Common Bass Guitar Modifications - Upgrade Your Axe 

One thing I've put on all my basses that I highly recommend is to put on a thumb rest. If you usually post your thumb on top of the pickup, it'll give you a way more solid base for your plucking. Might take a bit of trial and error to find a the most comfortable spot, but they're super cheap, easy to install and make playing fingerstyle way more comfortable.

Best thing to get a more P like tone out of a J is to pick between the pickups. This makes a hughe difference. EQ-wise you can raise the bass a little bit an push mids at around 2k. I've swapped the tuners for hipshots on my Fender Player P, too. I removed the D-Tuner after a while. You always have to tune the E-string a little bit flat, then use the D-Tuner once or twice and the string will be in tune and stay there. I now prefer to really tune down to D, when necessary. I've changed the pickup to Aguilar 60s. I really like this bass now. I play it as much as my USA Jazz Ultra...

From another sustain discussion, a luthier - it could have been Driftwood Guitars: People think that high mass means better sustain, but in reality it means higher attenuation = lower sustain. If we look at for instance a Les Paul guitar, the old ones had zinc and aluminum parts, which has a very low mass, and witch gave them higher sustain.

I love this. Im actually in the middle of upgrading a MIM jazz bass. Just ordered pickups, will do pick guard, nut, tuners. Eventually bridge. Funny you say a decent bass. Seems pretty amazing to me.

Modding those basses is like modding hondas. You can do alot of good stuff to them.

Totally agree re Hipshots: I have a Yamaha BB615 (It's a 5 string) and with its original machine heads it was so neck heavy, but a set of Ultralites sorted that out. I also have a bitsa P-bass with a J neck and that is fitted with Gotoh Res-O-Lite machine heads, which are a direct drop in replacement for the diamond plate Klusons fitted to pre-CBS Fenders (or lookalikes) and the bass balances perfectly. I've also got a Tokai EB-3 copy (it's actually 32" scale for some reason, but I prefer that to the 'correct' length) and I replaced the original Gibson designed bridge with the Hipshot 3 Point replacement, which is a vast improvement (the A string always sounded dead before even with fresh strings).

It’s an extender! Cracking video man 👏🏻

Good job on explaining the mods you made in a quick and easy fashion! That bass sounds really good too! I have been playin 28 years, and of corse, have been modding guitars and basses since I think year three, hahaha, so I know where your comming from with mods for all sorts of uses! Thanks for making this vid.

I got a 140€ bass for my birthday 2 years ago to start playing and i've made it my goal from day one to slowly upgrade absolutely everything on it till it plays and sounds like a 1000€ axe

Great video, as always! I just ordered Kloppmann pickups today for my Yamaha BBP34 bass. Very expensive pickups but far cheaper than buying a new bass, and I don’t really want a different bass. Can’t wait to get them! I would recommend any new bass player to try flatwound strings as the first upgrade, as most basses come with rounds.

I have a sq jaguar, and a mim jazz - Really considering upgrading the bridges on both, and the Jaguar even more. Thanks for the vid!

Cheerio Dan. I am thinking about building a fretless bass. If I could find a fret list for like around $200 I think something good may happen. If not I will save some money and buy a decent fretless. But I am definitely thinking about building one and I don't think you can go wrong as long as it sounds and the playability is perfect. It's worth it. Thank you so much for what you did you had the perfect situation. Cuz it was your brothers. But then again you modified your Ibanez wow man whoa that's deep. Okay sincerely Walter the left-handed bloke.

Brass nuts as well like what's in my Spector euro 5 lt

thank you Dan

Comprehensive review.

Bareknuckles. Awesome, got a pair of Ps and they are all vintage all real. Great stuff.

Great, insightful video- however we must not mod just for the sake of modding. We must identify weaknesses in our instruments then go from there. Saves you time, energy, money, and frustration. But if you’re truly a tinkerer with a deep pocket then by all means go ham.

