gvarko said:
I also upgraded the pu's in my Mexi PBass to the EMG active set. I think any low end bass will need the pu's replaced IMO.
It is a must, pickups in the J-bass were hollow sounding, slightly microphonic, and didn't give me that humbucker-when-they're-both-full-volume thing.
The Focus "P" was just as cheezee.
Now for bridges and lemon oil:
The original BadAss was in response to the fender bass bridge's instability. (Leo himself came up with an improved bridge when he put out the StingRay) If you notice (unless you are very fortunate), the saddles are not horizontally rock solid-especially if you bend like me. The BadAss has milled tracks/grooves for the saddles to slide along. So you can adjust for height and intonation but the saddle does not move from side to side.
Also the BadAss enhances sustain. I can tell the difference (I should have A/B'd the 2 bridges,but hey)
As for the lemon oil; read an article In Bass Player a few years back, on fretless fingerboards (I think it was by Rick Turner).
He talked about the different finishes and fingerboard woods. He said that doghouse bassists would just rub thier boards down with lemon oil as a care regimen and call it a day. ***He also talked about the "groove pits" that roundwounds quickly dig into any other wood, save ebony, and how flats hardly wear a board at all***
Well I had a'94 Std. Jazz fretless at the time, so I compromised on the strings and put halfwounds on it, and I started oiling the fingerboard.
I kept doing that to my other basses, even after I got rid of the fretless. Does it help? Duh, idonno. But it does keep the fretboard from getting too dry, and it makes cleaning fret-gunk a little easier.