Is your bass "upgraded"?

[Paul S]

I'm an inveterate fiddler and love experimenting with various bits to see what happens. I only have a couple of basses that are, and will remain, stock

[lojo]

My p bass used to be an original 62 , but I upgraded it all with superior products made 30 years later, it's now a 62ri, can I sell it for £6k

[4 Strings]

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1367157995' post='2061872']
My p bass used to be an original 62 , but I upgraded it all with superior products made 30 years later, it's now a 62ri, can I sell it for £6k
[/quote]

Probably not, but at least you have something useful rather than what some would regard as a museum piece stuck in your wardrobe, relegated to 'possession'.

The 'some' would regard that as rather detrimental to a bass that was so old, and they probably have a case, but what if it was a 2002, or even 2012 that you had modified to be as you want it?

When Entwistle put the extra jack socket in his rare slab Precision should we all throw our hands up in horror? When Jaco took the frets out of his Jazz was he really defaecating on sacred wood?

These are mass produced items of low cost materials being punched out by the tens of thousands every year.

[neepheid]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1367220072' post='2062590']
Probably not, but at least you have something useful rather than what some would regard as a museum piece stuck in your wardrobe, relegated to 'possession'.

The 'some' would regard that as rather detrimental to a bass that was so old, and they probably have a case, but what if it was a 2002, or even 2012 that you had modified to be as you want it?

When Entwistle put the extra jack socket in his rare slab Precision should we all throw our hands up in horror? When Jaco took the frets out of his Jazz was he really defaecating on sacred wood?

These are mass produced items of low cost materials being punched out by the tens of thousands every year.
[/quote]

While I'm not quite as zealous as that, I do find myself shaking my head and asking "why?" when I see some of the godawful mods that people have made to instruments in the past. There's an EB-4L for sale on here with a P pickup added near the bridge along with the necessary extra switchery. I'm already rescuing a Ripper so my funds are directed at that project currently, but it is my sincere hope that someone with some spare mahogany and the necessary skills rips out the extra stuff, plugs all the extra holes and then just enjoys the bass for what it is and was originally intended to be.

I reckon that these days there's so much choice out there of reasonably well constructed instruments that modifications that are not so easily reversed (i.e. that make extra holes in wood) are seldom needed. There will be a bass out there that does what you want it to without reaching for the router.

[BigRedX]

Most of the mods done to basses that we would now regard as "rare" or "collectable" or at least desirable were done in the days when the choice of instruments was just a tiny fraction of what is available now. Most of the time it was the only way that you could actually get the instrument you really wanted.

How long did it take Fender to actually start producing basses with a PJ pickup configuration? But it was a popular modification throughout the 70s and on and applied to what are now considered to be valuable instruments simply because that was all that was available at the time and the instruments being modified weren't considered to be anything special back then. I would guess at the time the mod might actually have made the instrument more valuable.

These days modifying instruments isn't as important as someone somewhere will be making exactly the right bass for you.

[Lynottfan]

One thing re "modded" bass that has always surprised me with Fender is that they( Fender) don't make a model with what must be one of the all time classic mods to a P bass, they don't have a Precision with a Jazz neck and an added Jazz pickup (all passive) with a top mounted jack socket in their range.

[4 Strings]

[quote name='Lynottfan' timestamp='1367313499' post='2063943']
One thing re "modded" bass that has always surprised me with Fender is that they( Fender) don't make a model with what must be one of the all time classic mods to a P bass, they don't have a Precision with a Jazz neck and an added Jazz pickup (all passive) with a top mounted jack socket in their range.
[/quote]

Bastards.

[stingrayPete1977]

My squier jazz has got Bartolini pickups, an ebs preamp, jack mounted in the body, Badass bridge, fender scratch plate, full size tuners and the fret ends/finger board rolled. Would that count as modded?

[WalMan]

My Wal was passive, then Pete added the Custom electrics

[Highfox]

3 out of the 4 Fender Bass's I own have had pick-up changes... 2 Japs and one Usa.

[LeftyJ]

Back when I mostly played guitar, I used to mod the hell out of my guitars. I tried various pickups, upgraded the electronics, installed graphite nuts, stringtrees and saddles, and often installed locking tuners. Oddly, on my basses, I don't have that tendency at all. The only bass I modded is my '75 Jazz Bass reissue. I installed a Badass II bridge, Hipshot tuners, a Hipshot X-tender on the E-string, a black pickguard instead of the original white one, and a cover over the neck pickup. Later on I've also tried an Audere preamp in it (with switchable pickup impedance) and played it a few times but at some point it just started gathering dust in my rack. I then had it changed back to passive, but with a rotary on/off-switch for a 6 dB active bass boost. And it absolutely rocks now, it is an awesome bass and gets played a lot :-)

[lojo]

What configuration of components is the top of upgrading, that couldn't to topped or upgraded

[4 Strings]

Jaydee pups, Jaydee body, Jaydee neck, Jaydee preamp, Jaydee bridge and anchors? Oh, and Newtone strings.