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

[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.

[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.....

[billb]

I think this will be the only bass i ever own

I don;t understand this statement?

[andrewdosborne]

I don;t understand this statement?

One bass will give you BAS Andy

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

[Andy40]

Ha ha, clearly I am a padawan

[Hobastard]

A Padawan, Clearly I am.