Tyson Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Hi, I'm new to the forum and also new to customizing guitars. Anyways, for my first project I took a fairly cheap Squier M80 and stuck a P-bass pick-up between the two humbuckers. P-bass pick-ups actually pick-up every other string, so to get my two lower strings I had to angle it slightly side-ways. I then gave the P-bass a seperate volume control and a seperate output. I then run the bass output to an octave pedal and a bass amp. Therefore I can give more of a bassy feel to my guitar or play some simple bass alone. I can not take credit for this idea as it has been done before and I simply copied the idea. Anyways, the main question I had was whether or not I should upgrade the rest of the guitar or simply rip the modification out, go out and buy a more expensive guitar and install it in there. I really like the bass modification, but I'm no expert on what you can get out of a cheap guitar (I imagine you guys are). I like the playability of the squier but am I going to be able to get high quality tone simply by upgrading the pick-ups? If you suggest an upgrade can you point me in the right direction as to what I should upgrade? Am I going to be hampered by the fact that the neck is a bolt-on? Any advice you guys can offer would help alot. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doeringer Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Hi and welcome. You first would have to decide what use you would get out of it, then even though you are not the first to do this, you would need to research and experiment, as this is not a widely used mod. The only time that I used to drop an octave for bass was when I needed a quicky just to get an idea down, but the sound sucked. I wouldn't do this on an expensive piece with out knowing what it will turn out like and knowing that I had a use for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted October 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2006 Hi, thanks for responding but I think you misunderstood, I already did this modification to a cheap guitar and I like the bass I'm getting out of it. My problem now is the modification is in a cheap guitar and I want the guitar to sound (the regular guitar, not the p-bass pick-up) much higher quality. Should I upgrade the guitar, and how or should I take the modification out, buy higher quality guitar and install the modification in that. The guitar is made in asia out of basswood, so I"m wondering if this would hamper my efforts. If I was to upgrade the guitar should I do anything other than pick-ups? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doeringer Posted October 27, 2006 Report Share Posted October 27, 2006 No, I got what you were saying. I was politelty trying to say, if it was my money, I probably would not spend it on that mod. And to make sure that you were not wasting your money on something that you would not use. But if you are then... Now to answer your other question, replacing the pickups would probably make a noticable difference, but again may not be worth the cost. I'm not that familiar with the M80, but the Duncan Designed pups are usually ok. Basswood can be used for Rock and distorted sounds but sometimes lacks in other areas. You won't find a right or wrong answer as it will all depend on you style, the music you plan to plan and what you like. Maybe if you could ask a more specific question, people here would be more inclined to answer. I hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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