Upgrade Help With Bass

[Seyton]

Hey

I've been playing upright bass for about 5 years now and bass guitar for about 3, I have an entry Fender Squire P-Bass and I've been becoming increasingly playing it more seriously and notice compared to other basses it's not "up to par"

So I was wondering if anyone had any help with upgrade ideas to make it a little bit more serious and if so any posts or tutorials that would help, direction would be helpful, any ideas welcome

I also work at a music store so I have access to a lot of needed tools

Cheers and thankyou

[SwedishLuthier]

First of all: Welcome to the forum.

It might help if you describe what you feel is sub standard compared to other instruments. But my guess would be things like bridge, tuners, pickups and (most important) set up. The hardware is pretty staring forward to exchange if you feel decently comfortable with the most common tools and a soldering iron. The setup requires a bit more knowledge. But that is available on line and if you are willing ot research (or simply ask a more specific question here...) it is no real obstacle. I would start with a look at the nut, the truss rod adjustment and the bridge string height.

[Seyton]

Thankyou and to be more specific it's the tone I'm trying to make better compared to other basses it just seems dry

[Tim37]

Guitar fetish makes some decent pickups at a decent price

[SwedishLuthier]

And a decent sound...

Whats you r budget, that might help us star away from too expensive stuff.

I would change out the pickup and the electronics. Most electronics on low end guitars ar just that, low end stuff. There might not be a change in sound, but most likely you can hear it right away. Next thing is of cause the pickups. Shop around, try to get to listen, or listen on line, to several makers pickups before picking the one that you like the most. If you have access to tools and a certain level of experience with those you can even "go wild" and put in MM pickups or something that isn't P-bass-ish at all.

[Seyton]

My budget is really anything but I was doing some research between pickups and I'm stuck between EMG and Dimazio also not sure if I should stay with a passive pickup or go with active

[Tim37]

Sorry I didn't mean to insult but when most people come here wanting to upgrade a squier they tend to be on a tighter budget. Also be careful how and how much you spend because if you arnt you can end up with as much money tied up in that squier as it would have cost to pick up used fender and get the sound your chasing.

[Prostheta]

I agree about pickups. If I had a relatively basic P-bass on hand and I *had* to upgrade it, the first thing would be the electronics including the pickup. CTS pots, a Sprague orange drop (for quality and consistency, not "tone") and a Switchcraft jack. Second would be a new bridge or at least the saddles.

This is all of course presuming that you have tried different strings? If you don't like bright sounds, try flatwounds for the vintage thump. DR do some nice variations like Sunbeams, Hi-beams, etc. Strings are the easiest way to transform how a bass sounds.

Other more invasive options include fitting threaded inserts into the neck and using hex bolts instead of wood screws. Sometimes necks on cheap instruments don't mate well in the heel. It might even be shimmed up, which can be a bit of a tone sucker too.

[Seyton]

thankyou guys so much, I was debating between upgrading and just trying to find a good used one but I would have no clue where to start, sorry for all the questions

[Prostheta]

No no, your questions are good. I know how cheap instruments can feel "flabby" or imprecise. That happens for any number of reasons, many of which are relatively easy to fix. As long as the main bits of the instruments are up to snuff, it's just figuring out where the weak link is. Surprisingly, it is often down to string choice. An even cheaper option is just to strip her down to pieces, including taking off the bridge, tuners, etc. and giving it a clean top to bottom. Replace any screws with damaged slots and ensure that everything fits securely and tight. Not overtight, but solid. No slop. Get rid of any junk in the neck pocket or adhered to the neck heel face. No guarantees of direct improvement here, but the positive reinforcement of knowing your instrument is correctly assembled and clean often makes it feel and sound new to you. Weird, but it works.

The bad news - which I truly hope is not the case - is that a cheaper instrument might have a dull neck or dead body choking it up. Nothing you can do about those I am afraid. They happen. Then again, you can occasionally find cheap Squiers which blow the socks off USA Fenders. Just don't go pouring huge money into her unless you know she's fundamentally a good instrument. Just like you wouldn't spend thousands upgrading a car whose underlying chassis is a dog.

I hope you find a satisfactory fix. Do let us know what you try out and the results. By all means ask more questions! Even thought it's difficult to pinpoint an exact issue (if one exists) without it being on the bench in person, most things are pretty simple with Fender-style instruments.