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Post subject: To upgrade or not...
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:10 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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First of all I'm a guitar guy but have a lot of experience working on strats and teles. However, I just inherited a Mid 80's (E-Serial #) Japanese Fender P-Bass... not a reissue or anything fancy, I think it was just the standard MIJ model. Anyhow, I was thinking of upgrading the pots, wiring and input with some higher quality stuff...

I guess my question is this, is it even worth it? Everything is working fine though the pots feel really cheap, they do still work well however. I feel comfortable soldering so that's no the issue...maybe I'm just looking for a project to keep me busy for a few hours. I'm pretty stoked on the bass though...way different sound and feel than my short scale Epiphone SG bass.

[img][img]http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/9186/rhynozbassweb.jpg[/img][/img]


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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:21 pm
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It's in really great shape for being as old as it is...anyone know if the body is alder or something else?


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Post subject: Re: To upgrade or not...
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 12:05 am
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JamGuy wrote:
First of all I'm a guitar guy but have a lot of experience working on strats and teles. However, I just inherited a Mid 80's (E-Serial #) Japanese Fender P-Bass... not a reissue or anything fancy, I think it was just the standard MIJ model. Anyhow, I was thinking of upgrading the pots, wiring and input with some higher quality stuff...

I guess my question is this, is it even worth it? Everything is working fine though the pots feel really cheap, they do still work well however. I feel comfortable soldering so that's no the issue...maybe I'm just looking for a project to keep me busy for a few hours. I'm pretty stoked on the bass though...way different sound and feel than my short scale Epiphone SG bass.

[img][img]http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/9186/rhynozbassweb.jpg[/img][/img]


From the outside, I would keep it original. Unless the posts are defective I would leave them alone. Otherwise, you can upgrade the guts to MIA spec. for some reasonable coin. I had to fix a friends MIM Jazz Bass. The pots where really cheap and damaged. You said...the potsdo still work well however...Unless they are really cheap or damaged, just put on some quality strings with a quality cable and enjoy the industry standard.


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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 11:03 am
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"Is it even worth it?" is actually something of a backwards question. Those Japanese instruments are very well made, and modifications would likely reduce the value of that bass. On the other hand, it's never likely to be terribly valuble, so if you value playability, some modifications would be fine if that's the way you decide to go.

So, you have a well-made bass that could stand on its own, but it is certainly good enough that dropping some $ on it wouldn't be a waste of $, but it might reduce the collectibel value of the instrument (which may not be huge, but there is a significant market for these Japan-made instruments).


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