How to Turn a Cheap Glarry Bass into a Killer Bass! 

I personally think it sounded great stock didn’t need any changes and it really didn’t change anything

Is it just me who feels like he deserves more...likes, subs, and... basically just everything 😂😂

I really love seeing cheaper basses get upgraded, it's really too bad that the upgrades often times end up making the whole thing more expensive than just getting a higher quality bass. Regardless, this was a really good video.

Also for 3-4 bucks you can swap out the upgraded capacitor. And stretch out that tone and make the most difference possible. And I must encourage you to be hands on despite saying you wouldn't do this again. It only gets better and if you persevere you begin to gain skills and empower yourself and become that much more aware of your instrument. Thanks for this.i think that you expected smooth sailing and got the old rugged pulled out from your expectations. Try expecting the unexpected especially with handy work. I think you are excellent for succeeding.

The upgrades made a huge difference in the punch factor for sure. Thanks for sharing this. I'm planning on getting a cheaper bass to start out and it's nice to know I can fiddle with it a bit to make adjustments as needed!

I got the cousin to that bass but it’s a P bass and I spent a full day dialing in the neck. It came out very nice. I put a bone nut, new high mass bridge, a deluxe pick guard, upgraded the machine heads, put in some active EMG pickups. It’s enjoyable for me at this stage of my life and l couldn’t be happier with the results. Everything turned out great. I wouldn’t do this one again because it still feels kinda cheap. But, that’s all in my head. It sounds as good as Mexican p bass. I just feel a little more comfortable with the real thing and l believe spending the extra money compelled me to get much better and over the last fifty plus years of playing l have an extensive array of gear. Thanks for your video

The one thing you’ll get from the pickups is more headroom, if one was to say, add a high mass bridge and better tuners as well, buying a Squire Classic vibe would be a better option

What a nice feeling when you find such an excellent RU-vid channel!! So many famous RU-vidrs have become very serious and boring throughout the years, it's very nice to find someone with passion and energy, keep it up!! Also very helpful video.

Sounds good. Definitely a good looking budget bass. I’d be proud to own it. I was hearing some some overtones and I couldn’t figure out what was causing them. Overall Great video.

I have one and it sounds and plays as well as my American 🇺🇸 fender out of the box!

There really wasn't much difference in the sound between the stock pickups and the SD's. It's crazy to me that people spend that much money on pickups when cheap pickups are actually really good quality these days. Those Chinese factories pump them out all day and they've really got it down.

Love that Mac Miller thundercat run you did there “you can love it, you can leave it, they say you’re nothing without it”

Really cool video, thanks for this! And like Mark Anthony mentioned earlier in the comments, I think you shouldn't shrug off the idea of doing something like this again. In my experience even some of the other "better but still affordable" instruments like an Affinity Jazz or some of the affordable Ibanez, LTD, etc. out there really benefit from these kinds of upgrades like you did here. Obviously can't tell from a video how it felt to play that Glarry but you could defnitely hear the benefit of adding those Quarter Pounds and the better pots and wiring, the tone when using the pick was great! Thanks again for your effort and sharing with everyone, cheers.

I do this every now and then for a side project. The Glarry guitars are great platforms to start with the light bodies and more than adequate necks at the price points. Personally I have found it to be a trial and error process while hunting for "that" tone when it comes to upgrades. Can you make a cheap guitar sound great? Yes. Is it going to be more costly than a mass manufactured guitar? Yes. I do like how the video showed the effort and cost put forth for minimal tone difference you got that would likely go unnoticed to most of the population. IMO it is a great side hobby that will teach you a good bit of maintenance practices and help identify what you do and do not like about the tone of certain basses. Besides, it is always fun to have a unique bass.

I purchased a Klaxton Bass online and received it super quick on Amazon. I had the exact same thoughts, to upgrade it. I now know what to do...Thank You!

