Best Budget Bass Upgrades!

[@zodak9999b]

The original sounds pretty lifeless. The post-upgrade sound is much more alive. Good job, Dan!

[@machinesdeguerre]

Hi Dan, and all, I am going to take the opportunity here and now to thank you for all the videos you've made. The ones where you mod/upgrade guitars and bass put me and my wife on a path to revamp most of our guitars and basses one after the other. They sound and "feel" 10 times better. And as a bonus we refinish them to the way we like. You my friend are the biggest influence in this adventure which...as an other bonus...has created amazing projects for me and my wife to do together. Your videos on the tools needed to work the instruments got us thinking that our "average" quality instruments could become the best they can be. We work with what we have...and ...so far so good!! Thanks again from us up north!

[@GunsandGuitars]

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I’m so happy for you and your wife. What a fun hobby to have to share together. I wish my wife was into guitar building 😂

[@craigparse1439]

I hear the increased output from the pickups and the extra life in the new strings. Great job Dan. I must have missed this video when you made it. I like that you give really decent (honest) opinions on 'budget' gear like the bridge & tuners.

[@ColonelAngus2023]

Upgrading the nut with a bone is a great idea. However... It will only affect the sustain of the open strings. For more sustain on all notes is to have the intonation set perfectly. Professionally set intonation is the best thing you can do for any bass. Ernie Ball Cobalt Flatwounds are the best sounding and feeling Flatwounds that I have ever used.

[@pc2908]

Your reasoning is extremely sensible. Seems very logical and fair minded to me. Definitely a great salesman too. Might look into one of your customs!

[@davejones7475]

Hey brother bass player and leader. I'm from Canada and probably 1,000 years old and been playing bass and stopping pucks around 900 years. In all my years I've never heard a more profound difference in sound. That is except when I got my first puck upside the head in a Kevlar goalie mask! It certainly didn't hurt, but the noise was shocking! This is how profoundly impressed I am! I saw this and immediately subscribed. Hey I'm an old dog, and old is gold! I am so impressed with your sound. I'm wondering how with the currency exchange and dutys, shipping and so on I may be of service to you? I'm not techno savvy, and don't care to be, so I have no idea how we can open a repoir and possibly I can help you. We really do have our share of musicians. Ps, I never made a dime stopping pucks, but I have a wonderful life playing studio work. And I'm in Calgary Alberta Canada where we really do have more trucks than cars, and more Rodeos than anywhere in North America (including Texas and Montana, Nevada etc. and your branding "Guns and Guitars " will go a long way in this neck of the woods. Possibly I can help you promote your wares in Canada?

[@samplemuso]

Great work Dan. Always practical, no BS! Thanks

[@scarmyguitar]

The clarity is quite clear in the upgrade

[@crocholiday]

Great video and absolutely true. I have a Squier Jaguar I completely rebuilt and I was absolutely floored by how much of a difference it made in tone. It went from a meh, willing to ruin it bass to being my "if I can only bring one to this gig" bass, and that's over my Fender Pro 2 Precision or my EB Musicman Stingray special. I also couldn't agree more about how strings effect tone. My P bass sounds like a completely different bass depending on whether I use round wounds or flats. I'd also add not all basses like all types of strings. While my P bass sounds amazing with LaBella flats, my stingray absolutely does not. She needs brighter stings that compliment her mid range growl. It's pretty fascinating how many tone variations you can get with different pickup brands, configs and string combinations. My current favorite is P/J with D'Addario Chromes. Bright enough for rock and slap but roll the tone off and you can get a credible Motown or country vibe. Anyway, fantastic video and dig your groove!

[@deanbalanay850]

Now it has more brightness into the sound not just bass itself, its kinda blended richness to it 👌🔥🔥🔥

[@GrouchoTM]

Redoing a bass I made in high school right now! I'm 52 so I've had it a long time. I like the hipshot bridge I got for it and I chose EMG pickups just cause I'm looking for a clean look!

