As a bass builder and player, I would add the following easy/cheap tips as well; 1. re lubricating your nut slots, just add a bit of graphite from your lead pencil, works great as a dry lubricant - and cheap! 2. changing the pickguard - Don't use a powertool. Be gentle taking the screws out as you can burr up the head slots, and don't overtighten when putting back in as you might strip the wood. 3. changing pickups yourself - unless you're confident with soldering and the wiring, maybe leave it to someone else. 4. getting a "high-mass" bridge really does help, but if nothing else, I'd recommend brass saddles for a brighter sound. If changing a bridge, make sure the underneath makes good contact with teh grounding wire when re-installing. 4.a. If you're replacing the bridge, replace the strings. I mean, you have to remove them out of the bridge anyway. As a broad recommendation that is good quality, good sound, good lifespan, I'd recommend D'Addarios. If I was getting fancy I'd get Rotosounds. My size preference is 45 - 105 4.b. Flat-would strings sounds great and reduce finger noise, but they use a higher tension when tuned. This can impact your neck, resulting in a bend and making poor overall action. 5. if you're not used to fret-sanding, don't do it. Can start more problems than it fixes. But a clean with some 0000 steel wool is OK - just put some masking tape over the pickup so no fine steel wool dust gets stuck on them. 6. It's your bass, and these are just guildelines. Try a few things.
I agree. Don't use a powertool on anything on your guitar. The possiblity of "screwing" something up is magnified many times and fixing that will take way longer than any time you save. Screwdrivers impart a feel so any resistance should result in you stopping before damage occurs.
Got that exact bass (in natural finish though) he is holding throughout the video today and wanted to look up some ideas for upgrades. Made me smirk a little when I saw that exact bass
High mass tuners making a difference to sustain makes total sense. The more mass in the head, the more inertia the head will have and the more sustain you will get as the head will not damp the strings as much.
I’m coming up on 50 years of playing, 30 years modding, and been building for around 8-9. Gotta say that the quality of even super cheap instruments has gotten really good compared to decades ago, but many times it seems that setup varies wildly even when it comes to say Gibson and fender. (Gibson especially really seems to be a crap shoot) My #1 suggestion is this, Learn to set your instrument up yourself. Everything from cleaning up fret ends to truss rod adjustments and intonation. None of these things take special tools, and you’ll be amazed at how well even the cheapest bass or guitar plays if it’s setup really well. (Modding IS one of life’s great joys though 😊)
2:28 i gotta learn british accent just to use them when mimicking some one bickering about something I don't know why but it makes it 100 times funnier. Not related but still just a thought train
yeah he's definitely right, i have here a thomson pbass that i bought more than Php7000 (more than a hundred dollars) and i once tinker on it's circuit for cleaning and find that the wire connecting to the volume potentiometer snapped off, luckily my dad has a soldering tool and i solder it by myself and it still works. im a complete noob when it comes to playing an instrument but it's also cool exploring stuffs on your own and understanding how your gear works, saves all the trouble of going to a luthier when you can simple do it on your own
I don't have a clue how to solder so that's why I bought a solder less wiring kit from Obsidian. 250k pots. They make them for J and P basses. Just plug them in and play. It's that easy. The shafts are 1/4 inch and fit fender J Bass factory knobs perfectly. You'll have to drill out the holes in your control plate or buy a fender mim J bass control plate and your in business. Also the factory scratch plate is not tapered in the control pocket so I had to buy a fender mim pickguard. Make sure that it's tapered to fit snug against the fender mim control plate. If you drill out the original Squier control plate from metric to 1/4 inch, you can go back together with it with the factory scratch plate. I've done both. Depends how you're trying to mod it. I've had no problems and after using Obsidian, I'll never look back.
Yes and no. To be honest many budget basses especially in the $400- $500 range already have quality parts that work great. You don’t need to mod. That said, I did install CTS pots and switch craft jack just to slightly improve the build quality but not really necessary. The pickup was already great. Other than that, not really necessary to replace any parts. And videos like these get clicks and views. Ultimately the RU-vid channel makes money from content
Glarry's doing a sale on a 5 string bass and I'm kinda tempted to get one and make it a project to customize it with graphics and pickups and the like.
More important than sustainability is heavier tuners reduce or get rid of dead spots on the neck. Before I went to short scale bass, I went on hunt to lighten my bass. Went with light weight tuners and dead spots showed up along the neck. If you go heavier tuners get a heavier hi-mass bridge(not badass two different metals that corrode) to balance out the heavier neck.
I got rid of those high mass reverse vintage tuners on my am orig. p bass and changed them to aluminium reverse lightweight tuners. I cannot stress enough how much better the bass now feels, with that horrible neck dive almost cured now. Despite my thick C neck, the bass almost balances perfectly and it ballances when switching it just a bit to the right while sitting. I would rather add a high mass bridge.... Which also helps cure neckdive furthermore.
They are cool mods to be honest. Most of them are not exactly needed because like you mentioned, they are just an extra. Out of all of them, I modded the bridge (standard with deluxe saddles), and the pickguard.
For the strap lock, do it with carefulness. It's very useful but the screw distance may cause problem. I have to fix it with some wooden tech that I learn. It was nice after I fixed it but it made me freak out somehow.
Pretty sure this guy puts on a great rock show :)... Have to wonder tho... why the need for more and more and more sustain ? I mean do you need your note to ring more then a bar or two ??
Another easy mod is sanding down the neck. For necks with gloss finishing, like that Squire Jazz bass. A couple of passes with sandpaper and you’ll have a nice slick satin feeling neck.