I got a Glarry bass too, but I got the set that comes with a strap, cord and amp cab combo. The cord is a major weak link and immediately upgraded. The whole guitar needs a set up out of the box. The bridge ground was upgraded by adding a piece of aluminum tape under it to ground the loose wire from the bridge to the tape, that helps alot. The Pots are pretty trash and make noise, so I shielded the pot cavity. The amp is low volume and I got a suspicion they just rebranded the guitar version to bass. SO I went out and scored a used ampeg 4x10 and a broken Hartke HA5500. Now I got the Amp on my desk like Im some kind of guitar tech amp repair man. AND the Hartke has a hum coming from the bridge non pot. I call them non pots, because they got like a 1/4 of the dial working at best...I just wanted to make cheap bass noises. Big oof. Now Im in some Hartke amp rabbit hole, where I replaced the toob and the wrong amp fuse and it had a bad Driver AMP Transistor. But its little sister transistor is obv. replaced just up stream with a wrong transistor thats not an equivalent. So waiting for the blown transistor replacement and the upstream equivalents. I'll be testing up stream and down stream to try to isolate whats blown as its "popping fuses dont know whats wrong with it sold as is". But I got a month to sit here and stare at it waiting for these transistors.Not sure if the blown transistors issue was just no thermal paste. I still think the package deal is a good deal. Because you can give the guitar a setup, replace the guitar to amp cord and ground your strings and make bass noises. Just turn down the bridge pot turn up the other pickup and ground it from the strings with your plucking wrist to "get that tone" which is probably what Bob Marley and the Wailers was doing rather than "hunting tone" ...and now we got foam bass muting, in case your bass doesnt make noises on its own.

Had you not done it, you never would have known. Fun project.

I did a Superglarry with the fretless p bass... turned out perfect and actually (with the added hardware) sounding and playing great!!! TOTAL cost was about $225

If yr one who starts cheap. Play it till you are happy with your experience and accuracy. Give it away then buy a fender or yamaha. Then you'll feel much happier and possibly satisfied with that model. Do not, repeat don't buy expensive if you can't play, or a beginner. If you can't get experience or feel it's not the instrument for you, you haven't burnt a hole in yr pocket. Above all enjoy and love music. 🎵🎵🎵🌈❤

I did the same to my Glarry jazz bass. Ran into the same issues with plate and knobs. The only thing I did different that made mine a killer bass was the addition of a hip shot bass bridge, Guyker tunig machines and D'Addaro strings. Did the same pickups and a similar electronics package. Yes it was expensive vs purchasing a Squire or similar price point bass. But Glarry's and a great platform to do upgrades and learn a good deal about setting a up a bass.

I love Duncan Qtr. Pound Precision pickups, but not their single coils. Beefy for sure but lacking that Fender squawk. Great video.

I had a Mexican made Fender Precision and a Squier Precision (and a Squier Jazz bass, too). The Squier P-bass and J-bass weighed a proverbial ton! On the other hand, the Mexican made Fender Precision was so light I couldn't believe it - the Aria STB Pro-II Precision copy I also owned was the perfect weight, not too light and not too heavy. The thing is, nearly ALL new guitars need a comprehensive setup of the sort a pro Bass tech would do for any big name touring bassist like Flea or Marcus Miller - fret levelling, crowning, new Nut and some nut files etc (which can be expensive and the average dude doing repairs in a guitar shop isn't really able to do). So, a lightweight bass like a Glarry is probably a good investment for someone with expensive gear he/she doesn't want stolen or trashed. The new electrics and Seymour Duncan pickups will make you sound like you're playing a $10,00 vintage instrument!

Not gonna lie, ever since I built an 8-string guitar from a kit I ordered, I've kinda become addicted to tinkering with my toys. I replaced the stock pickup from that kit with an 8-string Seymour Duncan humbucker and then I got cocky enough to buy a set of 7-string Seymour Duncan Black Winters to put in my 7-string Jackson Dinky (retails for $200 but got it for $160 off Musicians Friend open-box). I wanted to get into the world of extended range guitars but I didn't want to spend a ton of money and Jackson is a reputable brand so I went for it. The Seymour Duncans make a night-and-day difference in the sound. I'm far from being a wizard with a soldering iron myself but I can at least wire a humbucker and make it functional. Where I get myself in trouble is if I try to wire a set of dual humbuckers myself from scratch. I get frustrated and end up yelling swear words at both the guitar and myself. 😂 I've been thinking of taking my old Squier P-Bass (my first ever bass) and upgrading the pickup from stock. It's a single-pickup bass so it should be simple enough that even someone who's as awkward with a soldering iron as myself can do it. Honestly, I've found that tinkering can be quite satisfying and that it can definitely work for the musician on a budget: you can buy cheaper gear but make it sound so much better as you get the money to make the upgrades.

I did almost the same thing with my glarry. Bone nut, Fender vintera pickups and pots, and shielding paint. Still a low cost bass in the end and I love it.

