Modding Basic "cheapy" Models

[Jesus]

SX have this great reputation for being cheap to buy, easy to upgrade, and nice to play. Is this because they really are so great, or could you not buy a different brand of cheap bass like a Johnson, Aria, or ALBA and be able to mod that in the same way to produce a decent instrument?

[neepheid]

There's more chance of an SX, Squier or something at that price point being a solid piece of wood.

[Jesus]

[quote name='neepheid' post='348734' date='Dec 8 2008, 03:42 PM']There's more chance of an SX, Squier or something at that price point being a solid piece of wood.[/quote]

Solid as in a 1-piece body? How much difference does this make, arent Thunderbird bodies 3-piece?

[BOD2]

[quote name='Jesus' post='348757' date='Dec 8 2008, 03:58 PM']Solid as in a 1-piece body? How much difference does this make, arent Thunderbird bodies 3-piece?[/quote]


I think that's "solid" as in "not plywood"

Most bass bodies will be 3 or maybe 5 pieces glued together but it stands a better chance of being half-decent if these pieces are solid as opposed to plyood or MDF.

[Jesus]

[quote name='BOD2' post='348763' date='Dec 8 2008, 04:02 PM']I think that's "solid" as in "not plywood"

Most bass bodies will be 3 or maybe 5 pieces glued together but it stands a better chance of being half-decent if these pieces are solid as opposed to plyood or MDF.[/quote]


I get ya... So bearing in mind that the cheapy guitar in question is made from proper wood, like alder. Are there any other things that effect it or that make the SX a better bass to upgrade?

[Mr. Foxen]

I've used Johnson/Axl (same thing) bodies, they are solid wood, claim to be alder, I tihnk three pieces but I never stripped them. They are fine. The necks are chunky, which I like. You can get plywood Squier so thats not a great guide, Squier have been made all over the place at various times and at qildly different quality levels. Johnson copies come up on the bay for £50, when I've wanted to mod, thats what I've picked up.

[waynepunkdude]

I have to say though, the SX I have leaves my Fender dead in the water.

[warwickhunt]

The thing to consider when going down the route of modding (the voice of experience... from someone who doesn't always take notice of his own experience ) is that the costs of the mods do not/rarely increase the value of the original instrument; they may make it easier to sell but the price won't reflect the money spent. Added to which you have to consider what would you pay to just buy a better model of bass than pay to buy a cheapie and then add the cost of the mods?

e.g.

Cheapie bass + cost of mods = decent instrument; worth cost of original bass (minus depreciation... often high on low end basses) + small percentage of mods

'V'

Mid priced bass + NO mod costs = decent instrument; worth cost of original bass (minus depreciation... often not as high as on low end basses)

There are no hard and fast rules and you may well end up with a better instrument if you go the modding route [u]but[/u] 'You pays your money...'

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='348818' date='Dec 8 2008, 04:58 PM']The thing to consider when going down the route of modding (the voice of experience... from someone who doesn't always take notice of his own experience ) is that the costs of the mods do not/rarely increase the value of the original instrument; they may make it easier to sell but the price won't reflect the money spent. Added to which you have to consider what would you pay to just buy a better model of bass than pay to buy a cheapie and then add the cost of the mods?

e.g.

Cheapie bass + cost of mods = decent instrument; worth cost of original bass (minus depreciation... often high on low end basses) + small percentage of mods

'V'

Mid priced bass + NO mod costs = decent instrument; worth cost of original bass (minus depreciation... often not as high as on low end basses)

There are no hard and fast rules and you may well end up with a better instrument if you go the modding route [u]but[/u] 'You pays your money...' [/quote]

Value and worth are different things to resale price. I know I can't get nearly as much as I spent on it for my franken P bass, but I play it over basses that cost more than it did.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I agree with WH, but would add that modding can help to achieve specific ends that standard machines don't cater for.
A common example would be taking a passive bass and adding an active EQ- Fender Jazz and a J-Retro, for example.
On a more subtle level, Graphite necks, various bridges and a plethora of pick-ups all offer ways of not just "improving" an instrument, but tailoring it to the player's requirements.

Now I'm gassing for a Jazz with a Graphite L/hand neck, Badass Bridge, D-tuner and EMGs... Curses!

