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Got a cheap bass want to Frankenstein it
- Thread starter tjp
- Start date
Being inexpensive doesn't make it bad. Does it play well, frets good, truss OK etc? If yes, and you're OK with the fact that you'll never recoup your costs for the mods to it, ie you like it but it has faults you can improve, then go ahead.
Should you decide to mod it, make a thread detailing it with before and after clean sound clips would likely be appreciated by other novices thinking about going down the mod path.
Should you decide to mod it, make a thread detailing it with before and after clean sound clips would likely be appreciated by other novices thinking about going down the mod path.
So far the bass feels good. Frets are decent. Stays in tune but has some crazy wiring and a really weird sound to it. I got it for $100. So not worried about the cost of the mods.
Go for it! It will never become a collectors item but probably an excellent player.
I did the same with several Harley Benton. People asked me several times, why these cheapos are sounding that good. As long you don‘t care the name on the headstock, make whatever like. Its a gift for yourself.
I did the same with several Harley Benton. People asked me several times, why these cheapos are sounding that good. As long you don‘t care the name on the headstock, make whatever like. Its a gift for yourself.
I'd probably look for a 4 conductor MM pickup so you could wire it for humbucker series/humbucker parallel/single coil. Add whatever preamp with active/passive switching that you want. Another option would be a quad-coil pickup which would give you a TON of configuration options including P/reverse P
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With the giant pickguard, this could make an excellent “mule” - make a larger swim pool route, and try pickups in different places. Once you settle on the configuration, cut a new pickguard for it, and it will hide all the routing etc. You can later try additional experiments, or revert back to stock look with the original pickguard.
And a nitpick: modding doesn’t quite make it a Frankenstein, does it? I’d say at least the neck and the body have to come from different basses/sources to qualify as a Frankenstein
And a nitpick: modding doesn’t quite make it a Frankenstein, does it? I’d say at least the neck and the body have to come from different basses/sources to qualify as a Frankenstein
- Oct 13, 2022
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- Disclosures
- Audio/Music software developer, contracted with a company you've heard of and deving my own stuff.
As a fan of frankensteining/modifying, my biggest suggestion is start by just playing it for a few months. Get really familiar with what you like and dislike about it. Leave the stuff you like alone and change the stuff you don't like. That's my practical advice.
My impractical advice is, for $100, if you completely destroy it by accident, do you care? If not, go crazy. Any wild idea you can think of just to see what it would be like. Experiment with different pickups and preamps and strings. Experiment with refinishing. Try different bridge styles. Experiment with whatever sparks your curiosity. And then if the experiment results in something you don't like, it's still a successful experiment because you learned you don't like that mod, and then move on to the next mod.
My impractical advice is, for $100, if you completely destroy it by accident, do you care? If not, go crazy. Any wild idea you can think of just to see what it would be like. Experiment with different pickups and preamps and strings. Experiment with refinishing. Try different bridge styles. Experiment with whatever sparks your curiosity. And then if the experiment results in something you don't like, it's still a successful experiment because you learned you don't like that mod, and then move on to the next mod.
I have 2 suggestions for a passive pickup in that place: Guild Bisonic and MEC Vintage single coil soapbar.
I love making mods and building unique basses. One of my current projects is a passive Stingray clone that I'm adding a 51 P bass pickup at the neck. All new controls and wiring, with selector switches.
If the bones of your bass are solid, make the mods, go nuts. Monetarily, it'll never be worth more than the sum of its parts, and probably not even that. The value comes in the knowledge you gain by simply doing it. Plus, you'll have something unique.
If the bones of your bass are solid, make the mods, go nuts. Monetarily, it'll never be worth more than the sum of its parts, and probably not even that. The value comes in the knowledge you gain by simply doing it. Plus, you'll have something unique.