djjackherer Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I am thinking of spending a few quid on my bass to upgrade it, the volume pot has had it really as it will only play on full volume and I thought about upgrading the pick ups. I have an Encore LTD 83 and to be honest its a lovely bass for me feel wise so rather than sell and buying a different bass I would rather just upgrade. I dont know much about upgrading so what and where to buy advice would really help me. ( ithink I can handle soldering however) Cheers for any help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) As long as you go into it with your eyes open to the fact that whatever you spend on it, in terms of [s]retail[/s] resale its still just an Encore LTD 83. In the same way that if you buy a Vauxhall Corsa, cover it in superglue and ram-raid halfords in it... underneath the spoilers, drain pipe exhaust etc. it is just a Vauxhall Corsa (and probably worth less than if you left it alone. You can spend a huge amount of money upgrading without really benefitting the instrument so be warned! Next step, if you don't care about resale because you like the bass and want to keep it, is to work out what you want from it... If you like the way it plays then I would maybe look at the way it sounds. If you like the way it sounds then you can address the way it looks. The best upgrade you can possibly do to start with is setting the bass up correctly and getting it playing just how you want. If you can't do tis, spend the money on a good luthier to do it for you! Usual places to upgrade are: Pickups - changes the tone dramatically so do your research and work out what you want... you can spend a fortune on pickups! Active electronics - loads of aftermarket preamps are available if you want to go active - again can change the sound dramatically or not much. Hardware: Bridge - a better bridge will usually help you get more sustain and set up the intonation easier Tuners - help the bass stay in tune if your current ones aren't great Nut - a tusq or graphite nut will help the tone on open strings and if you file it down right you can get a really slinky low action making fretting the low notes easier. Scratchplate - depending on the design you can probably get a nice scratchplate to change the look of your bass - has no effect on the sound. Theres so many sources of bits though that its better to look around and see what you want to achieve first. Edited March 21, 2012 by brensabre79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Re the pots query - CTS or Alpha are good makes. Fender use CTS in their instruments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1332334632' post='1586768'] As long as you go into it with your eyes open to the fact that whatever you spend on it, in terms of [s]retail[/s] resale its still just an Encore LTD 83. In the same way that if you buy a Vauxhall Corsa, cover it in superglue and ram-raid halfords in it... underneath the spoilers, drain pipe exhaust etc. it is just a Vauxhall Corsa (and probably worth less than if you left it alone. You can spend a huge amount of money upgrading without really benefitting the instrument so be warned! Next step, if you don't care about resale because you like the bass and want to keep it, is to work out what you want from it... If you like the way it plays then I would maybe look at the way it sounds. If you like the way it sounds then you can address the way it looks. The best upgrade you can possibly do to start with is setting the bass up correctly and getting it playing just how you want. If you can't do tis, spend the money on a good luthier to do it for you! Usual places to upgrade are: Pickups - changes the tone dramatically so do your research and work out what you want... you can spend a fortune on pickups! Active electronics - loads of aftermarket preamps are available if you want to go active - again can change the sound dramatically or not much. Hardware: Bridge - a better bridge will usually help you get more sustain and set up the intonation easier Tuners - help the bass stay in tune if your current ones aren't great Nut - a tusq or graphite nut will help the tone on open strings and if you file it down right you can get a really slinky low action making fretting the low notes easier. Scratchplate - depending on the design you can probably get a nice scratchplate to change the look of your bass - has no effect on the sound. Theres so many sources of bits though that its better to look around and see what you want to achieve first. [/quote] Just to add... Strings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djjackherer Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 This is where my knowledge hits a block. I looked at CTS pots on ebay and they were 250k - 500k etc Do i need different K's for volume etc or just see whats in there and follow suit. The bass is set to my liking, strings are quite low and easy for me to play. As I am quite new to all this maybe I just need a new pot and a decent set of strings ??? I am learning all types of music from reggae to punk so to pigeon hole myself at this stage is mad and maybe changing pickups untill i find my self is a bit too early, any recommendatins on strings I was thinking DR Low Riders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djjackherer Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 any ideas ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 DR Strings are extremely good. There was a thread on here recently about some duff ones doing the rounds though. I've got the Highbeams on a couple of my basses and really like them. Got to agree with earlier posts, a good set up and decent strings is a good starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightSix Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Are you any good with a soldering iron...? You can get a re-wiring kit for a Precision-style bass which replaces all the wiring and includes a pair of CTS pots (volume and tone) and a nice orange-drop capacitor - for around £15. Then put a new set of strings on - try some Nickel strings if you want to keep the cost down - should be around £10-15. I would do this first - it may be all you need. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='djjackherer' timestamp='1332335402' post='1586801'] I looked at CTS pots on ebay and they were 250k - 500k etc Do i need different K's for volume etc or just see whats in there and follow suit. [/quote] standard p-bass wiring uses 2 x 250k audio taper pots iirc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightSix Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140426888303?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140426888303?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649[/url] My mistake - they are Alpha pots not CTS. Still an excellent deal I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djjackherer Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Thanks for this help, there were some DR strings on evil bay for 18.99, seems cheap or is this normal?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Just out of interest, what type of music do you like to play and what sort of sound would you like to hear from your bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djjackherer Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 as im still learning I play allsorts really, I seem to be playing a lot of reggae riffs but really I want to be playing funk, its just my experience holding me back at the moment as my fingers cant move quick enough. I use the amp to set the tone rather than the bass it self Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Hmm... difficult then really. After a jack of all trades then. As far as pickups go I'd give Wizard a phonecall and I'm sure they'd be able to recommend a pickup to suit. You need something with a very large tonal range for what you have described Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djjackherer Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 I might just keep the pick ups on there just change the strings and pots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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