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='348833' date='Dec 8 2008, 05:09 PM']Value and worth are different things to resale price. I know I can't get nearly as much as I spent on it for my franken P bass, but I play it over basses that cost more than it did.[/quote]

I think we are agreeing on the same things.

However all things do have a monetary 'value' or 'worth' and what the owner of a modded instrument values their bass at isn't strictly always what a buyer thinks it is worth!

I do agree that sometimes a bass is worth far more than it's monetary value. What I was trying to point out to the OP was that IMHO you can often end up spending a lot of money on something that should it not turn out what you wanted then you'd probably find that you'd never recoup the money spent on said instrument, sometimes better to just find the instrument that you want that has already been modded or meets your needs as it is.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Yeah!

My 2p pre-supposes that
i) You know what you want
ii) You know how to achieve it
iii) You have the technical ability to modify the bass well enough to produce the desired result.

And yes, it's easy to blow a fortune barking up the wrong tree, as it were!

[Jesus]

So at the end of the day, if resale isnt an issue, and you wanted to buy a P-copy, and slowly upgrade the components as money became available then any of the solid wood copies will do the trick?

Im asking because im a lefty (tried learning right handed, and just found it very very hard), and ive sold on my right handed bass and im in the market for a new one at around £150-200. But the options are few and far between. But i have noticed Johnsons, Aria's, and some other very cheap bass's knocking about for under £100, and would be interested if i knew they are just as good a starting point as the much loved SX's.

It'll cost me about £135 to get an SX P-bass shipped to my house, not as cheap as the exchange rate used to make it, and no warranty.

[The Burpster]

[quote name='Jesus' post='348870' date='Dec 8 2008, 05:49 PM']Im asking because im a lefty (tried learning right handed, and just found it very very hard), and ive sold on my right handed bass and im in the market for a new one at around £150-200. But the options are few and far between. But i have noticed Johnsons, Aria's, and some other very cheap bass's knocking about for under £100, and would be interested if i knew they are just as good a starting point as the much loved SX's.[/quote]

To give as straight forward answer as I can (bear in mind I only have 1 bass out of 6 that is 'as it came from the factory') is yes and no to your question...

So yes its a good starting point, but is it better or worse than the others you mention? No.

With entry level basses you will get budget wood and budget components. As you get up to mid range you wil get good quality wood or components but rarely both (but you can be lucky) and then further up the foodchain you eliminate the doubt by paying more.

So you COULD get an absolutely cracking body and neck with your SX or it could be average, and any amount of pimping will just give you a pimped average instrument. My suggestion is get a better bass 2ndhand and one with nice wood components of neck and body. Live with it for a little while and you will know exactly what direction you want and need to upgrade.

My first pimp job was an RBX Yam. It made it a very playable instrument but it still had a sloppy neck pocket and the body was similar to Balsa......

On the other extreme the Highway 1 Fender P bass I did recently, was as good as any US P that would cost twice as much to buy (ask Voxpop) and was EXACTLY what I wanted (and as it seems to do as he wishes too)....

So I guess the advice I would offer is get as good a starting block as you can and work with it rather than decide what you want to do to it before you get it.....

If that makes sense......

[Mr. Foxen]

I bought my Johnson off htis guy, bunch of the stuff he claims about the pickups is not true, but message him and see if he has a fretted one, he was cool to deal with: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JOHNSON-JAZZ-BASS-LEFT-HAND-FRETLESS-IN-ABS-HARD-CASE_W0QQitemZ350131845901QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item350131845901&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JOHNSON-JAZZ-BASS-LE...%3A1|240%3A1318[/url]

[Jesus]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='348906' date='Dec 8 2008, 06:28 PM']I bought my Johnson off htis guy, bunch of the stuff he claims about the pickups is not true, but message him and see if he has a fretted one, he was cool to deal with: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JOHNSON-JAZZ-BASS-LEFT-HAND-FRETLESS-IN-ABS-HARD-CASE_W0QQitemZ350131845901QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item350131845901&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JOHNSON-JAZZ-BASS-LE...%3A1|240%3A1318[/url][/quote]

Its funny you mention this guy as i had already sent him a message. He has no left hander fretted Jazz's, a couple of P's though.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='Jesus' post='348933' date='Dec 8 2008, 07:04 PM']Its funny you mention this guy as i had already sent him a message. He has no left hander fretted Jazz's, a couple of P's though.[/quote]

If you fancy a reverse headstock Jazz, I have a Johnson fretted neck sat around, kinda have plans for it, but could do with some pennies, I will send it to you for £30, with tuners on. You'll need to replace the nut. Its very chunky though, might be better off with another neck entirely if you fancy a different profile, and that kinda kills the idea.

