• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Your own personal Bass ideas.

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?
This thought has crossed my mind. However with two 1/4" TS jacks you can use any instrument cables you have sitting around instead of having to rely on on a TRS and a breakout box. But you can see one end of a dedicated loom I made for my dual-output basses, which keeps things tidy. Also, if you only plug into the neck output, you get both pickups, but plugging into the bridge output separates the pickups to their own respective jacks. :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: J Posega
This thought has crossed my mind. However with two 1/4" TS jacks you can use any instrument cables you have sitting around instead of having to rely on on a TRS and a breakout box. But you can see one end of a dedicated loom I made for my dual-output basses, which keeps things tidy. Also, if you only plug into the neck output, you get both pickups, but plugging into the bridge output separates the pickups to their own respective jacks. :thumbsup:
All great points. Very cool.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jefus
Many years ago , I took two EBO basses and defretted one and replaced pickups with rail humbuckers and the other with two Fender Lace Jazz Pickups in the bridge position. Replaced tuners with small Gotoh Fender style tuners and dome knobs .The guy I built them for was very happy with finished product ........Hope he is still happy , considering both of those basses in original condition would sell for $2000.00 today .
 
  • Like
Reactions: CaribooBass
A very minor "mod" for balance and easier reach. This is a total parts bass, so "mod" may not be the right term.:bassist:

Strap Button Extender and Rotary Switch.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: CaribooBass
You can mod a bass with all sorts of things these days. From pickups to pick guards there are endless ideas on what you want to do.

But isn’t this just parts replacement?

I saw a video the other day, that I wish I could find again where the makers of the bass drilled a hole in the top of the body to project more sound to the player.

So this brings me to my question; have you done a modification to your bass so you can play it better?

A body mod because you have big hands? Or even smaller hands.

An extra strap lock to help with balance or keep a more stable position for you bounce around a lot on stage?

These are the personal mods I have seen in person. Can you show us yours ?

Thanks
Clayton

Hello, Clayton. My best mod was putting a J neck on my P bass. Say hello to your puppy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: CaribooBass
Nothing I have can top my first bass. DE fretted and added the equivalent of 30 fret fretless board. Piezo under the fretboard and under the bridge. piezo buffer, filter preamp separate 2 band preamp. Years later I replaced the P with a quadcoil and added switches to utilize coil tapping + parallel series -- including routing only 2 coils to the filter preamp only. Unfortunately the neck cracked the second time and I hardly use it
 
I had a thumbrest on a P bass once because there wasn't enough space for my thumb on the pickup. I eventually got rid of it and that bass became pick only. That bass also has a fake knob because I wanted a side input jack rather than a front input jack and that filled the hole.
 
This photo does not show the gold very well. Late model 50's P/Tele body with all gold hardware. The control plate, strings, pick guard screws and string guide are gold as well but somehow don't look like it. Infact the strings are 24 carat gold plated.

I took a chance on the $60 Chinese fretless maple/maple neck. Its amazingly straight and very playable. Except that the side dots were in the place of a fretted neck. I painted over them and added my own stick on dots.
20231103_173535.jpg
 
I admit that I'm a modding maniac and even mod my straps with sheepskin to make them more comfy. Plus the usual pickups, wiring, bridges, necks, etc, most of which can be just considered as parts replacement. One of my favorite "functional" mods is fingerboard scalloping. I love flying around the fingerboard without contacting any wood.
Here's a couple 4 strings with scalloped fingerboards:
Scallop1.jpg

And a scalloped Yamaha BB605 and homemade 6 string:
Scallop2.jpg

And here's something a little different, but sticking with the modded fingerboard theme - Yamaha fretless 4 string with stainless steel fingerboard.

YamahaFretless_210109_001.JPG
 
Of course! This was one of my builds a couple years ago.
I like the general Ric shape, but hated the hard edges, so I built a walnut body with a layer of white (holly) wood to simulate binding. I like Precision pickups, but I like them better "reversed", D&G half forward. I like the slim five-piece Ibanez necks. I like two simple passive, smooth controls, Bournes 500K pots. I like straplocks, but I like them better "recessed" like these. I put the jackplate over the pickguard, but the screws mount solidly into wood, as I think the jacks mounted into just the plastic (like a Pbass) is a breakage point.
So this is a conglomeration of ideas that I like, but obviously couldn't buy in any one package.
Ric-ishWalnut.jpg
 
I have a Dean Edge single soapbar bass. I replaced the clunky black metal knobs with epiphone speed knobs. Then I replaced the jack with one I found online, it no longer breaks up the signal. I replaced the soapbar pickup, which was a actually terrible quality ceramic guitar humbucker, with a custom made KSV triplebucker. It's a split coil (humbucking) alnico V jazz pickup wired in series with an rail pickup with a ceramic magnet in the middle. I use this humbucker in series, single (favoring the jazz pickup) and parallel. In series it sounds like an Aria SB pickup, in single mode it sounds like the middle ground between a Rick and a Jazz bass (with the right amp settings I can make it sound IDENTICAL to either), and in parallel it has a really weird sound kind of like an out-of-phase music man with low output.
It's one hell of a bass guitar, I would recommend it to anyone who likes the 1980's bodies with really thin necks. Swap out the electronics and you've got a really nice instrument.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CaribooBass
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.

View attachment 5239417
I love this, I’m considering building one, but using a p pickup in a MM shape housing. I think that would look more pleasing.
 
On all of the RondoMusic Hadean violin style bass ukes, I've had Eric's Guitar Repair Shop replace the partially adjustable floating wood bridge (with a hit-and-miss ceramic saddle piezo pickup assembly), with an all metal fully adjustable bridge that has a piezo pickup in each saddle, for which he also makes a riser so the bridge sits high enough. He also ads an on/off slide switch so I can leave plugged in my wireless pod during breaks. I also have Pat Wilkins Finishes paint each bass to make them different from each other.

Bass Collection 8.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: LowWay
I love having dual outputs, one for each pickup, on my 8-strings. But sometimes you don't want to irreversibly modify a nice bass, so you get a little creative...

View attachment 5239207

I was thinking about a dual output for trying an external filter based preamp with one pre per pickup. This seems like a possible solution.