Reddit mentions: The best bass guitar parts

I just put one of these Fender HiMass Bridges on my 2005 MIM on Jazz Bass. I love it. It looks great and sounds great. And of course installation was super easy. And it says "Fender" on it just in case I forget what kind of bass I own. ;-)

$55.00

https://www.amazon.com/Fender-HiMass-4-String-Assembly-Saddles/dp/B01M5JN7YC/ref=asc_df_B01M5JN7YC/

You can also get them for ~$40

I was not a believer until on an impulse buy I picked up the "Surfing Triple Rails" loaded pickguard for a perpetual project guitar, to my amazement they sound as good as pickups I've paid five times the price for.

If you're willing to take a chance, I strongly recommend trying them. Like I said I got the "Surfing" ones myself, which you can find here.

But I was also able to find the same pickups in a standard white or black pickguard as well.

If you do take the plunge, please let me know what you think! :)

Like others have said, most likely you simply need to set the guitar up. Its not that difficult. Just take your time and be careful with the truss rod.

Refer to this Ibanez PDF.
http://www.ibanez.com/world/manual/guitars/Maintenance.pdf

Looking online you need a few things:

• Neck Adjustment - Allen Wrench and feeler guages.
  https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Set%EF%BC%8C30-Master-Measuring-Luthier/dp/B07594N814/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1537217933&sr=1-1&keywords=feeler+gauge+for+guitar
  Adjust your neck relief accordingly.
  
  
• Then move on to string height using a string height guage and a smaller Allen wrench. Set your preferred string height on the 1st and 6th strings. Then simply use a radius gauge to correctly adjust the remaining strings. According to Ibanez, its a 400mm (or about 15 and 3/4 in) fretboard radius.
  https://www.amazon.com/Dreamtop-Understring-Radius-Luthier-Guitar/dp/B01LZBHHC2/ref=pd_sim_267_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01LZBHHC2&pd_rd_r=883fa36e-babc-11e8-87eb-1be919d0e38f&pd_rd_w=40MfM&pd_rd_wg=eOv48&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=56838e6b-66d4-41e0-a762-743f1a1a628a&pf_rd_r=C4RV6HSAJA5KWFZG20J2&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=C4RV6HSAJA5KWFZG20J2
  
  https://www.amazon.com/String-Action-Electric-Acoustic-Guitar/dp/B00NARHNCS
  
  
• Next you will need to set your intonation using a small Phillips screwdriver.
  
  The Ibanez PDF outlines these steps, but YouTube search to find more examples. Its pretty straight forward. These steps with a small investment in tools will not only save you money, but teach you how to set the guitar up in manner you prefer as opposed to paying someone.
  
  If after all that it is still unplayable, then I might venture to guess you have a major neck issue like a broken truss rod or something.
  
  Good luck.

I've got a J Bass, I chose it mostly because of the two pickup versatility and the looks. Two of my favorite players Carlos D and Mikey Shoes play a jazz bass on records I liked so I went with the J. The neck also played faster in my opinion and I liked how the body sat against me. I've swapped the pickups with split coil ones because it got me closer to a P, and on top of that I couldn't deal with the hum and the pickups weren't hot enough for me. J bass has the feel and the looks, P has the sound (in my opinion).

I've played just about everything with my jazz and it works quite well, it really shines on really aggressive percussive stuff like Rage Against the Machine and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, but when I'm not playing stuff like that I really wish I had a Precision.

If you can buy the J and put P pickups in it, or buy a Blacktop Jazz Bass, that would get you the best of both worlds.

Based on the description of your Strat, it sounds like it has the vintage 7.25" fretboard radius. String bending, especially in the higher registers, is know to be problematic on that fretboard radius for exactly the reasons you describe.

Essentially, you need to do a proper setup to try and lessen the problems you're describing. If you're unfamiliar, doing a setup on a Strat involves adjusting things like the truss rod for neck relief, the bridge/claws to determine how you want your tremolo setup, the action, the intonation, and the nut. In essence, everything that your strings touch that can affect how they function mechanically.

You can learn how to do this yourself even if you have no experience. Dan Erlewine has a great book to tackle just this sort of stuff called How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great and you can snag a used copy on Amazon for the price of a new set of strings, practically. StewMac, the company where he works and that sells supplies for guitar building, has also started releasing some very helpful YouTube videos on different aspects of the setup. You can also poke around r/Luthier for any tips you can find there (though there's a lot of shorthand that would be tough for a beginner to get into).

