How to Turn a Cheap Glarry Bass into a Killer Bass!
I will show you how to modify/upgrade a cheap Glarry bass guitar into a killer sounding bass using Graph Tech nut, Seymour Duncan Quarterpound Jazz Bass pickups (SJB-3), pre-wired harness by Gunstreet Wiring Shop, and copper tape for shielding. I will do a tone test and give my final thoughts.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Tone test 4:25
Final thoughts 6:18
#Glarry #bassguitar #upgrade
#Turn #Cheap #Glarry #Bass #Killer #Bass
Originally posted by UCQ4_cFqX3KaKyoVEehs_prA at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8gesEiL_1k
Beyond the bone nut and the pot replacement, I feel like the original setup was more articulate. The shielding was a worthy endeavour but, honestly beyond that, I would leave it alone. The stock bass isn't great but, it's still a solid instrument and kinda outshines the squier (IMO).
When watching a comparison video, you have to make sure you watch it properly. The before/after here sounded the same to me, but then I remembered that I'm using my cheap speakers at the moment. I'm simply not receiving what Antshay is transmitting. I sometimes have the same problem with camera/lens comparison videos. All the results look bad until I realize I'm watching at 360p.
I don't understand why you'd spend hundreds of dollars upgrading a $80 bass. This makes no sense. Just use your $360 to buy a better bass.
Harley Benton blows Glarry away , I bought a fretless ,, Unplayable out of the box . Never again JUNK
Call me crazy but unless you had the pickup comparison labeled opposite than I definitely thought what you had labeled as the stock pickups sounded much better to me than the Seymour Duncans which has got me scratching my head because I am new yo bass but played guitar for years and cheap guitar stock pickups never sound as good or can usually even compete with Seymour Duncans but if you had these labeled correctly i much prefered the sound of the stock pickups and another surprise was that they are louder than the Duncans here so I am so confused ????
Don't replace the pickups in any budget bass. Instead… Replace the small stock 250k pots with quality full size 500K pots and replace the tiny green stock .047uf cap with a .022 Orange Drop cap and PureTone output jack. Use GAVITT cloth wire, Copper shielding tape in the cavity (Don't forget to Ground the common to the body anywhere the shielding tape is. And Always! Spend the extra $5 and use only QUALITY Solder. Cheap solder will be difficult to attach to the pots and will eventually crack at the joints. The pickups in any affordable bass are never the problem. It's simply the cheap stock electrics. You won't believe the improvement in tonal range options and sound quality.
????In addition to a few other high end basses I have two Glary basses. An all white six string and a J type five string. I recently sold the 6 string because it was too wide for my hand.
I smoothed out the frets on the five string as it was chopping skin off my hand and lowered the action a little. Played it out for the first time last Sunday in my gospel worship band and she sung like an angel. ????
But thanks for the informative video ????????
Glarry should make a signature Isaac Hanson model bass 🙂
I am also a huge fan of Glarry basses – I have 2 now. On my P bass I replaced the pickups with Artec "Big Pole" types. Great sound at low price. I did not change the nut, bridge or hardware as they do not affect the sound or play-ability. Save the $$! However, you did not do the one thing that REALLY makes a huge difference in the feel! After you remove the strings, take a 3M 180 grit foam sanding block to the fretboard edges! This rounds the edges and smooths the fret ends, making the bass much more comfortable to play and gives it the feel of a much more expensive bass. I have done this to nearly every bass I have had and it makes a huge difference. And then – a GOOD setup. You didn't mention that. My total improvement cost – <$50.
I thought the bad already sounded pretty good, but yeah the upgrades do make it sound a little better.
I'd rather see the low cost upgrades and see what those changes will make.
The one thing you’ll get from the pickups is more headroom, if one was to say, add a high mass bridge and better tuners as well, buying a Squire Classic vibe would be a better option
Good video but I must say, I'm totally happy with my all stock from factory Squier Affinity jazz bass, I'm not in a band so for me it's all I'll ever need ????.
Two steps to make a glarry bass sound great….#1 plug…#2 play
I did a Superglarry with the fretless p bass… turned out perfect and actually (with the added hardware) sounding and playing great!!! TOTAL cost was about $225
Blind listening, there is a little difference but not really enough to justify doing all the upgrades for me. Any little nuance in tone is going to get drowned out by the guitar, drums, keys, vocals, room, crowd, etc.
The biggest issue with Glarry is the INSANE neck dive because the body weighs like 5 ounces. Ask me how I know.
Good move on that Glarry. But, there's one more way to turn that Glarry into a killer bass – hand it to #LelandSklar.
Id say you'd get better value from changing the strings (if they ,were the originsls) and giving it a fret level. Pick ups wont make s world of difference
To Be completely Honest. The SD just seems more quieter. There’s definitely a difference. Just not a huge one.
I Turned my Sterling Ray4 into the Terminator. ???? I wish I could show you guys.
I have been pumped to see a video like this. Thanks!
I personally think it sounded great stock didn’t need any changes and it really didn’t change anything
Not gonna lie, ever since I built an 8-string guitar from a kit I ordered, I've kinda become addicted to tinkering with my toys. I replaced the stock pickup from that kit with an 8-string Seymour Duncan humbucker and then I got cocky enough to buy a set of 7-string Seymour Duncan Black Winters to put in my 7-string Jackson Dinky (retails for $200 but got it for $160 off Musicians Friend open-box). I wanted to get into the world of extended range guitars but I didn't want to spend a ton of money and Jackson is a reputable brand so I went for it. The Seymour Duncans make a night-and-day difference in the sound. I'm far from being a wizard with a soldering iron myself but I can at least wire a humbucker and make it functional. Where I get myself in trouble is if I try to wire a set of dual humbuckers myself from scratch. I get frustrated and end up yelling swear words at both the guitar and myself. ????
I've been thinking of taking my old Squier P-Bass (my first ever bass) and upgrading the pickup from stock. It's a single-pickup bass so it should be simple enough that even someone who's as awkward with a soldering iron as myself can do it.
Honestly, I've found that tinkering can be quite satisfying and that it can definitely work for the musician on a budget: you can buy cheaper gear but make it sound so much better as you get the money to make the upgrades.
I have one and it sounds and plays as well as my American ???????? fender out of the box!
I’d get the Squier change the pickups and put on quality strings.
What was the song you played at 5:54?
Nice work on the video! Pure Quality I haven’t found in a while!
Props for attempting Thundercat!
The way I see it is upgrading a cheap Bass is:- Your trying to get it to a higher standard but your going to end up like Aunt Shea says If you not used to tinkering then you could run into problems and end up costing you more money in the long run which you won't get back if you sell,(all though a good place to start and or learn is on a cheap instrument) BUT then the other way is " CUSTOMISING" you find an Instrument you really like and you're determined to get it the way you want it and hopefully keep it.
It would have been nice to listen to the bass with its original components. so, we could had compare the old version and the new one. This video tells nothing… does it sound better now… does it not? Who knows…