.

 

For me its alittle of both. I love working on my instruments. But also most stock basses dont have the tone I want. And most fenders have bad bridges. The new mia fenders are the only exception here those look great.

 

No bass is perfect. I have always changed out the pickups and, in one case, the bridge, and another, the neck. If I like the bass and changing the pickups or whatever makes it happen, I'm happy. If not, I move on.

My main bass, in fact, is a Fender Standard P. I put an SD QP and TI Jazz Flats on it, and changed out the neck for a custom Warmoth fretless. The modifications changed it from a so-so MIM P to a real honey.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2068468907/

I've been modding an Epiphone Sheraton II guitar I traded for: didn't like the amber knobs, so it got gold speed knobs. The pickups were weak, so I rewired it with Seymour Duncans. The pickguard looked tacky, so I took it off. Finally, the black plastic pickup rings and switch knob didn't make it, so I replaced them with creme parts.

Now it's a great sounding, classy looking axe, perfect for playing at church. It's what **I** want, not what's cheap or convenient for Samick to make.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2608180029/

 

That has to be the most beatiful 335 type guitar I have EVER seen. That and your unlined fretless maple P show that you sir have impeccable taste.

OT: I have plans to mod my bass for sonic reasons but I also just love tinkering.

 

As above replies- No bass-that I can afford anyway is PERFECT..... I enjoy finding a 'bargain' & making it as good as I can!

 

I took a $195 new Danelectro Rumor bass and installed a DiMarzio "Model P" pup, a Hipshot B-Type bridge, a set of Sperzel tuners, and disconnected the goofy "built-in chorus" effect.

Result: for less than $450 including parts and labor, I had a featherweight super P-type bass that sounds and plays great, looks like nothing anybody else plays, and has no real value if stolen, lost, or broken.

Why do I modify? To make a decent bass into a great bass!

Lowbrow

 

it just feels great to have your bass customised
its has his own personality and not many basses will have the same sound
in fact i preffer a cheap bass and the mod it than a good bass that other people will buy

 

I didn't vote either. I think what I do is more along the lines of building parts basses than modding an existing bass. For me, there are three areas in which the given project must cut it: 1) looks, 2) sound, and 3) feel.

Here are two examples.

The JB is an SX body/bridge/pickguard/control plate, Ibby TR Series neck with reshaped headstock, Gotoh tuners, SD Antiquity II's. The controls are a 6-way rotary for tone caps, AllParts knobs, a 6-way rotary for pickup selection (off, off, neck, both, bridge, off...there's room for another pickup), and a push/pull pot used for series/parallel, TI JF344s. No pots are used.

The P-Bass is an Epi body, Ibby TR Series neck with reshaped headstock and fake Fender decal and stock tuners, Dano RI pickup, SD SPB-1, two 6-way rotary switches as on the JB, no pots, MIM Fender bridge, knobs from an old fuzz, Warmoth mint green pickguard, LaBella DT760FM's. It looked 1,000 times better with the original rosewood 'board, but I didn't like the feel of the neck so it had to go.

 

How did the added j pup at the neck change the sound of the P-Bass?

 

Not enough choices in the poll. Any bass I buy that has an active preamp gets that immediately removed. Most passive basses I buy have 250k pots. these get replaced with 500k. Modding is necessity for tone's sake, not simply because I enjoy it.

 

I wanted a nice 6 string but couldn't afford one. It is easier to add to it as I got money in. I bought a new but discontinued Peavey Fury VI, US$300 and added bart quad coil pickups US$300 and an aguilar obp-3 US$125. So now it sounds like a dream. And looks/feels quite good too I might add.