My advice to you would be to buy the book, read it over a weekend (it doesn't take long to get from cover to cover), buy a few tools to get the job done and learn how to setup your own guitars so you'll always be able to make sure they're in perfect playing condition and won't have to rely on your local Guitar Center.

Basic tools you'd need include either a pre-assemlbed kit if you want to go the expensive route or a few of the individual components from elsewhere:

• My advice would be to get the StewMac String Action Gauge (it's worth it going for this specific brand name here since it's higher quality and has better makrings than the ones you'll find on Amazon),
  
• Some small screwdrivers and wrenches that'll fit what you need (again, this set from StewMac is pricey but it's very good for its purposes, you can certianly find all the hex wrenches, etc elsewhere for less) if you don't have them,
  
• Some radius gauges (here's the set I have)
  
• A straightedge (not necessary, since you can use a string on the guitar and calipers or even an old guitar string to measure relief--but the straightedge does make things a lot easier)
  
  If you can install a stereo, hang a picture and put together a puzzle, you can set up your own guitar.

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I can third or fourth this recommendation. I've been playing my corvette for about 8 years and still love its look and sound.


One thing to be aware of.. If you ever need to replace the nut, Warwick's "Just a Nut" is about $75 and can take a while to deliver, as it's only made in Germany. That said, I still say the bass is well worth it.

If you can't fix it I just picked up over of these cheap high mass Bridges and it's been working amazing. 20 bucks is totally worth it to not have to deal with issues like this.

Bass Guitar Bridge 57 Millimeter 4 String Thru Body or Bridge Chrome https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BNHFKWG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_uCV1DbR7FQXGG

I would just replace it, as they are not expensive. But I realize you may want to keep the original part on the guitar.

I don't have a lot of experience de-rusting chrome finished steel, but I know that there is a product called "Naval Jelly" that is supposed to be good for this sort of thing.

If it were my guitar, I would be replacing the butterfly string tree with a low friction product, like the one below:

https://www.amazon.com/GraphTech-PQL-7004-00-Sleek-String-Trees/dp/B0051Y0S6Q

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/graph-tech-black-tusq-xl-sleek-string-tree

Nope. But this looks damn cool!

Not being able to find one, you might try to make one yourself. Just need a piece of clear plexiglass (1/8" thick max). It's fairly easy to cut, probably with a jigsaw, and just drill some holes in it with a drill. Might be a cool little project. Usually plexiglass comes with a protective adhesive paper covering to protect it from scratches during the process.

I made myself a control plate for my Precision, years ago, just out of a blue piece of plastic. Since there's no pickguard on the bass. I made it sort of teardrop shaped, or sort of like half a yin-yang shape...

Golds my man, they sound great. Found them on amazon, they ship from China so they take awhile

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JRIXG4C?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

If you're looking for that Pop-Punk bass sound I would recommend getting a P-Bass and putting in some Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickups. This is pretty much the go to set up for that kind of sound.

So first you'll need to decide what loop pedal to get. There's a lot out there. Ed's current one is called the "Chewie Monsta" - it's custom made out of a few Boss-RC30's I believe. He started using this on x, I think, and up through + he was using just a single RC30, so maybe that's your best bet.

The most straightforward setup I can think of would be:

Guitar -> Soundhole pickup of some sort, similar to this -> RC30

Vocal Microphone -> XLR (microphone cable) -> RC30 (which has phantom power, so that's good)

then, RC30 -> 1/4" instrument cable -> amplifier

Aguilar AG 4J-70. These will be the closest you'll get to a pair of real 70's pickups without spending boatloads on super high-end or custom pickups.

https://www.amazon.com/Aguilar-AG-4J-70-Guitar-Electronics/dp/B004IEBTJ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468986242&sr=8-1&keywords=aguilar+ag+4j+70

Yes, with some changes and a lot of noodling (I'm sure you can probably find DIY instructions for this).

The way electric guitar pickups work is the magnetic field from the pickup senses the vibration from the STEEL strings and translates it into current.

