Andy 40's JBA-4

[WeirdBits]

You can potentially upgrade the bridge without any visible mods to the body, plugging holes etc, so it can be done after finishing. However, modding the bridge pup rout for upgraded pickups would be best done before finishing, and as a "only choose one" is likely to give you the biggest improvement.

[Hobastard]

Definitely Nut First, to get an even tone across Fretted and Open Notes.

Having said that. I just bought a Cast Bridge and a Brass Nut (5 string), from Ebay for less than $30 landed.....

It may not be a Babics or even a Schaller, but I still expect an improvement in sound and looks.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/400397034...BIDX%3AIT#rwid

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/311752408...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[billb]

If I could choose only one of pickups or bridge it would be pickups every time. In an electric bass/guitar they have the biggest effect of anything - they also probably show the biggest difference between lower and higher quality construction/materials.

[wazkelly]

Hi Andy, list of upgrade priorities can be quite long and also become expensive and have listed below what I reckon would be best bang for your buck.

Replace nut - DB's bone ones are not cheap at around $28 but you know it will be top quality compared to $7 eBay specials
Replace pots & tone cap - if keeping the 2 x vol & 1 tone do not do the treble bleed mod as it does not work too well in this setup
Buy some decent strings - a set of D'Addario round wounds are my preference and by selecting slightly heavier gauge 50-105 discovered standard bridge did not have enough fore & aft travel to get correct intonation but worked ok with 45-100 cost $36
Replace PUP's - went cheap with the Entwistles but chose their dearer high spec ones. Tend to think Tonerider is better
Replace bridge - standard one is just ok and bought economy Gotoh style for $28 from Real Parts
Replace Tuners - under tension you may feel the gears slipping a smidge when tuning up - try Real Parts/All Parts USA set $48

Ultimate upgrade list amounts to around $280 plus freight from the various suppliers. On PUP's the high spec Entwistle set is only $30 cheaper than a Tonerider set however they do have cheaper ones which for a pair are about the same price as one Tonerider and would definitely be a whole lot better than the stock units.

As others have already said bridge doesn't affect the sound as much as PUP's and can be done later. Just be mindful what I mentioned about heavier gauge strings. They sound better but you may find standard bridge lacks enough room for adjustment to properly intonate.

Cheers, Waz

[Hobastard]

Replace pots & tone cap - if keeping the 2 x vol & 1 tone do not do the treble bleed mod as it does not work too well in this setup
Cheers, Waz

Great, I just bought two Treble Bleeds for mine.
Oh well, hopefully there's a Strat on the Horizon that can use one of them.....

[wazkelly]

Great, I just bought two Treble Bleeds for mine.
Oh well, hopefully there's a Strat on the Horizon that can use one of them.....

G'day Hobie, what I discovered was that when one volume was turned all the way off no sound came out of the one left on 10 and vice versa.

Was playing the JB earlier today after cleaning it up from doing the DB Bone nut installation and yes Andy, it does make a big difference with no more dull or dead notes and plenty of ring or sustain on open notes. The action is a bit high at 1st fret and will work on that during the week.

Was also playing around with the volume knobs and by leaving both on 10 and backing one off slightly that is all you need to do to select which one is more in the mix rather than back it off a long way, hence why treble bleeds are not as important however I do recall some weird funky stuff that caused me to question that upgrade and decide to remove them both and probably in that build thread somewhere.

When stringing it up again today the damn D string tuner kept slipping and the cheap Chinese mystery metal feels like it is under fatigue and about to fail so later tonight or tomorrow I will order the $48 set from Real Parts. All up the only original hardware bits left will be the neck plate, scratch plate & control plate. Out of curiosity I will dig up all the receipts and add up how much it owes me. I am guessing about $500 including rectangular hard case but worth every cent.

[Andy40]

When stringing it up again today the damn D string tuner kept slipping and the cheap Chinese mystery metal feels like it is under fatigue and about to fail so later tonight or tomorrow I will order the $48 set from Real Parts.

Sounds like i should order some decent tuners then eh.

[wazkelly]

@ Simon - had the stock controls already pre-wired and used them as the visual aid for wiring up the bourns and also referenced back to the wiring diagram that came with kit plus one on PBG site and others found on the web. J Bass wiring was pretty standard across everything I looked at and was also the same setup in the EX-5 where both guitars had 2 x vol & 1 x tone. Treble bleed didn't work in either Bass and modified EX-5 to 3 way switch and 1 vol & 1 tone, and reintroduced the treble bleed with no issues now on that axe. In the J configuration everything is 'on' all the time therefore when backing off say neck PUP just a small amount it has mostly dropped out and been overpowered by the bridge PUP that is still on 10 with no loss of tone or treble, due mainly to still having one of the PUP's fully flowing. Dial up the neck and back off bridge and same result. Not sure treble bleeds will make much difference when used this way and happier without them as I cannot tell the difference whereas on the modified EX-5 setup it was noticeable.

@ Andy - you know me, I have used the cheap generic tuners on a few 6 stringers and find them ok but these Bass ones have not felt right from the first day it was strung up. From personal experience they would be a higher priority than doing a bridge upgrade. My Real Parts order should hopefully arrive tomorrow but next RDO is now Friday and will let you know how they go.

[Andy40]

Thanks Ponch, Weirdy, Hoby, Bilb and Waz. This has been extremely helpful.

I think this will be the only bass i ever own (and it was on SALE!) I can drop a bit of coin on upgrades, but not too much. I don't mind upgrading stuff later.

[billb]

I think this will be the only bass i ever own

I don;t understand this statement?