I have been pumped to see a video like this. Thanks!

That is a pretty good list of alteration which should get the bass working pretty well. There are a few more things that I would recommend you do. The first thing is to oil the fretboard. Even through the video the fretboard is looking quite dry. A touch of linn seed oil or lemon oil on a piece of kitchen paper is good for that. If you were feeling fancy you could even use something to give it a bit of a darker stain. Otherwise I always advise people to get strap-locks. They can be had pretty cheap and they are a lot easier than repairs. A decent set of tuners from a quality manufacturer (Wilkinson, Gotoh, etc) would be a decent thing to consider as the cheapo ones you get on these kinds of instrument don't tend to last long. The only other thing is a high mass bridge. This is mostly a visual thing but it can make things easier where it comes to setting up intonation.

Interesting Mod (great effort) ! As you mention the 'lite-weight' of the Glarry is Nice and might be an important consideration for the younger (older) player. Everybody agrees Out of the Box, the basses are setup pretty well, sound okay. and the frets ends probably won't cut your hand. And you are right, that playing the Glarry, reminds up any money spent on a Fender, is money well spent . PS Does anybody know what color stain would match that yellowish Glarry finish - want to stain the headstock ?

Nice work on the video! Pure Quality I haven’t found in a while!

The SDs are clearer and punchier for sure, but the stock p/us are pretty decent if that's all you can afford. Good bass.

Im a Master Luthier, I just got the Glarry H-H Bass. The neck was not fine sanded, the frets were a mess, setup was playable but not done to my standards. Everything else was all right. The humbuckers were very good. The bridge was just fine. So I level/crown/polished the frets, finished the neck, made a brass nut from scrap brass. I had some better pots and stuff around so upgraded those too. Spent no money, its better than any Fender at any price. When the nickel frets ware out I'll put stainless one on it.

I’d get the Squier change the pickups and put on quality strings.

Been playing Bass for 40 + years the only thing is we are listening to this project most likely through some sort of tiny blog /vlog microphone I personally heard very little difference between the before and after ,but great project and video good job !

Great video for a cheap bass well worth the price for a beginner without all the setups , 90% of beginners quit any intrustment ! For an intermediate player buy a low end Fender Squier $199.99 Ibanez bass $199.99 they hold the tune better ... Thumbs up for the video well done ...

Props for attempting Thundercat!

I liked the original pick ups because they have that little extra brightness on top but the Quarter Pounders have that umph on the low end. I have a set of Quarter Pounders on my Classic Vibe 70s jazz 👍

Excellent upgrade, great tones. If the neck and the action is nice, I wouldn't hesitate to gig with it.

I knew you weren't too serious about this when I saw you weren't changing the strings at the beginning of the video. Guyker has a good set of blade pickups that get great tone, especially when paired with cobalt strings, that are a much less expensive.

Looks like it was a cool project. I'm usually not the type to tinker around with my gear either, but your video made me want to try changing a few things. I'll definitely start with the nut and I'll see if I'm adventurous enough for the pickups haha

sometimes the difference its not too far considered to the upgrade price..especially on pickups. stock pickup more open/treble than the new one. But this is really good video to person like me who had cheapo bass.

Good video but I must say, I'm totally happy with my all stock from factory Squier Affinity jazz bass, I'm not in a band so for me it's all I'll ever need 👍.

The new pickups are a big improvement 👍

Great video, antshay! For a guy who doesn’t like tinker that was really impressive!!🤙🏽

Hah. yea as you were modding I was saying to myself that .. this is the point where i would look for better hardware already on the bass I want to get.,. hehe.. The bass does sound really improved tho and now has a great story

I think the SD quarter pounders sound more articulated and robust. I modified a generic J bass similarly with Aguilar humbuckers, high mass bridge, Audere pre-amp and Hipshot lightweight tuners. I'm in it about $600 and it sounds every it as good as my 2012 Jazz Deluxe Active bass. Thanks for the vid! Cheers from Utah

great video. I agree with your final thoughts as well.

Great before/after info - much appreciated. Just bought this bass and am basically looking at it as a fully-assembled kit bass that I may upgrade later. I'm just hoping the playability can be easily tweaked. Changes to PUs and elx are way down the line. I just need something light (vs. my Am. Deluxe Jazz V!!) that motivates me to practice more. If I can get that for (currently) ~$70, I consider that a win.

That was fun to watch thank you!

