What modification would give me the most bang for my buck on a bass guitar?

I have a one year old fender squire bass guitar, and need a little better sound out of it, what mod would be the best for my money (about $20)?

Comments

[Clayton H.]

pickups, pricey but worth it or strings, Flatwounds sound cool unless it's a shortscale, Tom at guitar center told me that.

[Clayton H.]

well flatwounds don't work on a shortscale

[shammallamaman]

What kind of pickups do you recommend? I just got new strings

[rollingstoner357]

lol i found that out the hard way....good pickups are seymore duncans and fender noisless....any after market are nice

[shammallamaman]

I have a squire bass, do you think they would be better than the ones on it?

[iamtoats]

Most likely. How much did the bass initially cost?

[shammallamaman]

I think around 250-260, it has fender jass bass pickups on it.

[tjdadj]

If your budget is that limited, I'd suggest buying a new set of good strings.. By far the least expensive sound improvement you can make. I'm definitely old school, and would recommend Rotosound RS66 Roundwounds for versatility in playing styles.. Flatwounds may be easier to play, but they just don't have the tonal body of a high quality roundwound. OH, and don't believe the "no flatwounds on short scale" . My short scale bass (1969 Ampeg Dan Armstrong acrylic) works fine with them, although short scale flatwound strings are harder to find and IMHO, only worth using when you need that particular sound.

[nascarbean_97]

if you want pickups go for emgs! i love them and they are extremely versatile

[Valde Levis]

The neck joint has to be tight! Any side play or slop will suck the tone and sustain right out of your bass.