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Why
- Thread starter woody357
- Start date
There can be multiple reasons:
1. One wants a bass with certain specs. One way to achieve this is going to a luthier and having it made. Another is buying something that is already out there and nearly matches the specs - and replace the parts that are wrong.
2. One is 99% happy with a particular bass, but this one thing is bothersome. It's a lot easier to mod that last percent than to start all over again
3.Cash. Maybe a $400 bass plus $400 in mods yields an instrument that fulfills the desires of the player, while the market holds only $2k+ basses that will do the same.
Some people pay special attention to certain aspects of an instrument and don't care for others. Let's say someone is totally into electronics, but not so much into woods. This person could buy a cheap bass that was CNC milled in the far east and then proceed to drop in handwound PU's and a boutique preamp of choice. Manufacturers usually keep the quality of all the parts of an instrument on roughly the same level. So when you look for boutique pickups and electronics, you will most likely find them embedded in luxury woods that cost extra.
This is mostly true for cheaper instruments and not so much for the $2k range, but still - compared to a Sadowsky, a Fender is still cheap.
I can understand the reasoning behind all this. I myself only modded one bass in my life (apart from small cosmetic changes that don't really count), which was my first. It was a cheap J copy with a good neck but terrible pickups. I dropped a DiMarzio in there that would not resort to feedback as soon as my foot touched the fuzz pedal. That was a major improvement, and that was the last cheap bass I ever bought. All other instruments that found their way past my doorstep were of higher quality with better components and work well for me just the way they are.
1. One wants a bass with certain specs. One way to achieve this is going to a luthier and having it made. Another is buying something that is already out there and nearly matches the specs - and replace the parts that are wrong.
2. One is 99% happy with a particular bass, but this one thing is bothersome. It's a lot easier to mod that last percent than to start all over again
3.Cash. Maybe a $400 bass plus $400 in mods yields an instrument that fulfills the desires of the player, while the market holds only $2k+ basses that will do the same.
Some people pay special attention to certain aspects of an instrument and don't care for others. Let's say someone is totally into electronics, but not so much into woods. This person could buy a cheap bass that was CNC milled in the far east and then proceed to drop in handwound PU's and a boutique preamp of choice. Manufacturers usually keep the quality of all the parts of an instrument on roughly the same level. So when you look for boutique pickups and electronics, you will most likely find them embedded in luxury woods that cost extra.
This is mostly true for cheaper instruments and not so much for the $2k range, but still - compared to a Sadowsky, a Fender is still cheap.
I can understand the reasoning behind all this. I myself only modded one bass in my life (apart from small cosmetic changes that don't really count), which was my first. It was a cheap J copy with a good neck but terrible pickups. I dropped a DiMarzio in there that would not resort to feedback as soon as my foot touched the fuzz pedal. That was a major improvement, and that was the last cheap bass I ever bought. All other instruments that found their way past my doorstep were of higher quality with better components and work well for me just the way they are.
It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent's fritters
Same reason people spend $40-50k on a vehicle and change the wheels and exhaust. To make it theirs. I have 2 American Deluxe jazzes. I hated the pickups and preamps that they came with. I prefer 60’s voiced singles and 4 band preamps. So that’s what I put in them.
Not cool to call someone a name because you dont agree with them. Treat people as you would wish to be treated and the world would be a better place.
It's like buying a suit. You can buy an off the rack-suit and tailor it to your needs, or buy a bespoke suit which costs three times as much. It depends on your needs and your finances.
Short answers: Because I can, Because I want to. One size does not fit all.
Long answer:
I agree with others in the fact that it shouldn't be of any concern what a person does to their own instrument, but it's no secret that things like hardware (pots, jack, bridge, tuners, pups) are usually the most common areas where less than ideal, "close enough" costs cuts & choices are made at the manufacturing level.
Upgrading for tone preferences or gigging reliability are a very common thing. And yes, I am a rebel-type who adjusts my car seat and mirrors to my specific personal needs and adds salt & pepper to my food just for kicks. And if I'm feeling particularly crazy, I'll thrown on a set of straplocks or maybe a better looking pickguard.
