Franken Midget V1 built, seeking ideas for V2
 

Due to a shoulder injury and "Victor Wooten hands" (short fingers) I need to play a 30" scale to prevent injuries. I had a Bronco that had a tone I wasn't thrilled with even after putting in SPB-3's and I had a Squire Jazz body laying around from a failed de-fret. Soooo...

My Franken Midget V1 was born.

She sounds deeper and punchier than the Bronco but she sounds... "vague" or muddy. I had to use the Bronco bridge to get the .625 spacing to match the neck and she intonates as well as the Bronco did. That isn't saying a lot since there are only two saddles on that bridge and the fact that two strings share each saddle makes getting perfect intonation next to impossible.

So I'm dabbling with the idea of V2, but that leads to questions:

1) The body was meant for a 34" scale so it's oversized for the 30" neck. I kind of like it since there is no neck dive at all. I was wondering, how much is the additional mass of the larger body contributing to the deeper tone?

2) I've had a horrible time trying to get the strings aligned perfectly with the pickups, even when putting the SPB-3's into the Bronco. I was assuming that precise alignment was crucial for clear tone. Is this true? I suspect that the coil to string misalgnment is what's responsible for the muddy feeling, causing the notes to not feel crisp and clear even when a tuner says they're perfect right down to the cent.

Any other thoughts on how body mass could affect tone is appreciated.

Also, if anyone knows of a .625 speced 4 string bridge that's good, or another method that's better, then I'd appreciate the advice.

Thanks!