What a great job you’ve done, I love this sort of stuff!! ✌️😙

It was an entertaining video, but to me the bass sounded just fine for the price, and it seems like the upgrades only real value would be for a fun project, and or bragging rights (which is cool also), so if I want to upgraded my Glarry, I will just sell it and put the $ towards a name brand bass. Thanks for the video and your insights!

Well done! I've upgraded a few Glarry bases and the outcomes, except for one, have been very good - just like yours! Only the 30" Glarry short scale bass was a problem. The word "cheap" describes it best. I've already replaced the guitar pickup (yes, guitar pickup) with an actual jazz bass bass pickup (GFS) and am waiting for a replacement neck to arrive. Although you ran into a few bumps along the way, you ended up with a comfortable bass with excellent sound and good looks. I would suggest that you try upgrading another bass in a while now that you've done it the first time. 😊

The way I see it is upgrading a cheap Bass is:- Your trying to get it to a higher standard but your going to end up like Aunt Shea says If you not used to tinkering then you could run into problems and end up costing you more money in the long run which you won't get back if you sell,(all though a good place to start and or learn is on a cheap instrument) BUT then the other way is " CUSTOMISING" you find an Instrument you really like and you're determined to get it the way you want it and hopefully keep it.

IMA buy a Glarry!

I have to do a couple upgrades

In that slot under the pick guard you could probably fit a humbucker

I have this exact one. Love it!

Amazing content man! Thank you for the great tip! 😍

Sounds good thanks man

Let's go Antshay! Nice work on that video. I think I am like you in the regard that I maybe would tend towards investing into a nice instrument to beginning with...then again I do love me some tinkering, so the next time the urge comes over me, I might come back to this if I have a bass laying around ^^ Either way. I enjoyed the video.

Awesome! Me, I'd also replace the bridge and probably the tuning machines. .....and hydro dip the body.

Sometimes a magnet swap is all that's needed

Just came from the Short to see the full video. I put SD Quarter Pounds on my old 1979 Kimbara jazz copy a couple of years back and I love their tone. Although I kept the original controls my update was way more difficult than yours because the Kimbara pickups weren't Fender design or fitting. What's more the "tech" tasked with fitting them botched the routing of the body on the bridge pickup so I had to make a unique pick guard to cover both pickup locations. The store offered to help but my reaction was "Are you kidding? Do you think I'd risk more damage?" 🙄

The upgrade pathway can be spread out over time if you don't have the funds to buy a really good instrument at the outset. You can start with a cheap bass like a Glarry and then after a month or so upgrade the strings, then a few months later upgrade the pickups, then sometime later maybe upgrade the pots and so forth. Rather than take a cheap bass home and do that much work all at once, I would lean towards buying a better instrument from the start, but if I didn't have enough money for that I would spread out the cost over months by upgrading a cheap bass.

You killed it. Try changing the strings to a premium brand.

If you did buy the Squier it wouldn't have those Seymore Duncan pickups, you would have to add that to the cost total of your Squier bass. If you would have added Wilkinson pickups it would have dropped the cost overall by a considerable amount and possibly sounded the same as the SD pickups.

Here i am. Overall good, but shielding the pickups is not necessary at all and the knob type isn't the best for the potentiometer type - splined pots need plastic caps, while solid shaft pots (like here) need screw-on caps. Also would be interesting to compare both setups with fresh strings - there is an audible difference here already, just curious how much better it can sound.

Upgrading a cheap bass to the extent of what you did defeats the joy of it being a cheap bass. The only thing I would have done differently was raise the action if there was fret fuzz, and maybe change the strings if I felt the quality was too low.

Great video. Appreciate the share. Not really hearing much difference between new and old pickups. Sounds like there is some compression on the bass signal which definitely eats tone. Could also be youtube video compression I suppose.

As you stated it was not financially viable to do all the upgrades, but a couple [ the ones that you feel are most needed] probably are.. Personally I think its difficult to find a really bad instrument these days, and at a low budget I'm far more concerned about the playability of a bass than its weight, finish and tone. . The Glarry bass is primarily aimed at the beginner market. .SET UP is all important . How many students have given up learning because of trying to play a guitar or bass that is almost unplayable because of say a ridiculously high action ? Or untunable because the intonation is out ? In- factory set up has to be done by skilled workers and this is where things can be lacking at a low budget. Rather than spend out on components, paying for a professional set up would be money better spent initially

There was negligible difference in sound. I was not impressed with the SD's. I have a Squier Jazz bass I want to do the same thing - nut, pickups and solderless new harness. I have a few Squier guitars (Strats and 2 teles) that have been fully gutted and redone with USA pots/pickups/switches, and they sound killer. I don't like the headstock either and would have paid $50 more for a used Squier J bass as the foundation. But still, it's cool you did it.