Long answer:
I agree with others in the fact that it shouldn't be of any concern what a person does to their own instrument, but it's no secret that things like hardware (pots, jack, bridge, tuners, pups) are usually the most common areas where less than ideal, "close enough" costs cuts & choices are made at the manufacturing level.
Upgrading for tone preferences or gigging reliability are a very common thing. And yes, I am a rebel-type who adjusts my car seat and mirrors to my specific personal needs and adds salt & pepper to my food just for kicks. And if I'm feeling particularly crazy, I'll thrown on a set of straplocks or maybe a better looking pickguard.
Last edited:
- Aug 21, 2003
- 11,588
- 18,607
- Disclosures
- A-Designs Mike Lull GK Tsunami Cables GHS Strings RMI Basswitch Nordstrand Pickups Darkglass
The dark spirits that reside in my basement tell me too...
Fender is as about as modular as you get. It's one of the great strengths of the brand. One of the great reasons to get a Fender is that it's simple to change the bits you want to. If I had an elite Jazz, I'd drop in a Sadowsky pre-amp. Why? Because I like compound necks, I like 21 frets and I don't like three band boost/cut preamps. And I love Sadowsky preamps - I run all my passive basses through one. That's why.
I mod not just basses, but dang near everything I own.
No explanation needed.
My friend's son told me he didn't like it when people bend the brim of their baseball caps. I I told him I bet if they all knew that they would stop doing it right away.
No explanation needed.
My friend's son told me he didn't like it when people bend the brim of their baseball caps. I I told him I bet if they all knew that they would stop doing it right away.
I have an 83 Japanese Squier P bass that was routed to add a jazz pickup and converted to active electronics. Many would say modding a vintage instrument is blasphemy. Well I'm running vintage EMG's now and my 'ruined' or 'converted' (depending on your point of view) p/j bass has become my #1 instrument. Over the last few months I've grown to realize that I love vintage EMG's/active electronics and early Japanese Squier's. None of this information would have been available without trying something new/different. So yeah, modding is fun and informative.
For the same reason i like MIM J basses.
If i take the same money you spent on your American elite 5 and buy a new MIM and mod it to my hearts content, i’ll have enough cash left to buy a good amp and still have cash left over. I wind up with a little hot rod of a bass and an amp, and cash in my pocket.
If you buy the elite and mod it, you’ve still got less in it than you would buying a custom built bass.
So one answer to your question is money, people buy bases and mod them to spend less money and still have exactly what they want.
MIM basses are more than adequate for me and the cost allows me to tinker and still not have a lot tied up in them, so there is no justification for me to spend more money.
I don’t know if Joe Dart plays a stock MIM J or if it’s modded, same with Esperanza Spalding, i’ve seen her live once and many more times in live recordings when she was playing an MIM J that could have been modded, or not. These are just two examples of very acomplished players using entry level priced basses and delivering virtuoso performances. Even if those basses are highly modded they still cost less than a 2K + bass and if those folks needed a bass costing north of 2K to deliver the goods they’d surely have one, so beginners are not the only people who don’t spend a lot of money for a bass when a less expensive bass will more than get the job done.
Strictly one guys opinion but my basses are tools, no different than the hammers i have in my shop. I don’t own a single Snap On hammer because all my Mac and Craftsman hammers more than get the job done and cost less.
Just one more reason i love living in a free society, i can have a bass that fills my every need for much less than a grand, or i can spend 10K (or more) on a bass for no other reason than i want to.
I don't get it but I like it.
Although it's not a $2K bass, I bought a MIM Precision and slapped some EMG GZR's in it. Why? Because it was an awesome thing to do. I'm thinking of doing a major mod to my 4003 too. Why? Because I believe it will be awesome. And totally reversible, if not. Why in the world do people care so much about other people's choices/preferences?
I'd never customize a bass I bought, but I'm weird that way. I had a custom bass made because I wanted a bass with a number of specs I couldn't get in other basses. I also have a Fender Elite Jazz, and I love her for who she is. I'll never ask her to go under the knife for any reason.
Yes you have.
Also, the light in your refrigerator has burned out, and you're overdue for an oil change.
