Hows about turning a cheap Glarry "Bronco-Style" Bass into a 5 string? Done that 2x and it was lots-o-fun. Sold one back around Christmas time. My latest one (blue) doesn't seem to garner any interest though. Go figure.
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Your own personal Bass ideas.
- Thread starter CaribooBass
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Having a fretless P made with all my favorite things I've learned to love over the yrs. Zero fret, ultralight tuners, neck truss adjust, fingerboard extention, chambered body, Peavy style T40 pickup, Push pull volume (humbucker or single coil), push pull tone (2 different caps). Mahogany body, tortified maple neck with ebony fingerboard. Unpainted rustic look. You'll see it on a NBD post 
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.I have countless mods to my basses/guitars.
I have done Evertunes, refins and the first step in owning a BC Rich is to move the strap buttons.
They never put them in the right place.
I am getting more into making them, as I have joined the Texas Toast Alumni.
I have done Evertunes, refins and the first step in owning a BC Rich is to move the strap buttons.
They never put them in the right place.
I am getting more into making them, as I have joined the Texas Toast Alumni.
That sounds like a charging enhancement to a criminal offense.
--- some of my mods have been 'criminal'! 
I don't have any major structural ideas, what I think about here is more in terms of a signature bass or custom bass. And in that case, if I was designing a bass, it'd be something like this, which combines my favorite features of my favorite basses:
- Slightly undersized J-body, similar to Lull or Sadowsky. No pickguard, nice figured maple top. Cool transparent color like purple or deep turquoise.
- G&L M-series pickups and 3 band EQ, in stock G&L locations
- Coil taps for each pickup for single coil/humbucker
- 22 frets, 12" radius board, 1/4 sawn maple neck and board, satin finish
- Angled headstock, 3x2
- 18mm spacing
- 9lbs or less
The only bass I’ve modded was a mid 90’s MIM Jazz bass. I replaced the pickups with Fender 62s. Yes, it made it improved the sound of it. I have the recording to prove it. As for the other things you mention, if it doesn’t fit, I can’t adjust a simple setup to taste, or can’t acclimate, I wouldn’t buy it in the first place.
If you build the thing yourself, is it a mod?
Here's one of my basses. The least obvious "mod" is the electronics - that's not a stock circuit, or anything you're going to find in a bunch of wiring schematics. Actually, my avatar is a circuit I did for a client.
There's also a different shaped headstock (just for looks) , and if you look closely, a thumb rest - made from scratch. I play on or near the neck, so that covers the "near" positions.
Everything is chosen for minimal weight as well - that's a 7.4 pound 5 string bass. Not even my lightest...
Here's one of my basses. The least obvious "mod" is the electronics - that's not a stock circuit, or anything you're going to find in a bunch of wiring schematics. Actually, my avatar is a circuit I did for a client.
There's also a different shaped headstock (just for looks) , and if you look closely, a thumb rest - made from scratch. I play on or near the neck, so that covers the "near" positions.
Everything is chosen for minimal weight as well - that's a 7.4 pound 5 string bass. Not even my lightest...
I've modified a number of basses over the years. This BTB846V is the most extreme—fretless, headless, single PU. When my shop is back up and running some time next year, I'll be building something that integrates a number of preferences in a bass that is carry-on friendly.
I didn’t want to carry a MM and a P to each gig. Custom basses tend to have active electronics, which I don’t care for. And I’m a fan of switches for pickups instead of blends. Also, no need to chop down a rain forest just for a bass, so no exotic hardwood.
It took some time but was super happy with the results. It’s weird enough that if it ever was offered commercially I’d probably be the only buyer.
It took some time but was super happy with the results. It’s weird enough that if it ever was offered commercially I’d probably be the only buyer.
Honestly, that's pretty cool. I've thought about installing a Strat jack plate on the control cavity of a bass, but was a bit worried about the cable poking me in the gut.
Wouldn't it also be possible to use a TRS jack and cable to a splitter box on the floor or wherever, then two cables off of that?
I've got plenty of basses that have pretty much all been modded to some extent. All my basses with 4-inline headstocks get a 3-string retainer for the A, D, and G to fix the poor break angle on the A. I think that should be a standard feature across Fender-style basses.