Most acoustic guitars come with some sort of bronze or non-steel alloy. The idea behind that is that bronze is more resonant, and will help minimize sound loss in an acoustic guitar, which depends on transferring as much resonance as possible from the strings to the sound board (think about church bells: they are made of bronze, not steel -same kind of thinking).

so yes, you COULD modify an acoustic guitar to accept an electric pickup, and all you would have to do is:

• Change the strings to electric guitar strings (some people think that the change in tension is bad for the acoustic, but in reality, high gauge acoustic strings have much more tension).
  
  
• Wire up a pickup (and additional tone, volume pots if you wanted) to run directly to a 1/4" plug.
  
  
• Find a way to mount the pickup (hopefully without modifying or de-valuing your guitar).
  
  Or, you could forgo the science experiment and buy something like this:
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Dean-Markely-Strings-ProMag-Grand/dp/B0002GXW5W/ref=sr_1_8/187-4993316-6758846?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1395894341&sr=1-8&keywords=pickups+for+acoustic+guitars
  

You can definitely get amazing pickups for way cheaper than $300.

EMG Geezer Butler Signatures cost around $110

Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounds cost around $75


Rio Grande Muy Grandes cost around $150 but it seems silly to put these kind of pickups in a Squier.

Personally I'd go with the Quarter Pounds. That's about the peak of cost/benefit, and you're running these through a Squier.

This question comes up here periodically, and it surprises me that people don't really know the proper answer to this question.

There's a root problem with electric bass guitars, and you may encounter this issue in other places, so you should know that it has to do with the resonance of the neck of the instrument, and the frequency of the note being played. Certain notes played at certain positions on the neck create a negative feedback, which kills the sustain. That's your "dead spot".

The solution is to add some mass to the head stock, which changes the resonant frequency of the neck. You can add stick-on lead weights that they use to balance car tires with, or you could use a Fender Fatfinger for bass.

edit: I'm not telling you that you don't need to properly set the intonation of your bass, because you certainly do. And if swapping your bass out for another one at the store makes you happy, then that's fine too, but it may not fix the problem.

This is basically what I have. Is this not a 3-way ON-ON-ON DPDT 6-pole switch? Thanks for the info!

https://www.amazon.com/DiMarzio-3-Position-DPDT-Mini-Switch/dp/B000H1AKJ8

Yes. There's ones from Fender, [over here] (https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bass-Tuning-Machine-Bushings/dp/B005SUVW3G/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=Tuner+bushings&qid=1556201357&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1)

that should work. Otherwise I might try to plug the holes and redrill. It's a very cheap neck.

What kind of bass? is there enough room on the pickguard? that you could just gorilla glue a plastic thumb rest? That's what I did on my Mustang and it holds well.

This is the thumb-rest I've got and it works fine. It's just a cheap piece of plastic, but what more do you need.

If it is a Tiesco, it's had a neck replacement I think?

You could always do a Bigsby for the tailpiece/trem.

Your saddle depends on how you want it to look - you've got the floating roller design or the floating fixed piece design. Both offer adjustable intonation up and down, as well as with individual strings.

Don't buy the one's I linked just cause I linked 'em; I'm on mobile and it was easy to just paste something. Search around for what you want, use the links in the sidebar ---> cause they probably offer higher quality. I'd avoid non-adjustable designs cause they probably wouldn't fit the aesthetic, and they're difficult to properly intonate.

What other mods were you considering?

BTW, they started selling a device called a Fump to get that muted sound you get from foam under the bridge: http://www.amazon.com/Gruv-Gear-Fump-Bridge-Side-Dampener/dp/B00YVFHI6Y

Not my favorite purchase. Anyone else had luck with this?

Usually you can just look it up on the website of whoever made your guitar and it will be listed on the spec sheet for the model.

If you can't find it on their website, this set of gauges is what I use.

1)
How can I fix the crazy neck dive on my p-bass? It's a cheap 100£ lefty.
Previous to last week it went unplayed mainly because of its poor playability. But a setup and a neck shim later, I've got the action lowered on par with that of my SR300e; low and light.

2)
If I were to replace the pickups with something like these,
am I likely to hear anything different? My amp is an Ampeg BA210-v2 (2019). Bass was a gift from my dad, which is what started me on this path of enlightenment, so cost isn't as important as not sounding pish poor.