Pickup for Bronco Bass. hotrails or fast track?

[Jack655321]

hey, I'm new here.

now I've read many threads on this subject but none seem to have a definite favourite. It seems the most talked about are the DiMarzio fast track 1 & 2 and the SD Hotrails. (the neck position ones I presume?)

now can someone who had experience with these pickups in a bronco please tell me wich one I should go for?

I play with a pick, I like the roaring sound of my Squier Jazz bass through a Hartke 3500. I don't like humbuckers on bass guitars.

would any of these pickups get me close to the sound of my jazz bass, or am I just being too naïve?

I play rock btw, heavy and regular

please help me out, I want to get my Bronco in shape as soon as possible.

[Webtroll]

what kind of sound are you aiming for? a standard strat pickup might score you the original precision vibe

[Jack655321]

well, as I said, a jazz bass with both pickups volume on max
but that might not be doable

I just want a good full roaring sound. I wonder if that can be done with either a fasttrack or a hotrails pickup? or that I maybe have to go with a quarter pound single pickup for precision bass but those pole pieces probably don't lign up so I'll have put it in in a slanted way.

recommend people !

[guylewis]

I went the route of angling a SD single-coil quarter pounder pickup in a bass I made with narrow string spacing.

It sounds great!

It can get really dirty if you want it but smooth too!


I recommend it highly.

[Jack655321]

thanks for the advice!
that's +1 for the quarter pounder

keep those suggestions coming people

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by Jack655321

well, as I said, a jazz bass with both pickups volume on max
but that might not be doable

I just want a good full roaring sound. I wonder if that can be done with either a fasttrack or a hotrails pickup? !

Those are both humbuckers (albeit small format guitar ones), which you say you don't like. But if you want to try both of those, I have one of each kicking around that I'd love to get outta my shop. PM me and we can talk about it.

[Webtroll]

GFS makes a relatively low output blade pickup, don't they? about 6k resistance? that would give you a strat sized humbucking pickup without the guitar pole pieces

[Jack655321]

Originally Posted by Passinwind

Those are both humbuckers (albeit small format guitar ones), which you say you don't like. But if you want to try both of those, I have one of each kicking around that I'd love to get outta my shop. PM me and we can talk about it.

i dunno, the bassist wich I used to play with had a OLP bass with one of those bass humbuckers in the bridge, and I didn't really like the tone of his bass

I don't know if a hotrails or a fasttrack would have the same effect, if it does, I certainly don't want it.
and it might be hard for me to buy something from your shop, since I live in belgium, and including shipping costs and customs tax might jack up the total cost too much.

GFS makes a relatively low output blade pickup, don't they? about 6k resistance? that would give you a strat sized humbucking pickup without the guitar pole pieces

is low output ideal though if you want a nice roaring bass sound? I was under the impression that high output was the way to go, but I could be wrong.

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by Jack655321

i dunno, the bassist which I used to play with had a OLP bass with one of those bass humbuckers in the bridge, and I didn't really like the tone of his bass

I don't know if a hotrails or a fasttrack would have the same effect, if it does, I certainly don't want it.
and it might be hard for me to buy something from your shop, since I live in Belgium, and including shipping costs and customs tax might jack up the total cost too much.i

I've never tried those pickups for bass, but they're definitely a much different animal than what was in that OLP.

I don't have a shop in the business sense anymore, just a place to pursue what is now my electronics hobby. But in any case shipping those things to Belgium is probably way too much hassle and expense, especially if you're not sure you'd even like 'em.

Best of luck, hope you find what you need.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by Jack655321

i dunno, the bassist wich I used to play with had a OLP bass with one of those bass humbuckers in the bridge, and I didn't really like the tone of his bass

Not all humbuckers sound alike. Most of the time when you see a humbucker on a bass, it's a Music Man style pickup. They have one particular tone, and that's about it. You like it or you don't.

But a humbucker is just having two coils, and as you see in those Strat sized pickups, humbuckers can sound many ways. Even like single coils.

My humbuckers sound ore like a Jazz bass than a MM.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by guylewis

I went the route of angling a SD single-coil quarter pounder pickup in a bass I made with narrow string spacing.

It sounds great!

It can get really dirty if you want it but smooth too!


I recommend it highly.

That's a cool bass you have there. I love the styling.

[J.D.B.]

I have a DiMarzio "Pro-Trak" in my Bronco and am quite happy with it. The rest of the instrument is quite the turd, however.
Josh

[SGD Lutherie]

I just remembered I saw one once with a Bill Lawrence L-250, and that sounded quite good.

[Jack655321]

Originally Posted by Passinwind

Best of luck, hope you find what you need.

thanks man

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

My humbuckers sound ore like a Jazz bass than a MM.

are those the humbuckers in your avatar?
I doubt they will fit on a tiny bronco body

I just remembered I saw one once with a Bill Lawrence L-250, and that sounded quite good.

I'll check that out. although getting ahold of some of the smaller brandnames can be a hassle in Europe.

[thobbinghotrod]

SDG, What kind of bridge gives you that narrow spacing? I'm looking for one like that.

[guylewis]

Originally Posted by thobbinghotrod

SDG, What kind of bridge gives you that narrow spacing? I'm looking for one like that.

Its a Schaller 2000 series - huge adjustment range and great quality . . .

[ponticat]

Here are three more votes for Duncan Quarter Pound single-coil pickups.

[Jack655321]

Originally Posted by ponticat

Here are three more votes for Duncan Quarter Pound single-coil pickups.

am I wrong or do you have the original bronco bridges on those? is it possible to get the strings set-up decently with that bridge?


anyway, I think I'm gonna go with the Quarter Pounder. it seems like a safe bet since it's designed to be in a 1 pickup bass guitar.

although there's also the vintage and the hot version of this pickup. what would be the difference with that? I imagine the vintage has a low output or something? maybe the "hot" is the way to go, since it's something in the middle? but then again, maybe that one isn't quite balsy enough.

Vintage ---------------------------------- Hot ----------------------------------Quarter Pound


also since these are single coil pickups and the hot and the quarter pounder version are high output, will they be noisy?

[ponticat]

Originally Posted by Jack655321

am I wrong or do you have the original bronco bridges on those? is it possible to get the strings set-up decently with that bridge?

You are two-thirds correct. The Tele and the LP Jr. bodies have the original Bronco bridges. (The black body has a Fender Musicmaster replacement bridge which is a four saddle unit intended for a string-through body. I drilled the perpendicular portion to use it as a top-loader. Also, the two screws nearest the butt have a different spacing compared to the Bronco.) I am able to do a proper intonation with the Bronco bridge, but this is really sort of an academic exercise on my part as I never play above the 12th fret; hell, playing above the 7th is an adventure for me. Somebody on this forum has a motto in their signature that says something like "There's no money above the 7th fret."

As to pickup noise, I experience very little. But this may vary with one's equipment and environment. I'm pleased with what I have.

Additionally: The pickup cavity on the black (stock) bass needed to be modified to fit the SCPB-3 at a 25 degree to normal angle. I made the pickguard from .010" Masonite.

[jimbilly]

I had a '76 Musicmaster with a SD reissue Tele bass pickup, it was a noisy single coil, but it sounded awesome, with a big meaty midrange.