[@paulwaldrop]

Like the difference the new pickups make. Old pickups sounded muddled. Nice Job.

[@gnutsegnuhkar7792]

that upgrades will certainly open your pockets... if you are a beginner, just stick with what you have... upgrades are for those with critical ears... it's good you have a cheap bass... paul mccartney's first bass was a borrowed right handed one whose owner did not want it converted to a lefty

[@JTSunriseMusic]

New and improved, nice

[@lisahebebrand1184]

Really cool show my friend. Killer angle for sure! I'm not into the God thing, but I ain't gonna talk about him behind his back!!

[@squeekywheelmc6736]

I really appreciate Dan's content here. Inspiring and educational! Regarding the specific bridge being recommended here, I tried it out and discovered that the saddles have a weird design such that the horizontal adjustment screws don't go all the way through the part that holds the saddle and you end up with only about 1/2" of travel which in my case wasn't enough to get the instrument intonated. I ended up taking it off and returning it for a different part. Anyone else? I really like the through body option and it seems like a well-made part otherwise, but overall a bit of a design flaw. Just me?

[@TomTobin67]

I would have put a master volume, Duncan basslines preamp and a 3 way toggle switch into a total contact jack.

[@ottovonnekpunch1268]

Dude, at first blush, the original bass tone wasn't terrible, but WOW! Your mods made that bass a real thumper!!! Great job all around! OK, so how much (minus your labor, of course)???

[@zackymad1533]

Killer groove, this bass looks very much like my Yamaha trbx, thanks for all the tips.

[@Guitar6ty]

Doing the string through modification is worth it as it does improve the tone. The modded guitar has a lot more punch as well as enhanced tone.

[@jahriffn]

You're the fking man! Infinite love and gratitude from Colorado.

[@MrDaveKC]

I'm not the big bass player, but the sound modified is definitely better. I think it's clearer, and has dramatically better tone. One of these days I'll maybe work on the Rick copy bass of mine, it would almost certainly be better with different pickups. But as always, great work Dan.

[@GunsandGuitars]

Thanks David!

[@ColonelAngus2023]

What do you think about replacing the cheap small stock 250k pots with quality full size 500k pots and a .022uf Orange Drop cap? I have found that this simple inexpensive upgrade to my Squier Precision Bass vastly improved the tonal range options and sound quality of the stock pickups. I actually have use for the tone knob now. It has full range ability from off to full on rather than only affecting the tone from 3/4 to full on.

[@WhereWingsTakeDream]

Regarding the Guyker bridge from your example, I purchased and installed one after having watched your video. Wondering if you might create a video addressing intonation on this type of bridge where the saddles arent fully open on the ends. I'd imagine I'll either be cutting saddle screws and adjusting somewhat closely to where intonation adjestments were set on my previous bridge, or just buying various lengths of shorter saddle screws. Just curious about your thoughts or of any tips you might offer. Its a really nice, higher mass bridge and I am sure it'll provide significant sustains over the old OEM one.

[@familyengineering5591]

A brass or tusq nut would be an awesome cheap noticeable upgrade as well

[@DortheeLeMagnifique]

that's very impressive and looks much more easier than I thought ! you may have convinced me to upgrade my basse haha

[@thetubeschannel]

Nice education on this video too ! thanks for sharing. On the bridge string through, what goes on the back side to protect the end of the strings and to protect the wood there ?

[@uvulapie]

Guyker makes some amazing products! I'm currently being tempted to buy about six of their bass pickups. MUST RESIST...

[@andyvitale6071]

Sounds alive! That worn sleepy sound is gone..nice.

[@lisahebebrand1184]

The bass with upgrades sounds way more "Alive". Sean Black

[@fredgonzalez6619]

Thanks for all these great educational videos man!

