Hardware and pick up suggestions for winter project

[The Admiral]

Planning a 'project' to see me through the winter months, which will involve upgrading a nice 'P' copy.

I want to replace the bridge, nut, pick ups and possibly the machine heads (although they seem pretty reasonable), and I'm looking for suggestions :

Bridge - The Badass seems to be the 'standard', but they are pretty pricey, and if I could find something better than the bent bit of tin it now sports, but without costing a fortune, that would be a nice compromise. I've seen Gotoh's at about £40, but are they any good - or should I just bite the bullet and go for the Badass?

Pick ups - Dear Lord - where to start! I am wanting to use the finished article in a blues/classic rock genre, so zinging highs are not required - it's more about a good bottom end and a bit of thump. Passive circuitry and not costing the earth preferably. All suggestions welcome.

Nut - currently a bit of old plastic that would have looked low rent in a 1968 Cortina ashtray. Again, suggestions?


Finally - where to buy? There seems to be a real divergence of offerings : either sellers are stocking loads of cheap and nasty Chinese bits at very low prices, or 'Rolls Royce' stuff at big bucks - but not much in the middle ground.

Thanks in advance o wise Basschatters.

A

[Happy Jack]

Finding the bits is half the fun ... the thrill of the chase, and all that.

Start with the Items Wanted section on Basschat and see what people will give you, or sell you for silly money.

Monitor eBay for Badass or similar, and don't forget the possibility of getting a bargain on a "fully-loaded body" or "fully-loaded neck". You can get something like that, lift the bits you need (or just want to try) and then bung what's left back onto eBay.

This approach won't work for pickups if you know what you're looking for, but if you're happy to leave it to serendipity then just buy the first really low-priced pickup that turns up. It'll be 50/50 whether you like it. For a fiver or a tenner, them's not bad odds.

[gary mac]

Like Jack said, finding the stuff is half the fun. That's exactly what I recently did with my P bass build. I was visiting this site and ebay a number of times each day.

Got most of the bits on here, but had to resort to ebay for the neck.

Just need a bit of patience and the time.

[geoffbyrne]

The stuff from Guitar Fetish has a decent reputation:

[url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Bass-Guitar-Pickups_c_97.html"]http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Bass-Guita...ckups_c_97.html[/url]

I've had quite a lot of stuff from Jay & I usually get it through in about 4 - 5 days.

(and I have a nice Schaller 3D, including shim, in the drawer).



G.

Edited December 14, 2010 by geoffbyrne

[Annoying Twit]

I won't make any suggestions as to choice of hardware. I'll just suggest that anything you make should be shocking pink, fluorescent green, or preferably a combination of the two.

[Lozz196]

For the bridge, I`d go for the Gotoh. Having had both Gotoh & Badass (and preferring the standard BBOT by the way) I didn`t really notice too much difference on the sound between them. Both very easy to install/adjust, but Gotoh much cheaper & easier to get hold of. Also has more in keeping with the style of the original BBOT.

Pickups - a veritable minefield. Seymour Duncan Antiquities will prob get mentioned, as will Wizards. Fenders Original/62 is a good pickup too.

[Paul S]

I am going to be doing something similar and, pup-wise, get the impression that Kent Armstrong are to Seymour Duncans what Gotoh are to Badass - cheaper and much the same thing. Could be wrong here but I think both upgrades are sufficient for my purposes.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Paul S

[BassBunny]

Sounds like a rfun project for the winter.

I can recommend a visit to Axes R Us on-line shop. Great for bits and pieces.
I did a P Bass build and used a Wilkinson Vintage bridge, (from axes). Great quality and the brass saddles really do make a difference. Have also used Gotoh which are great but 50-100% more.

Heartily recommend Wizard for pick-ups. Just speak to them, tell them what you want and if they don't do it already, they can wind something specific to you.

[gary mac]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='1058255' date='Dec 14 2010, 10:08 AM']The stuff from Guitar Fetish has a decent reputation:

[url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Bass-Guitar-Pickups_c_97.html"]http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Bass-Guita...ckups_c_97.html[/url]

I've had quite a lot of stuff from Jay & I usually get it through in about 4 - 5 days.

(and I have a nice Schaller 3D, including shim, in the drawer).



G.[/quote]

Have you tried these pick ups Geoff?

Seem like a decent price, just wondered about the quality.

[Bassassin]

Bridge - Schaller 3D

Pups - DiMarzio Model P (cream covers)

Electronics - 250k pots, .047 Orange Drop cap

Tuners - Schaller M4S


Axes R Us, Fleabay & right here on BC should sort you out.

Jon.