Edit for reverse headstock pic:

Edited December 8, 2008 by Mr. Foxen

[Jesus]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='349100' date='Dec 8 2008, 09:33 PM']If you fancy a reverse headstock Jazz, I have a Johnson fretted neck sat around, kinda have plans for it, but could do with some pennies, I will send it to you for £30, with tuners on. You'll need to replace the nut. Its very chunky though, might be better off with another neck entirely if you fancy a different profile, and that kinda kills the idea.[/quote]


It would be cool to do, but my rookie status in the bass world means ive got a year or so to go before i start attaching new necks to things. Thanks though.

[BOD2]

[quote name='Jesus' post='349195' date='Dec 8 2008, 10:58 PM']It would be cool to do, but my rookie status in the bass world means ive got a year or so to go before i start attaching new necks to things. Thanks though.[/quote]

You'd be surprised at how easy it is to change a neck (4 screws - that's all there is to it). And you have the whole of basschat to turn to if you need to ask any questions....

[Jesus]

[quote name='BOD2' post='349198' date='Dec 8 2008, 11:07 PM']You'd be surprised at how easy it is to change a neck (4 screws - that's all there is to it). And you have the whole of basschat to turn to if you need to ask any questions....[/quote]


Its still a little more than i wanted from my pick up and play bass. Cheers tho guys. Im still not sure what to do. Brand new left handers in my price range are basically all the low-end stuff, and second hand are few and far between.

[The Burpster]

[quote name='Jesus' post='349478' date='Dec 9 2008, 10:53 AM']Brand new left handers in my price range are basically all the low-end stuff, and second hand are few and far between.[/quote]


Not sure I agree with that.... You do a lot worse than one of these, and they are VERY playable as standard.....

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_rockbass_streamer_std_4_bs_lh.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_rockbass_...std_4_bs_lh.htm[/url]

[Jesus]

[quote name='The Burpster' post='349527' date='Dec 9 2008, 11:19 AM']Not sure I agree with that.... You do a lot worse than one of these, and they are VERY playable as standard.....

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_rockbass_streamer_std_4_bs_lh.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_rockbass_...std_4_bs_lh.htm[/url][/quote]


I would love a Rockbass Streamer, but they are £20-30 more than i can afford to spend for a while now.

I think i'm going to to take the plunge and get an Aria P-bass for £109.99 unless someone has anything to say on why i shouldnt?

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='The Burpster' post='349527' date='Dec 9 2008, 11:19 AM']Not sure I agree with that.... You do a lot worse than one of these, and they are VERY playable as standard.....

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_rockbass_streamer_std_4_bs_lh.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_rockbass_...std_4_bs_lh.htm[/url][/quote]


Bloody hell I don't like Warwicks but that has to be worth the money.

[neepheid]

[quote name='Jesus' post='349773' date='Dec 9 2008, 03:09 PM']I would love a Rockbass Streamer, but they are £20-30 more than i can afford to spend for a while now.

I think i'm going to to take the plunge and get an Aria P-bass for £109.99 unless someone has anything to say on why i shouldnt?[/quote]

£20-£30? That's a typical spend that down the pub on a Fri/Sat night! At the risk of making an assumption about your lifestyle - stay in for a couple of weekends then get the Streamer?

[The Burpster]

[quote name='neepheid' post='349840' date='Dec 9 2008, 04:08 PM']£20-£30? That's a typical spend that down the pub on a Fri/Sat night! At the risk of making an assumption about your lifestyle - stay in for a couple of weekends then get the Streamer?[/quote]





Or request Santa brings you £30 ..... Trust me its a [u][b]whole lot better[/b][/u] that what your looking at!