ForbiddenWytch

Hi everyone, thanks for all the replies, wasn’t expecting so many! Will have a read through and reply to them as well.

Evening all! Im wondering what the general opinion on modding signature basses is? As it’s nearly 2am, there’s a long story behind my question below but if you want to ignore that and just leave your opinion, feel free! The gist of it is “bass I need to justify keeping and don’t want to have to sell so need some more variety out of it and buying another bass isn’t an option due to money & adding new pickup would be much cheaper” I own one of the Fender Steve Harris Precision basses from the 2010 run of Made In Japan sparkle blue basses but whilst I really do love it and love the P bass sound, to justify keeping a bass of that value I need to use it more so I need some more versatility from it. I have a bass with two J pick ups in it and a bass with P/J (Spector style) pick ups in it already so I have the Jazz sound and P/J sounds covered but two of my favourite bassists, Marko Hietala of Nightwish & James LoMenzo of Megadeth/BLS/etc. both have basses with a regular P pick up and a reversed P pick up in the bridge position which is one of my favourite tones I’ve heard and this has got me thinking of adding a reverse P and a mini 3 way toggle switch to my bass to give me extra options. I have considered selling the bass quite a few times but ultimately, I have far too much sentimental attachment to it to let it go (i’ve owned it from new, first “new” bass I had, first high end bass etc etc) and there’s a lot to the back story of how I got it/gigs played on it. Also better mention that Steve Harris is the reason I play bass too. This means selling it to get a cheaper bass for modding is out the window. Not just the sentimental reason but I love the spec and finish of the bass. The bass it’s self isn’t mint but it’s been extremely well looked after so it’s not like i’d be modifying a show piece, this is a workhorse and I have already installed a Hipshot D-tuner & Graphtech black tusq nut when the original broke on it but apart from that, it’s stock! I should add, I wouldn’t dare attempt routing the bass myself, I would pay someone to do it properly so it’s a clean rout and likely have the cavity lacquered then I’ll copper tape the cavity like I have shielded the other pickup cavity already. Costs wise, i already have a pickup to go in it and copper tape, switches and wire so the only outlay would be the cost of the routing. Anyway. Sorry for the essay and interested to know what others think. If you’ve read through that then I congratulate you and apologise again for my late night ramblings! 😂😂 (Pickguard is reflecting an Iron Maiden flag pinned to my ceiling, it’s not artwork on the pickguard)

Please hear me out on this: I have a bass with a Reverse "Spector" P/EMG DC Soapbar configuration but I've sold the pickups and am replacing it with passive Duncans. already put an SPB-3 in the neck position and was considering the SSB-NYC for the bridge but it's more expensive than I'm wiling to spend so my other option is sticking 2 SJB-3s (as they come up fairly cheap 2nd hand) in a soapbar housing and wiring it up. I find wiring fun so could be a fun project? I know I'd need the actual SJB-3 set (RW/RP neck pick up) but I was wondering if:- - Will 2 J pick ups would fit in a soapbar housing? - (and if so) I plan on having this pickup hooked up to a 3 way series/parallel/single switch (essentially utilising the 4-conductor element to the wiring) so I'd replace the black/white wires on the south "coil" (SJB-3b) with red/green and treat the wiring like a typical 4-con Series/Parallel/Split humbucker wiring method? - side note, I would put a strip of copper tape over the back of the 2 coils and solder on a "bare" earth wire to that (my Nordstrands have that method on so must be alright?) Here's some pics for reference and thank you in advance to any one who replies (within reason haha):

Because I was bought it a few years back and noticed that it made a difference to the noise in my rig when playing crappy dingy "venues" (aka pubs that think they're a venue) who run extension lead in to extension lead and have sh1te grounding. In fairness, that's also been the case in some other more professional venues too. I'm not in a pro touring band, I'm in an unsigned metal band so we don't have our pick of the creme de la creme venues unfortunately. They're also 6x the top end of my budget! haha I'm in Bedfordshire mate. That would mean having to buy another case which would likely cost another £50 which I don't have the budget for unfortunately.

Hey everyone this may seem like a bit of a stupid question, but does any one know if Fender used the same mirrored chrome pickguard (as in same part, cut out, screw hole alignment) for the 2009/10 MIJ Blue Sparkle Precision Bass as they use on the newer MIM West Ham version? Reason I ask is my bass has been gigged an awful lot and where the body and neck are in near perfect condition (odd dink on the very end of the headstock unfortunately!), the chrome pickguard has the usual swirl marks and scuffs from either where I’ve rested my thumb on the pickup screw or where a pick has caught the guard SO I’m thinking of taking this plate off to put on another P bass and putting a proper replacement one on there to keep it looking clean. I don’t use the Blue Sparkle one for gigging any more due to needing a 5 string tuned to A standard and the fact I’m scared to death of it either going walkabouts (seems to be a recent rise in gear thefts) or it getting damaged so I keep it in the case. It also has a lot of sentimental value to me so there’s also that! any help would be appreciated and again, sorry if it’s a stupid question! Cheers!

Unfortunately my case only has 1u of space in it as there is a power condition, Marshall JMP-1 and multi-Fx unit in there and it’s a 4u case

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone! I’ve had a couple of messages about potential power amps as well which is quite handy so I’ll be taking those in to consideration. And yeah it was definitely a case of the 2nd hand market for buying one. Ideally I wanted a Marshall VS 8008 but whenever they pop up, it’s always at the wrong time and going for more than what I could budget. Again thanks for all the suggestions!

Hey everyone I'm basically just looking for any pointers here towards any decent, budget friendly 2 channel 1u rack mountable power amps please. preferably 100w or more per side as it's going to be used to power 2 4x12 cabinets in a doom/stoner rock band. Must be rack mountable, 1u spacing and have 2 channels. 1/4" ins and outs would be preferable too. I have the power conditioner, pre amp, noise gate and multi fx units I want in the rack but need an amplifier for it all now! Thanks in advance!

I have one of these basses, one of the Made In Japan ones and yeah it's a great bass but £2k? Guys a fool. I paid 1k for mine new and have considered letting it go at times for that same price but to try and get £2k for it is absurd!

What a great gesture from Rotosound! Fair play to you. The reason I play bass and reason I got my first set of Rotosounds was Steve Harris. Stuck a set of the SH77 flats on my Epiphone bass and used them for ages. Loved them. Moved back to using round wounds after that and was drawn to use Rotos again because of Geddy Lee & Duff McKagan.

Just sold a Sansamp Paradriver to Lewis. Absolute pleasure to deal with and a really easy transaction. Thanks!

The Black Strat got bought for $3,975,000 by the guy who owns the Indianapolis Colts NFL team. He also bought the acoustic that "Wish You Were Here" was recorded on for $900k! Glad they've not gone to a museum or the bloody Hard Rock vaults.

I sold a TC Flashback Mini delay to James and he's been a real pleasure to deal with. Payment on the dot and all round pleasant transaction. Highly recommended! Enjoy setting that thing to 1/16th notes and being a lazy sod like me