Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Show us your modified basses


Cat Burrito
 Share

Recommended Posts

Following on from the black basses, white basses, precisions etc etc etc I thought it might be fun to have a thread where we celebrate basses that were tweaked from stock so we could customise them to our tastes.

I'll kick things off with some purely cosmetic changes. My Squires have ashtray covers and one hole thumb rests in the vintage position. The blonde adds a Bass Doctor pickguard and both have flatwound strings now. I haven't changed the pickups etc as they both sound just great as they are.

[url="http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Tim_73/media/cd271a5d-b293-4002-ad4f-01c52fc49cf6_zps9ad84c73.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Tim_73/media/WestBerkshire-20140723-01138_zpsf3356cdf.jpg.html"][/url]


Over to you guys...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The heavily modified ones.

Squier VM jazz: Neck from my other VM, covered the original black inlays with aged mother of pearl inlay-stickers for a lighter and cleaner look, made a new pickguard, swapped the bridge with a Hipshot bridge, rewired to volume-balance-tone and put in two big Chi-Sonic single coils.


Westone Thunder I: Everything you can think of - I've done it to this one, Modified the crap out of it over the years, still a great bass!

I'm not going to bother with the the slightly modded ones here, that means I can place all my basses in this topic, if you really want to know more about those [url="http://home.online.nl/blablas/bass/collection/index.html"]click here[/url].

Edited by blablas
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of these have been posted before in various topics so tell me if you're getting bored :D

Ibanez entry-level GSR200 - was red:





Squier VM Jaguar Bass - was black:





Yamaha RBX270F Fretless, was metallic yucky green:




Can't remember what this one was - a cheap import that someone had modified to make fretless. Was basic sunburst:




I know they're not to everybody's taste, but I think they generally look more than the £150(ish) entry level basses they started out as!

Andy

Edited by Andyjr1515
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My battered Aria Pro II SB Elite.
Modifications started in the late 80s with the addition of a Hipshot D-tuner. Then came the Dimarzio Model One. Then the end of the fretboard was scalloped. Recently the original pickup died so I borrowed one from my Dean. Then I borrowed the Dean's preamp too...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andy, loving your work on those basses! Would love to get an exotic wood top on my MIM fender jazz, or anything looking more natural, but I understand that the paint and poly coating is so thick it would destroy the bass to remove it?

Anyhow, speak of the devil, I can't seem to attach the photo, but basically its an MIM Fender Jazz, ash tray over the neck pickup, black pickguard on a "midnight wine" body, chrome knobs instead of the plastic stock ones, Badass II bridge, Bartolini pickups, Fender straplocks, schaller lightweight tuners (don't like these, would prefer Fender style ones for the original look), handmade bone nut. It has had a black thumb rest but above the e string but i found this got in the way, might put it back below the g if i get bored enough one day. I'd love a maple neck on it, or even just m.o.p inlay stickers for now. The bartolini's and the badass bridge are the best mods, it has a really clear sound almost as good as on my old Warwick Streamer LX in the highs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi uk_lefty

Getting the paint and poly off is sometimes a challenge but most of the veneer jobs I've done for basses and guitars has been to take an existing finish, strip down and go from there. I've got an old thread here somewhere which goes through how I do it - I'll try to find it and post the link.

By the way I've just spotted your pm - I'll respond shortly :)

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='namefail' timestamp='1406445087' post='2511447']
Squier VM Jaguar Bass :wub:
[/quote]

Thanks :) . That's my own bass and was one of the early ones I did (the first attempt, by the way, was the Ibanez above it - eventually sold it to a neplalese buddhist who plays in a heavy metal band...admittedly, a limited market). Unfortunately I've never found any veneer quite like the one on the Jaguar since and I'm not exactly sure what the wood is. I keep looking, though...

Edited by Andyjr1515
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1406476281' post='2511755']
Hi uk_lefty

Getting the paint and poly off is sometimes a challenge but most of the veneer jobs I've done for basses and guitars has been to take an existing finish, strip down and go from there. I've got an old thread here somewhere which goes through how I do it - I'll try to find it and post the link.

By the way I've just spotted your pm - I'll respond shortly :)

Andy
[/quote]

This was one of the threads from this forum. I have some more detailed ones from another forum if anyone wants to see how it's done in a bit more detail.

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/224207-another-veneer-job-yam-rbx270-fretless/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1407435734' post='2520572']
I love this and want the same done to my RBX270F!
[/quote]

Thanks dannybouy ! Well, for a mere king's ransom.... :)

Seriously, I'm pretty sure I've still got some of the same veneer. Drop me a PM if you want to explore the options...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of you probably won't like this, but anyway

I have always been a fan of a particular bass, and the original sold for $5000 3 months before I joined the internet, and I actually had the money to buy it back then as well !!!!

[font=Calibri][url="http://s169.photobucket.com/user/share6_album/media/5000.jpg.html"][/url][/font]

[font=Calibri]So roll forward a few years and I buy a brand new 2007 one, and it cost a LOT, and was too nice to turn into a replica, but then I found a 1994 USA Handmade, cheap, that someone had aready altered, it's the one on the left[/font]

[font=Calibri][url="http://s169.photobucket.com/user/share6_album/media/aht.jpg.html"][/url][/font]

[font=Calibri]I had inlays cut for me, got Grover Titans and a Chrome Badass II for it, and I hand cut the 26 pieces of Brass and had them Chromed, Chris Eccleshall ballsed up the rest, inlays don't touch at the tips, headstock overlay is 2 pieces not one, and it is 2 different colour blacks![/font]
[font=Calibri][url="http://s169.photobucket.com/user/share6_album/media/P1010142.jpg.html"][/url][/font]

[font=Calibri][url="http://s169.photobucket.com/user/share6_album/media/753134685F45BD9B.jpg.html"][/url][/font]

[font=Calibri]The Finished article[/font]
[font=Calibri][url="http://s169.photobucket.com/user/share6_album/media/SV202766-2.jpg.html"][/url][/font]

Edited by Lorne
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Lorne' timestamp='1407747927' post='2523468']
Most of you probably won't like this, but anyway

I have always been a fan of a particular bass, and the original sold for $5000 3 months before I joined the internet, and I actually had the money to buy it back then as well !!!!



[font=Calibri]So roll forward a few years and I buy a brand new 2007 one, and it cost a LOT, and was too nice to turn into a replica, but then I found a 1994 USA Handmade, cheap, that someone had aready altered, it's the one on the left[/font]



[font=Calibri]I had inlays cut for me, got Grover Titans and a Chrome Badass II for it, and I hand cut the 16 pieces of Brass and had them Chromed, Chris Eccleshall ballsed up the rest, inlays don't touch at the tips, headstock overlay is 2 pieces not one, and it is 2 different colour blacks![/font]




[font=Calibri]The Finished article[/font]

[/quote]

Stunning!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1407705811' post='2523265']
Whoa. These basses are 'reskinned' then? Amazing work. Do you sand the front off them and veneer them or what?
[/quote]

Hi and yes - all the above are standard entry-level or mid range basses with the finish taken off, veneered on the top and then re-varnished

Usually, the biggest challenge is getting the existing coating off in the first place! :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1407763799' post='2523698']
...and I can vouch for Andy's work having seen the Jazz in person last night. It looks better in the flesh (wood?) if that were possible.
[/quote]
Thanks, Chris! (And Chris meant Jag, not Jazz)
Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...