You should consider upgrade the body to Daphne blue with white pickguard. It would really look great with that neck

Excellent video

Somehow I'm reminded of the juggling comedian Michael Davis describing the axe he juggled: "This is the same axe that George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree. Replaced the head. Replaced the handle. But it occupies the same space"

Forgot to mention some tuners the clover piece likes to come loose from the shaft and rattle when you play it,SO annoying,lol. Anyway what kind of adhesive did you use on the aluminum nuts? I have an old Suzuki pbass that has a slab rosewood fretboard,I have a brass nut that I slapped in it,but it's not glued because I don't know what to use,it falls out Everytime I change strings

Dan, what is the name of your control plate upgrade? I ended up doing all the upgrades, but that. The MIM jazz pots seem fine, but I know I will end up wanting to clean that up as well. Thanks.

Very nice video, where I can find or buy a same neck maple 70’s like the one you have & the pickups are which Brand I couldn’t understand the brand you said in the video ?

hi the pickups are the fender custom shop 64?tnx

GREAT suggestions all! How about the difficulty or benefit of adding a fifth string?

Thank you. So you did a custom which would cost 2000€ till 3000€?

Real question here, just out of curiosity why did you just not build a bass from scratch, like order a body, then all the parts you wanted to add to it? I think the only thing original on that bass is the body. Only ask because that seams cheaper then doing all the replacement parts.

Awesome!!

this might sound kind of odd to you but i wanna buy a cheap bass its a Jackson but i dont like that metal type neck head or the tuning pegs do u think it would be do able to put a fender or ibanez neck on it as long as its the same size?

Do you have a wiring diagram 4knobs to your jazz bass

You've replaced almost the entire bass. I understand the desire to have all the bells and whistles but you can get to a point where all of the money spent upgrading should have been added to your initial budget when you were shopping for a bass. Its a hell of a lot easier (and a little cheaper?) if you get all that money together up frront and get a bass that is closer to what you REALLY want. I bought a Spector and it was neck thru,has a brass nut,brass bridge...sounded good. I put the preamp and pickups I wanted in it and for the first time I had a bass that was "done". I love that bass. I have a few more though and a couple are what you would call "budget" basses. I resisted the urge to dump money into all of them. I kept the ones that play and sound good as they are and sold the ones I felt I couldnt live with "as is". I had a Yamaha 5 string active bass that I loved except for the travesty of a bridge that Yamaha installed at the factory. Its a horrible bridge and there is no aftermarket bridge that will fit without doing some drilling. I sold it today. So,after selling all the basees that needed upgrades I am going to buy another bass that I can live with from day one. Everyone should have a bass that they are completely happy with. After that I would suggest not trying to buy $200 basses with the goal of making it a $1000 bass. Dont buy a Glarry. Or a Squire. If you want a Fender save and buy the one you want instead of buying a Squire and dumping 300 or 400 dollars in it to get what you want. Take that 400 and add it to the 250 and buy a Fender. I have a Laguna bass i paid 75 dollars for and I play it all the time. Great bass. Sterling S.U.B. Ray-- I wanted to change the electronics and the bridge and all that but the bass sounds good and I only paid 175 for it.

Triggers Broom…

Can you upgrade the neck of a micro bass guitar?

Great tips! Where did you buy the Jazz bass neck from?

No more government subsidies for active bases

So much has been replaced on this bass that at some point you have to ask....Why did you buy that bass in the first place?

Thanks so much, no clue why this has such less views

Lost me at alumin-eyum

The way he's holding the bass in the thumbnail 💀💀

Very cool, I just bought a 80's moon pj style bass, care to give it a look and maybe give some upgrade ideas?

changing vintage tuners?? are you crazy??

Why on earth would you modify a bass worthing 1,500 dollars? They don't build them good at those prices?? And modifying a Fender or a Rickenbacker is a profanation of the instrument!!! Maybe changing the strings for better ones... At least it's invisible... OK. But we upgrade cheap basses from less than 100 to 300 dollars. Not a beauty like that Fender Jazz. You don't update a beautiful blue eyes blonde 36-24-36 125 pounds and 24 years old! It is like modifyng a 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood with a 2022 sound system, adding back up cameras, 19 inches tires, etc. You don't TOUCH those iconic items...

Gee....you bought a bass body?? May as well build from parts...so, really, you aren't "modifying" anything, are you? :->(

Good video but you take so long to get to the point