I was given this bass - what upgrades would you do?

[Perry]

I was given this Westfield Bass broken. I've fixed and it works fine.

I love the true P bass sound or a similar Thick chunky thud of a bass.

What would you change?

The bass doesn't stand me in for a penny and at the end of the days it's a cheap bass so it aint gonna sound great.

We all love pics so here she is.

[jon_kemo]

I also have one of these bought cheaply, albeit in Bright Pink! Stock it does actually sound very good especially for the price although didnt quite have enough low end so I decided on a pickup upgrade. A word of warning on replacing the pickup is that the stock pickups seem to be wider than standard replacements such as the Seymour Duncan I wanted to drop in so you may need to drill some different holes in order to do this. Also this may cause problems with the pickguard fitting as I found. Bridge can easily be replaced with the usual suspects, e.g. Gotoh, Badass etc. All in all though a very playable bass for not alot of money!

[bremen]

[quote name='Perry' post='152413' date='Mar 6 2008, 02:56 PM']I was given this Westfield Bass broken. I've fixed and it works fine.

I love the true P bass sound or a similar Thick chunky thud of a bass.

What would you change?

The bass doesn't stand me in for a penny and at the end of the days it's a cheap bass so it aint gonna sound great.

l[/quote]

Nice work! That must be really satisfying.

It might sound great, you never know. Try a new pickup, they're easy to fit and if it doesn't turn it into a great bass you can always take it out and put it in the next one. I like Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders. Others hate them.

[clauster]

Or a Wizard Thumper, great thudding pbass tone and none too expensive.

If that works as an improvement, usual suspects for bridge and tuners.

The body looks like a nice piece of wood, so could make a nice bass after all.

[acidbass]

Well you could probably upgrade any part of the bass that you wished (including body and neck if necessary), but recently I was in the same situation as you with a cheap Jazz Bass and I changed (or am in the process of changing) the following:

- Pickups (Wizards)
- Electrics (new passive circuit from basspartsresource)
- Bridge (BadAss II)
- Tuners (Hipshot Ultralites)
- Nut (plastic to brass)
- Thumbrest (added)
- Added Straplocks
- Neckplate
- Pickguard (from white to tort - purely cosmetic)

I thought the body and neck were fine when I got it, I gave both a good going over with steel wool though and polished them up nicely before taking it out to gigs though.

Actually...I may well compile a thread detailing my upgrades, watch this space

[artisan]

it would be a real shame to accidently stick a Fen*er logo on the headstock

[The Burpster]

Looks nice enough wood to pimp like mine.....!

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4324&hl=teaser"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4324&hl=teaser[/url]

[Tait]

personally, I'd put a BADASS II on, either seymour duncan quarter pounders or EMGs, a black pickguard (but tort would look good, too) and put a fender logo on.

EDIT: acidbass, just read your suggestion for a thumbrest. that wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Edited March 8, 2008 by lwtait

[Gazm]

Don't understand the suggestion for putting a Fender logo on? It's not a Fender!
How does it currently play and sound?

[karlbbb]

I used one of the Westfield P-Bass copies on my bands first demo, and while you could tell it was a cheap bass, it wasn't actually [i]that[/i] bad!

[Perry]

[quote name='lwtait' post='153578' date='Mar 8 2008, 01:00 PM']personally, I'd put a BADASS II on, either seymour duncan quarter pounders or EMGs, a black pickguard (but tort would look good, too) and put a fender logo on.

EDIT: acidbass, just read your suggestion for a thumbrest. that wouldn't be a bad idea either.[/quote]

How much would that cost?

[OldGit]

To minimise outlay for maximum effect, I'd suggest changing things in this order, assessing as you go ...

Strings,
Gotoh 203 bridge (very much like the new US fender bridge) £20
Nut: Corian, Brass or bone probably about £25 fitted by a luthier.

I'd keep everything else unless it sounds bad and then go for

PUP (thumper's seem to be very popular)
Pots/capacitor/wiring/jack

Couple of grolsh strap locks instead of schallers, plate change is up to you, Fender logo? well on that a spoof logo would be fun (see the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=248"]Misceleneous parts and stuff suppliers list[/url]

[Perry]

I won this on eBay today. I will use the good bits and ditch the rest.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290210387811&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=019"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...N:IT&ih=019[/url]

Also put a set of flatwounds and nut. Maybe change the bridge depending on costs.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Perry' post='154151' date='Mar 9 2008, 08:14 PM']I won this on eBay today. I will use the good bits and ditch the rest.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290210387811&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=019"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...N:IT&ih=019[/url]

Also put a set of flatwounds and nut. Maybe change the bridge depending on costs.[/quote]

Oh good score ...
Looks like it's sorteh then

[Jono Bolton]

Well done! From the P I'd take the pickup, the scratchplate and the wiring (purely for convenience). Thumbrest too. I would've preferred a tortoise shell scratchplate but black'll look cool too. I know a few folk have suggested a Fender logo for the headstock but I'd be inclined to go the opposite way and just have it totally blank, they look [i]much[/i] cooler!
A few months ago I saw Kill Kenada supporting Reuben and KK's bassist/singer had a pink Westfield, and had the elepahant ear buttons removed from the A, D and G string machineheads. Presumably all he had to do was go between standard and drop D but that must make changing strings a bastard!