[@saulgoodeguitars]

Awesome mods, nice shirt 😉

[@mrfatbobrider1969]

Cool as Dan I like both before and after, but the new setup sounds a lot brighter

[@GunsandGuitars]

Honestly before wasn’t all that bad, but definitely more alive now

[@mrfatbobrider1969]

@@GunsandGuitars yea befoe did sound good too, like it would've played some nice reggae

[@letmebefree93]

I heard guns guitars and Christian brothers in the first 30 sec you got my sub brother.

[@alexander_noren]

i like the P-pickups position! in theory it should make thin string sound fuller

[@AaronJohnProduction]

it sounds more brighter than before it feels like a jazz bass combi the precision pickup sounds like a jazz bridge

[@artr2]

More blessings in you brother! Keep it up and will definitely pay for your wiring diagram! God bless you and your family more!

[@luiscelis01]

What a difference!!!! Incredible!!!!!!

[@toledo2983]

the post upgrade sound is recorded much louder. If you equal the volume, there is no much difference, in fact i liked the Pre-updated sound better.

[@drew-shourd]

Tasty boss, what do you think of Rotosound 66 strings?

[@fiskcon]

Your soldering iron look strange, what theese cables mounted to iron stand for?

[@bigtguitars7312]

Are you still doing the diy or prewired kits I have two eb3 projects and I’m in the uk just 2 be awkward?

[@charlieburns1385]

Awesome thanks 👍

[@troythompson1621]

Have you tried EB cobalt flats? I love'em.

[@jamesdenny4734]

Hello, say I bought an Chinese 6 string bass, it has one soap bar pickup n 5 control nobs. It hasn't any volume with all nobs on full it sounds like its on #1. Would you have something I could install to get things working? I know not what all the controllers control? Thanks for your response.

[@SVRockChalk]

I’m building a pit bull bass. Do you know wear I can get a left handed neck or a Kramer style neck? Thx Dave loves you info on building tips.

[@TedCurran]

Do you have a video about how you stripped the original paint off it? I have a couple guitars (including THIS EXACT BASS) that I'd like to safely sand the factory finish off it and do an oil finish like it looks like you've got goin' on here.

[@GunsandGuitars]

My friend (the owner of this bass) is the one who stripped off the original paint. I think he just sanded it off.

[@keeperofthelowend]

the Fender Super 7250 link takes you to Dioxit.... doh! But, those bridges! Awesome!

[@GunsandGuitars]

Thanks for the heads up, I’ll fix it now!

[@GunsandGuitars]

Fixed! Also, here’s the link for you just in case amzn.to/3pwHeT3

[@aceforyoutoo]

Where are the toggle-switches the paralel and serie’s talk ,what went wrong

[@thansangarenthlei6618]

Great video👍

[@Its_a_Grimm]

So i have a squier contemporary HH jazz bass from the latest release and i want to upgrade the pre amp and pick ups. Not sure what I should buy. Anyway you could help me out?

[@TheBassTroll]

I do a lot of BEAD tuning, and so use 130 B strings. For string-through, would a 45 or 60* angle be better than 90* angle?

[@GunsandGuitars]

I’ve done both, and there’s nothing wrong with either way.

[@wxb200]

My strings of choice are Ernie Ball Super Slinky Strings

[@Gale-c4i]

What kind of bridge are you using and who makes it?

[@joseavalos9988]

how does it compare to a similar price bass?

[@rolanrivera6370]

Just for the fact that you call yourself christian while open, you have a friend. I got to subscribe.

[@everready19373]

The after demo sounds like it has more punch to me.

[@timedwards5600]

Thnx Dan God bless.

[@nickbellinger1047]

thanks Dan

[@JEDIKLOTZ]

Hi Dan, I was thinking about doing this to my Ibanez gsr200b if it's still available! It has to much noise to use at church! but i like using it because it's a lot lighter than my 5string Squier jazz. Awesome channel man thanks!

[@fergene402]

Gracias por el vídeo, buenas alternativas...

[@riffrafforiginal]

I like flatwounds and mudbukers. Call me crazy!

