Bass Mod Archives

And now for something completely different. We recently featured a video by Indian music enthusiast and seven-string bassist Jason Everett. While a seven-string may be outlandish to some, he sent me some info on a special bass he modded to fill another role for his style. After being inspired by John McLaughlin’s guitar work with Shakti, Everett turned his Rickenbacker...

Q: I see a lot of people talking about the use of bass ramps. I see that it’s basically a piece of wood in between the pickups, but I’m not sure what the benefits are. Also, how do you make one? A: A ramp (or finger ramp) was created out of the desire to broaden the range of feeling one...

I’ve told you a little about my Lab Rat bass and showed you some of what I’ve done to it so far. The Lab Rat was a brand-new SX Ursa 4 that I paid about $150 plus shipping, and I bought it for the specific purpose of experimentation. I had a pickup configuration in mind that I wanted to try...

This month, we’re going to talk about an all too common problem: the humming and/or buzzing you get from radio frequency waves interfering with the electronic signal in your bass. These waves can be emitted from any number of sources, many of which are common on the stage and in the home. Neon and fluorescent lights, central AC and refrigeration...

Upgrading the Lab Rat: Bridge Replacement I have a bass I call the Lab Rat. It’s a really cheap Jaguar knock off I bought to experiment with some ideas I’d been kicking around. I’ve upgraded all the electronics already, and we’ll briefly go over some of that in future articles. I’m on to the hardware phase now, and today is...