[Jono Bolton]

Pickup and bridge covers too! It'd go great with the thumb rest! You should put this in the Build Diaries section when it's finished, I'd be interested to see how it looks when you're done.

[Tait]

[quote name='Perry' post='153836' date='Mar 9 2008, 10:54 AM']How much would that cost?[/quote]

not too much, thats pretty much what i did with my squier, tbh. i cant really remember, but i think it was less than £100.

has anyone said ashtrays yet, i cant see anything about them? they look cool but get in the way...

[Freuds_Cat]

If you want more (heaps) sustain and tops try a Badass 3 bridge. They are more the footprint of a standard Fender plate rather than the Badass 2 which isn't as asthetically pleasing. Just my opinion. The 203 Gotoh sound like a nice compromise between a Badass and a standard plate. I'm thinking of trying one on my SX on OldGits recommendation.

[Beedster]

[quote name='Perry' post='154151' date='Mar 9 2008, 08:14 PM']I won this on eBay today. I will use the good bits and ditch the rest.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290210387811&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=019"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...N:IT&ih=019[/url]

Also put a set of flatwounds and nut. Maybe change the bridge depending on costs.[/quote]

I won that body on ebay a few months back also . Hope you have more luck with the seller than I did. I got my money back so I didn't leave negative feedback, which on reflection I should have done. I won at a far lower price and I think he simply wasn't prepared to honour the transaction.
Good luck with that bass
Chris

[bnt]

That looks like a rosewood fingerboard... have you considered Doing a Jaco on it? I hear the frets come out more easily if you heat them up with a soldering iron, and 2-part clear epoxy is inexpensive these days.

[simon1964]

+1 on the suggestions for a Badass. They really do make a big difference on a P.

And I would stick some EMGs in there (I'm not personally a fan of SD Quarterpounders).

And purely for cosmetic reasons, fit a tort or black guard.

[Tait]

[quote name='Freuds_Cat' post='155056' date='Mar 11 2008, 06:29 AM']If you want more (heaps) sustain and tops try a Badass 3 bridge. They are more the footprint of a standard Fender plate rather than the Badass 2 which isn't as asthetically pleasing. Just my opinion. The 203 Gotoh sound like a nice compromise between a Badass and a standard plate. I'm thinking of trying one on my SX on OldGits recommendation.[/quote]

i think the badass 2 looks much better than the 3, but i suppose its just an opinion. it also depends what look you're going for, if you want a vintage look about it a badass 2 isn't a great option, but on the other hand, if yo0u want it to look a bit more modern, the badass 2 looks great. for example, the badass 2 fits in with the whole black and chrome look of my p in my avatar, because its a chunk of chrome lol.

[OldGit]

Badass 2 on ebay right now
Item number: 370030740138

[Freuds_Cat]

[quote name='lwtait' post='155415' date='Mar 12 2008, 03:24 AM']If you want a vintage look about it a badass 2 isn't a great option, but on the other hand, if yo0u want it to look a bit more modern, the badass 2 looks great.[/quote]

Yep I agree.



simon1964: my favourite combo is combo is Badass with EMG Actives (Sustain and balance of tone plus no rf) but I recently bought an SX P bass (albeit with a Jazz pup in the rear). I'm gonna put a Brierley Vinatge P in it and do some experimenting for a more old school organic sound (damn it, now I sound like a hippie).

Edited March 11, 2008 by Freuds_Cat

[dmz]

You could hang on to the body you just got off e-bay and buy a fretless jazz or p-bass neck for it to snuggle up to.

Unlined maple fingerboard would be nice.........

I got a nice ash Jazz bass body from the people below - first saw them sell stuff on e-bay but then made enquiries via their website - good to deal with and prompt in their delivery across the pond. They do necks too a la Warmouth. The Jazz body fitted my Jap P-Bass neck like a glove......

[url="http://www.bhefnerco.com/bass.htm"]http://www.bhefnerco.com/bass.htm[/url]