And I've got this monstrosity still simmering, an 80s Superstrat body with a Harley Benton 30" scale neck to make the dumbest Bass VI in the world. It's getting 2 quad-rail humbuckers (think 2 Hot Rails smashed together to fit a humbucker rout) and 1 normal sized rail. It's also going to get 13 switches and 0 pots. I really need to get back to work on this, but the wiring and creating a pickguard/control panel are the next steps and those are going to be big challenges.
I liked this 60+ year old body and pickup so much I had a new neck made.
I got an Epiphone EBO on Reverb that already had a DiMarzio pup in it. It also came with the original pup included. I had the idea to relocate the Dimarzio to the middle position and use the original pup cover to ...uh... cover the original route. While I had everything apart I steel wool(ed) the finish on the body and the neck to a satin finish. The pup was too low(even with the adjustable pole pieces) so I put sprins on the mount screws to give it more height adjustment. Then I replaced the bridge with a Hipshot one. I changed the strap button locations to help with neck dive. Then I saw lowendlobster's video on making a budget Darkray and thought this bass would be a good candidate for an onboard distortion circuit, sort of a modern twist on the Varitone switch. I made a position indicator plate for it by drilling holes in a big washer I found and putting a chickenhead knob on it. Then I made another artsy fartsy washer for the output jack. Anyways.....
Ha! Easier question is what gear have I not modified...
It occurs to me that I might be a bit addicted to DIY, but I've learned a lot through all of this.
My main bass is a Dingwall Z2 that I modified into a Z3 by adding a neck pickup.
Then I removed the preamp and converted it to passive.
Since this picture I've replaced the Bartolini pickups with Nordstrand Big Blades:
My trusty old Squier Precision became a reverse-P, then a double reverse P.
It also got a high-mass bridge, truss rod access, and HipShot UltraLite tuners:
My main cabinet has had several cosmetic modifications.
Then I replaced one of the Eminence 3012HO with a 3012LF...
and modified the crossover and porting to accommodate that driver.
I've also built a pedalboard full of my own pedals (3 overdrives, a boost, and a delay).
I make most of my own cables too.
P-pickup + MusicMan is right down my alley!
The Dingwall pickup in my Z2 is a P-Tone, and I typically use the Nordstrand Big Blades together - like their BigMan MM-style pickup.
We'll have to agree to disagree on blends, though - my bass has two ungrounded blend pots to manage the three pickups:
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A combination of a G&L CLF Research L2K with a Wal MKII neck.
It is still in the concept phase, and I'm already having doubts on the body shape as it doesn't really match the 2-octave neck and headstock.
It is still in the concept phase, and I'm already having doubts on the body shape as it doesn't really match the 2-octave neck and headstock.
Yes!
It used to be a piece of wood, and you've turned it into something tasteful and beautiful (IMO).
Bass belt-completely saves the shoulder and allows perfect balance of any bass on a strap-can completely eliminate neck dive on any bass and puts 90% of bass weight on the hips.
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/a-bass-belt-can-save-your-shoulder.1098791/
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/a-bass-belt-can-save-your-shoulder.1098791/
Perhaps not quite the same as some of the amazing homemade projects shown above, but when I was 16 years old I heard Pearl Jam for the first time and Jeff Ament was playing a fretless 6. I think it was a short run Fender jazz, but I am not really sure. Anyway, I could not find anything like this (in my price range) at 16, so I ordered a customer monster with parts from Warmoth, All Parts, and Bartolini (and a string retainer courtesy of Roger Sadowsky). My dad and I worked on this together (so he helped with funding it).
Maple J Bass body, 5 piece maple / mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, custom Barts with a bart active tone control circuit. Right now strung with TI flats.
It is not perfect, and it is HEAVY... in hindsight I wish I had spent more time on the finish and had left the headstock natural, but live and learn.
Maple J Bass body, 5 piece maple / mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, custom Barts with a bart active tone control circuit. Right now strung with TI flats.
It is not perfect, and it is HEAVY... in hindsight I wish I had spent more time on the finish and had left the headstock natural, but live and learn.