[@GunsandGuitars]

Not crazy at all. I’m actually all about flats these days too, like rounds, I go to fender for my flats 🤘

[@himalayanbgguitarworkshop1474]

What is that bridge name sir?

[@YoungDoug13]

Did you put some sort of string ferrules in the body?

[@GunsandGuitars]

I prefer to not do ferrules

[@YoungDoug13]

That doesn't wear away at the wood? Is the idea to have a better string to body connection?

[@Jihadbearzwithgunz]

Pickups and harness are the main soul to your sound that you can swap out outside of that it's you fingers and how you play and attack the strings Laughs nervously at all of my basses that have been modified lol. Only instrument I have that hasn't been modded yet is my guitar for tracking pretty happy with it so far

[@gnatfreeman2184]

We’re those old strings on the before sample? cause you know old strings are dull and lifeless. Just saying.

[@scottmorris4914]

Great video. I checked your web site, am not seeing the prewired harnesses, or kits.

[@GunsandGuitars]

They are there! www.gunsandguitars.net/guitar-strings

[@robertyoung7027]

After hands down. Punches hard like Tyson

[@andrewlittlefield3425]

Your a great guy Dan 👍🏻😁

[@shaneharrington3655]

Wow! Is there a guitar version of those pickups?!

[@GunsandGuitars]

Epic custom shop does make a strat set

[@stazrulez]

those pick up s make the sound much brighter. did yo put ferrols or ferrels in the back of the bass for the strings?

[@GunsandGuitars]

Nope I prefer to not use ferrules

[@stazrulez]

@@GunsandGuitars does that harm the guitar over time?

[@krzysztofwaleska]

I mostly hear fresh set of strings.

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

The new setup is definitely WAY better. Also, I'm sorry to say that this girl's heart and soul belong to Ernie Ball strings. 😔 (This is half a joke, but those are my go to strings for every guitar and bass I own)

[@DJPLAYNICE]

RAWK!!!🤘🏼

[@freebass87]

You know, I really dig the original vibe. But, as far as comparisons go, you've improved every aspect of this bass. More output, lower lows, higher highs, and loads more options. And yes, there is a vast amount more sustain. The notes died off fairly quick on the original takes. But, in a cool way, I thought. Like a fresh set of Optima RB Flats. Where everything is just quick. Does the old take have the original strings on it, or did you replace the strings beforehand. To give it a true comparison between stock and modded?

[@brevs8387]

I do think the sustain is better, but mostly the sound is brighter (best way I can describe it). Thanks for the info and links. I already turned by P-Bass into like a P-Jazz Bass, but something now tells me my mods aren't done.

[@asafpelleh7594]

Bruh, you forgot the 1st basic thing: Give it a proper setup

[@maartengaander6388]

I need help how can I contact you.

[@GunsandGuitars]

Patreon

[@maartengaander6388]

I noticed that you choose me for a giveaway,I’m contacting you to claim my prize,thank you.

[@riccardorubini245]

Before the upgrade the bass sounded kind of okay, a bit muffled maybe, but after you upgraded it, the sound just "opened up" and I think the combination of upgrades you chose for it gave the instrument a completely new life and voice. Excellent job.

[@raybbj]

In order to isolate the bass upgrades from the string change, I would have like to have heard an A/B compare with the same strings on the bass. Right now I'm left trying to guess how much of the improved tone is from the bass upgrades vs. a simple string change. Either way, nice work none the less and thanks!

[@mikeknowlden9617]

Interesting perspective. But what would you have changed first to verify and compare? Strings, pick ups, nut or/and bridge tuners? Just asking, as a beginner player and builder im just wanting to learn more.

[@crocholiday]

@@mikeknowlden9617 It would be cool to hear what each individual piece of the puzzle does to the tone. I'd say pickups / wiring and strings first would be biggest bang for your buck tone wise. Bridge and nut could be subtle and more for sustain. Tuners will help sustain a little too but biggest bonus there is good tuners stay in tune and ultralight tuners make a surprising difference in weight and neck dive.