Higher mass tuners are likely more stable than those stock squier tuners but more weight/mass on a stringed instrument will always kill sustain because they rob the strings of energy faster than a lower mass of the same rigidity. What you want it very solid/stable material that’s as light as possible. Try an aluminum bridge or tailpiece. The reason brass and the badass bridges are so good is because of the rigid ness of the material, the higher mass , the more energy the strings need to vibrate.
Interesting point. I wonder if people confuse the thicker bridges with being higher mass. Or are they advertised as higher mass? And do people not have enough sustain?
First of all, are we still doing "phrasing". Second, weight makes a huge difference. I have a Steve Harris signature model Precision bass, which has a maple body, as well as a solid maple P-bass Warmoth body. 13 lbs of bass will sustain for days. Definitely need a wide and preferably padded strap though.
Good SIr, what is that single P90 Les Paul shape to your left? I've been wondering for a few vids now. Great vid btw! I will be applying some of these to my affordable P-type bass, very intrigued by the higher mass tuners and bridge.
We now know lighter thinner and less massive bridges and guitars are better for sustain. Heavy guitars sustain better is a myth. I have a nice light bass, I have to release the note for it to stop. If you want sustain, light hard wood. Not heavy.
I have a 78 Rickenbacker 4001 that I changed the stock bridge to a Bad Ass2 And my Geddy Lee Japan model Jazz Bass bridge to a Bad Ass2 bridge and now my 2022 Fender American Performer Bass bridge to a Babicz bridge. And they play much better.
You don't *need* multi scale. I've been a 35" guy for the longest time. Literally, a 35" scale to a 34 is a world of difference for the B string. It makes it register much like the E string above it. Even get some clank out of it. Those fanned fret systems are definitely cool, though. Cool, not vital.
My first bass got a HOLE on the nut on the E string...! I bought a new nut for it but it's a little too wide to fit on the slot (about 1mm) and it's also a little too tall and a little too deep (also about 1 mm). What is the best way to shorten it? I've tried with a nail file and sand paper but it didn't cut down the nut at all.
@Jeffrin Johnson eventually I got it professionally made. I also found out a small tip for when you are changing the gauge slightly or the nut is just a little too narrow: using an old string to fix it a little. Not professional luthier material but it might work out for some (this was a second hand tip so take it with a grain of salt).
I keep hearing this, but don't buy it at all. I build basses, and knowing the weight of the neck itself, tuners are the least of concern. But I would be open to evidence, though it may take years for tuners to affect the neck
While they are Fender's inexpensive little brothers, Squiers are still fantastic instruments. They *will* get you what you want standing on their heads. And if you get bit by the mod bug, you don't feel as guilty when you hack em up.
Mass != Sustain. Also the resonance of higher mass is totaly bonkers. Why wouldn't you use cast iron guitars for the top sustain then? Oh! They don't sustain!
When he praises the heavy mass tuners and I literally removed my heavy ass vintage bass tuners from my american original p bass and changed them to lightweight gotoh tuners out of Duraluminium because the heavy weight tuners literally make the bass neckdive so badly when sitting that you have to fight it all day, having wrist pain afterwards.... Dudes, go with lightweigt tuners, seriously, as long, as they are very well crafted. The little difference in sound you loose with the mass, you will gain by playing better when your bass ballances on our thigh smootly and your hand is free to play clean instead of holding the bass on the left, btw. pressing it down on your right with your ankle or your thump. Dudes, NECK DIVE is a horrible thing and it is also unhealthy long term, fighting the bass can cause to hand injuries and capal tunnel syndrom.
DONT use steel wool when polishing an electric bass's frets, the lil metal shards of the steel wool, even small pieces we cant see w our bare eyes, they will end up in your pickups even if you wipe em of, they will get in your pickups and ruin the polarity. Please use high grit grit sandpaper instead although luthiers prefer steel wool for acoustic instruments
When you add weight to your head-stock it will drop like a bomb. Don't take this guitar players advice when it comes to bass. He even plays it like a guitar...Painful and awkward.
Milking beginners to feed the industry. If you fall for this, you haven't dialed in your talent. Get those down first. Professionals don't use Frankenstein modded basses. They use custom shop gear. Skills over "upgrades".
Pros get stuff handed to them for free. Pros make money to afford high-end gear when they have to pay. And the only difference between "custom shop" and "frankenstein" is who does the work. All custom shops do is make the same upgrades you can make yourself but maybe with different parts. You're just milking beginners to feed the custom shop industry.
Uhhh. Dude. If you think that pro level performing bass players don't have at least a couple of "mod party" basses in their collection, you gotta open your eyes. Sure they might never play them live, but you'll definitely hear them on a record from time to time.
Chris Squire made his rick 4001 stereo by replacing and rewiring the input jack, as well as carving away much of the body. His bass tone is great for that reason.
Adding weight to the head stock can also increase neck dive.. Love gotoh tuners got gb7s on one bass and gb707s on another and gb350s on my spector euro 5 lt. Have a hipshot extender gb7 with the same bass that has these..
Thanks for that man. I switched the vintage bass tuners (one 120 g) for gotoh alu tuners (one 69 g) and finally neck dive is almost gone despite that beautiful vintage fat c neck with a 44 nut. Now my p bass is just hours of pure enjoyment and playability.
@@marcusstrymon693 awesome to hear. People don't understand that tuners can cause neck dive gotoh have been my go to for most of my basses might try hipshot on my old peavey grind 6 string.