Hi,
I’ve restarted my bass journey with a bass I’ve bought some 25 years ago, I think it’s this. It has two major issues,
The active electronics don’t work anymore.
there’s fret buzz at about every second fret or so
I should the bass to guitar/bass technician. He tried to fix the second problem by readjusting the neck, and he also had a look at the electronics. He said, he’d have to change the electronics (which unfortunately are not available anymore), and also to work on basically every fret. He said that would be a larger operation, working on the frets alone would be about 250 Euro. If we add the price for new electronics, we’re already in the price range of a new Squier Jazz Bass or for a Yamaha TRBX 304, or so.
Sure, nobody can tell me what to do, but I’d still be interested in your opinions about this. What would you do in a similar situation? (For the record, I also have an Ibanez SRX 5-string bass that I can use in the meantime, so there’s no need to act immediately. I could also save a bit and get a slightly more expensive bass later. Maybe a Fender Player Jazz, or a Sterling Stingray, or …)
Surely, it all depends on the value of the old bass. If it is a classic, with a reasonable market value, then it might be worth the investment. If it has sentimental value to you, it might be worth the investment. But if it is a cheap bass, and you are about it, then just get a “new” one.
I put the word “new” in “…” as you could always consider a second hand bass. All my basses are second hand; going down this route, you can access some seriously tasty instruments, for a lot less than the retail price, providing you have an idea regarding what you’re looking at (ie do your research and play the instrument before handing over the cash).
Was the luthier trustworthy and good? I talked to various luthiers around here (Hamburg) … and got statements like “I’ll adjust it for free, wait a second” to “oh, we need to replace/adjust everything and it will cost you 500€” … for the same issue.
I went for the free option (which included a nice chat and some great coffee) … and couldn’t be happier.
If you want to keep the bass for any reason, you can try to fix the frets yourself. There are quite some videos for that on YouTube. If that doesn’t work, you can still sell the bass or have it fixed.
Basses these days are great value for money, like squier or sire.
For the amount of money you would spend on your old bass I’d say : Keep your old bass on the wall somewhere as a decorative piece and get a nice sire or squier bass
You have come to the wrong place if that’s what you think,
First thing first, what’s wrong with the electronics? Water damaged? I have several basses from the 90s that’s still working. Did the tech try new battery? Check loose/ disconnected cables?
You can still get your new bass and the 304 and classic vibe are both excellent choices. If you sell this bass it worth near nothing but with a few bucks of investment in tools you may be able to fix this bass yourself if you can narrow down the issue. So tell us the symptoms. Pictures would also be nice.
You can do a rough fret leveling yourself and replacing the pickups can be simple enough.
I’ve been watching and trading basses for a short while now and unless you want to keep your bass forever “upgrades” rarely seem to increase the value of a bass at resale (in fact they don’t move on the 2nd hand market).
I also don’t trust anyone so if he told you your frets were that uneven I’d grab a straight edge and verify. If they are reasonably even and all it needs is a neck adjustment that simple and you can do it yourself.
As far as electronics go is be curious to know what’s not working? If it’s scratchy pots you can try a spray cleaner or just working them back and forth for a while.
If it’s a jack you can buy a new one and easily solder it in. I haven’t seen bad pickups but if it’s just a loose wire or bad ground those aren’t too hard to fix.
That being said sometimes if you can find a privately owned guitar shop they will give you generous trade in credit for older gear. I had a crappy 80’ Yamaha acoustic I payed $100 for used in college get me a profit value wise when I traded it.
Thanks everyone for your responses and suggestions. Just to give so more info:
Yes, I consider the tech to be very good and trustworthy. He runs a small shop and mainly builds custom guitars and basses, and other string instruments. He tried adjusting the neck already, but that wouldn’t fix the buzzes.
As for the electronics: Sure, we have tried with a new battery. With a new battery, I can switch on the active mode, the light will go on for a second, you hear a short blop sound, then it goes off again and turns quite. In passive mode, everything seems to work. The sound is just a rather thin, but ok. (That’s unlike my Ibanez SR504 where I’m not getting a sound at all when the battery is empty, and where I cannot switch between active and passive modes.)
Am I understanding this correctly the the EMG pickups come with their own preamp? Or would it be possible to just replace the preamp as the pickups seem to work just fine?
My problem is that I have two left hands, with all the fingers being thumbs (thats a weird translation of a German proverb, but you get the idea), but a friend of mine is good a soldering, so maybe he can help.
EMG is a solderless system, and yes you can get a preamp with it.
If you want just a preamp, check out Audere.
They are easy to install. and sound good too. I think this is what @JoshFossgreen runs in his Squier. Tell is the blue light that comes on when you plug in, and then fades out as it doesn’t use the battery to keep the light on, but tells you there is juice when you plug in.
Sorry for switching languages. @Whying_Dutchman just offered to take a look at the bass should I live close to Hamburg, but I live in Switzerland (Bern)…
Here’s a cool little song I learned in Germany when I was stationed there in '71.
Strophe
Heut’ kommt der Hans zu mir,
freut sich die Lies’.
Ob er aber über Oberammergau
oder aber über Unterammergau
oder aber überhaupt nicht kommt,
ist nicht gewiss.
Strophe
Hans isst gern Schweizerkäs
ohne Gebiss.
Ob er aber mit dem Oberkiefer kaut,
oder aber mit dem Unterkiefer kaut,
oder aber überhaupt nicht kaut,
ist nicht gewiss.
Strophe
Hans muss zum Militär,
man sagt ihm: „Schieß!“;
Ob er aber nun den Oberoffizier,
oder aber nur den Unteroffizier
oder aber überhaupt nicht trifft,
ist nicht gewiss.
Regarding the EMGs. If I understand correctly they come with a J-style plate for the potis and the jack. But my bass doesn’t have such a plate. Can I use it also with other potis or replace those? And the jack is not at the front of the bass, but on the side.
Will that work anyway? Has anyone done that?
I’ve just re-read your original post, @denismaier. The bass is a Hohner B Bass? They’re really cool, but then I’m biased as I also have one. It’s very good, especially for the money I paid for it, and the early 90s vibe really works for me as (musically), I’m a child of the 80s / 90s!
Regarding the fret work, do you know what the guitar tech actually thinks needs doing? If it is just a bit of fret levelling and dressing, then €250 seems very expensive. I had a tech look at one of my basses recently, a Squier CV 50s bass that was buzzy. He did the fretwork and full set up for £50. This guitar tech works in a very well known music shop near where I live, but also does private tech work for half the price that you would pay in the shop. Of course, if your tech is also talking about replacing frets, then that’s a different story, and cost.
Regarding the preamp, given the bass plays in passive mode (the switch is simply preamp on/off), you could just use it in passive mode, adjusting the EQ in your amp / amp modeller to get the tone you want, or play the bass through an external preamp, before hitting your amp. I sometimes play my active basses in passive mode, just for the hell of it. Equally, sometimes, I don’t even realise that I am playing in passive mode
I apologize if you mentioned it somewhere in the thread and I missed it. Are you particularly attached to this bass? If finances allow, and since it sounds like this bass is fixable it seems reasonable to account for that aspect in whether or not it’s worth spending the money on it. If the answer is no, then I think you’d probably be better off spending the money elsewhere. If the answer is yes, then there’s a lot of joy to be had in resurrecting and old friend.
about it, then just get a “new” one.
