Have a "Project bass" but no idea how to upgrade....

[BBass]

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice and hope I'm in the right forum.

A while back I purchased a jazz bass copy that had a Moses Graphite neck. I didn't pay that much for it (cheaper than I could get the neck on it's own for) and wanted to compare it to the Status basses I've had in the past.

Anyway, when it arrived it seems pretty obvious that the whole thing had been done "on the cheap" - terrible pickups, "off" drilling for the jack socket (doesn't align with the scratchplate, etc). It's also seriously neck heavy.

I decided to try and upgrade it (the neck is good) and had some Bartolini's given to me. I had these fitted but no preamp installed. Since the change over the sound is better but much quieter - is there anything missing / might be done wrong?

The predicament I find myself in is that there's a decent neck (tuners seems ok too) and a good set of pickups but that's about it - I'm undecided if I should scrap it and buy another bass altogether or have someone fit the neck / pups / etc on a different body.

Would anyone here be able to advise roughly (I appreciate that prices vary) how much it would be to buy a Jazz body (2nd hand is fine) and have someone capable fit the neck, pups (and a preamp if needed), balance the thing and set it all up? I can't do this myself. I notice there's a sticky with luthiers, etc but thought I'd get some advice from here first.

I should also state that I'm not looking for anything fancy - I've had high end basses but they don't do much for me. I just want a "basic" bass that plays well, sounds good and doesn't neck dive.

As you can probably tell I have absolutely no idea regarding upgrades and I'll never attempt something like this again. Happy to scrap it but thought I'd take some advice first.

Any advice would be welcome.

Cheers,
Bryan

[Paul S]

I found myself in a similar position. I bought an active bass (Precision Lyte) that had a great neck, decent pickups, faulty electrics and a god-awful finish on the body. First my choices were - move it on for a loss or use it as a project. I had never done anything beyond taking a bass to bits and cleaning it before, so was a bit apprehensive about tackling anything more involved.

But in the end I decided to renovate it - I have the time and considered it a good way to learn about these things. Stripped it (including the painted headstock), refinished it, made a terrible job of that but learnt loads - I'll probably strip it again and do it properly at some point. I then put an expensive J. East pre-amp in it and am really pleased I did as it sounds and plays really nicely. As it cost me more than it was worth I will probably keep it forever but I also 'bonded' with it - having explored every mm I feel I know it quite well and it feels just right picking up and playing now. But one of the big spinoffs was that I have a much greater understanding of how a bass is put together and am no longer afraid of doing my own setups etc.

So, nothing concrete, just some encouragement to have a go from a fellow technophobe numpty. If you have the time and don't need to recoup the cash I'd say go for it!

[BBass]

Thanks for the response Paul.

Unfortunately it's more of a time thing that anything else. I live abroad and the bass is in the UK - I'll be visiting home soon and hope to pass it to someone to "do a number" on it and then I'll bring it with me. If not, I may well sell the "good" components and buy new bass when I'm at home.

That said, even if I did have time I've still no idea if the pups need a preamp or anything else.

I did go as far as getting the bridge changed to Badass 2 or 3 (can't remember which) but I found it so bulky and intrusive I had to change it back. So I'm not looking for "best of the best" as it were - I just want something that plays well (which it does but has a balance problem) and sounds good (sounds ok but I'm sure it could be better). I could probably live with the other cosmetic issues but thought that the balancing would need a new body anyway so may as well do the lot.

Cheers,
Bryan