Upgrade = Downgrade

[Rayman]

It’s the word I probably hate more than any other when searching for a new bass……. “Upgraded”. The seller “upgraded” the tuners, pickups, bridge or whatever….. it’s a massive turn off to me, and usually turns me away from the sale. I want the bass to be as original as possible, so that I  can decide wether or not the bass needs any customisation to suit me, not the previous owner. 
 

Always keep the original parts, and put them back on when selling (imo). “Upgrades” hardly ever equal higher value instrument from the original stock bass, and you can re-sell those “better” (subjective) parts separately, and possibly for better gain.

 

Just my opinion, but I do like to see unaltered instruments (where possible) when I’m buying. 

[chris_b]

i agree. I don't want bass gear that has been altered in any way by an owner. I don't even like internal shots of amps.Why do that? Why take the amp casing apart?

[Reggaebass]

17 minutes ago, Rayman said:

Just my opinion, but I do like to see unaltered instruments (where possible) when I’m buying. 

Same here, just about anything I buy has to be all original, it’s just the way I prefer it too, some exceptions are i like early precisions and jazzes which aren’t always original but that’s because some things may have worn out, not upgrades 

[Skybone]

"Upgrades" rarely seem to increase the value of the instrument over standard, and if it does, it's minimal.

 

If the upgrade (or "mod" is the other one) is of value to you, then you're going to pay the extra, if not, then it isn't worth it.

[neepheid]

As with most things, it depends. Normally I would agree with OP, but a counter example would be if I ever sold my G4M "rat" bass. I mean I'm keeping the Lace Aluma P, but I'm going to leave the Grover tuners I put on it. Not only was that a genuine upgrade versus the stock tuners but the stock tuners were so bad that I chucked them in the bin so that no other bass player ever has to encounter them again. I think I did the ecosystem a favour, personally

 

[Lozz196]

To me upgrades are things that make the instrument better, such as Hipshot tuners for stock Squier ones, or putting in higher quality pots and jack-plug on the electrics. Pickups can be subjective as one players better can be another players worse and different colour scratchplates, well that’s just different. 

[tauzero]

My Squier came with a defret and a MM pickup in the bridge position, which was something I was looking for. I paid slightly less for it than I would have for an unmodified VM, which seems reasonable. I may change the MM pickup, and I'll probably change the tuners to Hipshots as it's got a touch of the neck dives.

[Burns-bass]

Hardware changes are a personal decision, and it’s cool. 
 

What gets me is when people try and recoup the extra cost for these parts when pricing items. Just because you spent hundreds on a cheap bass it doesn’t make it an expensive one.

 

Accept you won’t get the cash back if you make changes on a bass and move on.

[Mrbigstuff]

Cars are a really good example on how you can make it worse. Lots of modified cars end up having reliability issues. Not saying it’s the same for guitars because they’re not as complex mechanically, but I wouldn’t risk it for the same principle.

[itu]

I think we have discussed about this same topic earlier, and the conclusion then was something like not "upgraded" but "modified". "Altered" sounds good, too.

[Woodinblack]

My rickenbacker came with an extra string - I would have never had the nerve to do that myself so yes, that was a genuine upgrade for me. And I have the original bridge.

[SteveXFR]

I always modify my P basses because I hate the stock bridge. I know I won't get my money back but also, I don't think it's worth the effort of refitting the stock bridge and setting it up again. If that puts some people off, that's fine, someone will buy it.

[Boodang]

I’m not put off by upgrades but really does depend on what’s been done. After all most basses are built to a strict budget and are not necessarily going to get the best parts available, and as most upgrades don’t add much to the value, if it’s the sort of thing you like you could be getting good value for money. 

For instance, I’m not sure I could tell the difference in sound between a standard fender bridge and a Babicz but I much prefer to set up the latter. Replacement pups might not sound better, just different, but I’ve replaced the pups on all my non custom basses. There’s something to said for upgrade tuners on squiers! I put a graphec nut on every bass, a small upgrade that i think actually makes a difference. Strap locks a worthy upgrade? 
It very much depends on what’s being done to what. Upgrade tuners on the Squier I wouldn’t think there’s much to complain about, Babicz bridge on a genuine 60s fender could be considered sacrilege!

[Terry M.]

4 hours ago, itu said:

I think we have discussed about this same topic earlier, and the conclusion then was something like not "upgraded" but "modified". "Altered" sounds good, too.

This. 

[Sean]

9 hours ago, chris_b said:

i agree. I don't want bass gear that has been altered in any way by an owner. I don't even like internal shots of amps.Why do that? Why take the amp casing apart?

I did it last week and it got rapturous applause by all those that beholded the vision. I'm not saying it's right but it made quite a lot of folk people happy and when all is said and done, that's why we're here. Each to their own.

[Sean]

Also, I sold a bass last week that was very heavily modified.

The buyer said that it was exactly what he would have done if he'd bought the bass unmodified. He was absolutely over the moon. We had good chat and he was a gent and now he has a bass that he's very happy with.

 

I can make massive sweeping generalisations too if required, so if you need me to attack anyone putting a J Retro or a Tusq nut on a J&D J bass, please let me know, I'd be happy to...

[peteb]

9 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Same here, just about anything I buy has to be all original, it’s just the way I prefer it too, some exceptions are i like early precisions and jazzes which aren’t always original but that’s because some things may have worn out, not upgrades 

 

I actually look for basses that have been modded (especially semi-vintage Fenders). That way I know that the price is probably going to be a bit lower than an all original and saves me the trouble of searching for a suitable replacement bridge or pickup, etc! 

 

When I first started playing (late 70s / early 80s), we all had 70s Fenders and we all modded them in one way or another. I remember seeing an interview with Rick Wills, where he said that you could never really say that a Fender P bass was really yours, until you had taken a screwdriver to it...! 

 

[Norris]

I guess it all comes down to whether you try to sell it afterwards. Anything I've changed/upgraded generally ends up making it a better bass, therefore I like it, and don't sell it on

 

Squier P-bass: SD-QP pickups, Hipshot drop-D tuner

Sterling Sub5: Stinger preamp

 

It made them better basses, but MY better basses

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I try to mod my instruments so that the mods are reversable if possible, so I can return everything back to stock if I do sell. Things like swapping out the pickguard, fitting a hi-mass bridge in place of a BBoT, replacing tuners for ones with the same footprint, and replacing pickups with ones of the same shape make this easy.

 

A notable exception is that I fittied much larger gotoh GB640 tuners on all three of my vintage pro thunderbirds, but I'm not planning to ever sell those.