Upgrades or buy new bass?

[GrayAkira]

So I owned this 10yrs old Samick bass with wood finishes and stuff. The pickups are precision and jazz combo (if i'm not wrong) and it's really rusty after all those years. Same goes for the bridge and the fretboard worn down already. Like can see those dust and rust stuck near each fret and stuff.

So I was thinking if it's better to upgrade my Samick bass with new pickups, bridge and neck (keeping the headstock and body since they're in gd condition).

If I were to buy a new bass, I was thinking about Fender Precision Bass. Maybe the Standards since I'm on a budget now. So which you guys think is better? Especially when I'm on a budget ard $800-$900.

 

[theblueark]

Sounds like all you need is a bit of cleaning up and possibly some fretwork.

How were you thinking of keeping the headstock while changing the neck?

 

[wraith]

Calculate the cost of the upgrading, then measure it against the cost of a buying a new bass. Thats the smart thing to do, however, i'd be more in favour of upgrading the current bass you have, especially if the body wood is a decent tonewood like alder/ash.

By upgrading, you have more control over what you want your bass to feel/sound/look like and you can have custom pickups vs the stock pickups you'd get if you were to get a fender.

However, if the sound/feel/look you're aiming for is all things fender, then get the real thing.

 

[wraith]

Btw, the fender, is it secondhand? And is it the american, mexican or jap model?

 

[hasanur]

It would be best you get a new bass...

 

[candie]

Wan buy new bass la! LOL. :lol:

 

[GrayAkira]

Btw, the fender, is it secondhand? And is it the american, mexican or jap model?

First hand. I not sure which model, but it's that Fender Standard Precision that's sold in Luther. And I cannot keep the head while changing the fret ah? Ahaha, well maybe I send it to clean if I were to upgrade then. I guess I'll do more survey about the price for upgrading.

 

[wraith]

The one in the classified ads ar?

 

[reyrey]

dude...dun upgrade if you're not sure,better buy new one,the end product might not be good...better play safe and get that fender,dun risk it dude...unless you know a very good luthier and you got your resources cheap...
bridge = 50
pickups=250
neck = 300
balancing,wiring and stuff = 400+
tuning machine = 100
in the end its more expensive la...the price i quote above,is the standard price for balancing n stuff,down here in singapore,i dun think got any shop that can balance guitar very well...so you better think carefully my man

 

[tim_1002]

reyrey, what you mean by balance?

just get the p, you won't regret it. alder/ash body, maple neck p bass is basically all you need to get basic good tone. if you want ultimate thumping tone. just upgrade to dimarzio will power or duncan 1/4 pounders, badassII bridge and flats. so just get the p and upgrade over time.

mij fenders are solidly assembled so there's little risk with getting that compared to upgrading your samick. i'm just not too big a fan of basswood. try to get the alder or ash pbasses.

 

[reyrey]

what i mean by balancing....
when you try to assemble a new neck to a body,you are not just screwing the 4 screws onto the neck and voila...my bass is ready...no,there's more to that
you need to balance it,i think got some sort of rubber in between the neck and the body,and it needs to be placed properly and be assembled using proper equipment...also with supper accurate precise measurement... it do take a some time coz its quite hard and troublesome job...that's why they charge you quite high for this balancing job...this is what my luthier friend told me la,and i believe him,coz i got do lots of my 'surgeries' with him
other than balancing,fretting is equally important...so that the string never buzz and the tone is constant on every fret =)
the reason why i like jap basses/guitars,coz their workmanship is top notch,you shouldnt be worrying bout your bass when it is MIJ,they'll take care of all the lil things,even 800$ fender MIJ can sounds like 4k if you know how to modify it properly...cheers yea