I think the differences are minimal. What does a pu do? It converts mechanical vibrations into electricity. SD does nothing else.

Stock pickups are not bad but of course sd is awesome

I Turned my Sterling Ray4 into the Terminator. 😂 I wish I could show you guys.

Any kind of file that tapers can be used to enlarge a hole in a scratchplate. Stick it in and twirl it around 😊

Anybody else notice the stock pickup pole pieces didn't line up with the strings?

great job!! I have the Glary GW101, Do you bass share the same pick ups and plastic nut?

it would be good of we can see your wiring diagram better but thank you

Sounds slightly different but not necessarily better. The knobs will feel better but that's about it.

Love the video :) it’s a shame the routing for the neck pickup is like that as with how pretty the wood is it would’ve been so nice looking without a pickguard

You rock buddy

@AntshayMusic While I understand your upgrades, there is one question that I like to ask you. Why didn't you upgrade the entire neck? The main issue with "all" Glarry Bass guitars, is high frets and warp fret boards (at the body area as in a high tongue). Also many have an incorrectly cut neck pocket. A new neck and maybe some custom neck shims, would be the best upgrade.

I respect the effort and honesty, but this was kind of an endorsement for Glarry because those mods (while better) were not better *enough* to justify the cost/effort. That cheap bass sounded ok as was. Plus you can get a new Sire bass for $399 where everything is better for the same price.

To Be completely Honest. The SD just seems more quieter. There’s definitely a difference. Just not a huge one.

So you recommend those quarter pound pickups?

Much better.but by how much? A lot better.

Two steps to make a glarry bass sound great....#1 plug...#2 play

Delano pups and pre for me and any bass upgrade

What are your thoughts on sanding off the glarry name, or reshaping the head stock in to a Fender shape?

I have modded several Glarry basses. If you notice it the pickups put in one this video do not line up correctly with the string spacing and they will not... Glarry has out and out refused to give me their specs on string spacing. Good luck trying to find a bridge replacement. Even if you want to get brass saddles they will not fit either because the saddles on the Glarry bridge have such short string spacing. You will have to take each brass saddle and grind them down to fit. If you try and put a standard bridge on these basses your strings will be off the fretboard. Glarry has done themselves a hug disservice to themselves and people who would buy these basses by not having standard specs., You will not find a replacement pickguard either. I have changed the color of these pickguards by buying auto wrap. That works well. .You will most likely have to keep the pickup covers off the old pickups if you want the new pickups to fit the route which is not standard either. Best idea for replacement pickups are rail type pickups. Otherwise your pole pieces will just be off. On the GIB series their pole pieces don't line up to start with. Glarry is pretty much a hot mess to mod. Just telling you like it is!

Id say you'd get better value from changing the strings (if they ,were the originsls) and giving it a fret level. Pick ups wont make s world of difference

Did the gunstreet pots fit in without any routing? Which version of three versions available?

I have that same bass

Is the image you put up the same nut you ordered? Was trying to figure out which version to get for mine.

Nice video but I don't hear a big difference in sound

I like the video, but I think you put a little too much into the pickups. That was where most of the money went. For a third the price, you could have gotten much better pickups than the original while keeping the total with upgrade much less than the cheap Squire. I'll probably make these changes on my Glarry... but without the SD pickups. 🙂

No bridge upgrade?

Good move on that Glarry. But, there's one more way to turn that Glarry into a killer bass - hand it to #LelandSklar.

Took a cheap 100$ bass added about 250$ in upgraded parts: NOW question? Does this sound or feel as good as just buying a Bass for $350. For that price you can get a really nice Ibanez. Forget the work Just buy a better bass (same money).

Blind listening, there is a little difference but not really enough to justify doing all the upgrades for me. Any little nuance in tone is going to get drowned out by the guitar, drums, keys, vocals, room, crowd, etc. The biggest issue with Glarry is the INSANE neck dive because the body weighs like 5 ounces. Ask me how I know.

cant tell to much of a difference

He reminds me of a guy who plays on a cop show ..