[@mikeknowlden9617]

Thanks much to all who helped. I'll be building 2 different bass' one to keep and learn on at work and a beautiful wall hanger lol 😆

[@christosfragias592]

Awesome that you helped out a fellow Christian ✝️ Brother. ☦️🙏

[@felipedromundo8861]

Christians and guns, religion has never been so contradictory.

[@scotttait2197]

This is more like an infomercial than a video jeez

[@RubyRoks]

Very cool that you're gonna be selling those bridges on your site. All the mods make it sound like a completely new instrument. Those pickups are incredible. Shame ECS don't list 5 string Music Man pickups on their site.

[@mikestory2272]

I like Wilkinson tuners, and bridges. but the one you used got me thinking. I want to try a string through install.

[@realjester]

I do hear more sustain after the upgrades. The pickups sound brighter not as muddy as the original pickups. Cool upgrades can’t wait to see the next video. 👍👍👍

[@mobbinator]

The original sounded much duller but not bad in any way, but the upgrades really opened it up and made it come to life. Excellent video Dan!

[@kevmac1230]

Alvarez actually makes some decent basses.I used the Epic Custom Shop Ps and they're fantastic.

[@edwinstovall3334]

I can't say that I heard better sustain from the bass after the upgrades, but man, was there a difference in volume and tone! Definitely worth the upgrades! You also gave me some ideas to consider for an Ibanez miKro bass in my collection!

[@andrewjeffries8721]

Dan, I'm grateful for the budget friendly heads ups! Thank you, sir. Question 1: How do you choose where to cut the bass strings before you wind them on the tuners??? Inquiring minds want to know. Question 2: have you ever considered metal recessed string sockets for the underside of the bass?

[@bevinmodrak4997]

Definitely sounds better. I can't really tell how much is fresh strings though.

[@tsiggy]

1:41 When's the last time your bass's bridge screws stripped out?

[@ColonelAngus2023]

Pickups in most budget bass guitars are fine. The best upgrade is to replace the small cheap stock 250k pots with quality full-size 500K pots and a .022uf Orange Drop cap. The increase in total options is amazing. I do like the idea of choosing a replacement Bridge with a string spacing adjustment option. It doesn't cost anymore and is very useful in most cases.

[@konjunto2477]

Looking to upgrade my Gretsch G2220 with the bridge you demo in your video. My question is this- is this a 5 screw drop in replacement or is drilling required. Thank you.

[@roentgen571]

The mod I do to EVERY bass and guitar I use is... schaller straplocks. Absolutely critical. Wilkinson stuff has been high quality for a good price, in my experience. Gotoh is another good aftermarket part brand, but they're a bit pricier.

[@SelfPropelledDestiny]

I have a very similar model Ibanez bass that has a translucent red paint job (I'm assuming the same of that Alvarez); I would absolutely love to see how you made it look like that! Sand it down obviously. Stain? Oil?

[@brianwoolery2558]

I recently bought a Glarry P style Bass as my learning instrument. Will def consider these upgrades as I gain skills and crave a better sound. Thanks!

[@bassimprovjams3772]

KZbin has not been showing me your videos in my notifications at all, 😢

[@grantkoeller8911]

The Fender 7250's are the exact strings I use! I love them! They are nickel plated steel hex core roundwound and they are the stock strings used on all Fender USA, Mexico and Japan models, in addition to all Squier basses. When Fender closed the Mexico string plant in 2010, all Fender strings manufacturing were transferred to the D'Addario company using Fender specifications and containing the colored ball ends. Great strings! I use medium string gauge .105"-.085"-.065"-.045"

[@seanl3428]

This was incredibly helpful. I have an Allen Eden 2-tone bass guitar and the hardware is fairly garbage and the electronics are definitely garbage, bad ground, buzzy.