200-dollar Squier Bronco is a winner.

[Fairmont]

I stopped by the Fayetteville, Georgia Guitar Center after work and grabbed this $199 Squier Bronco to do some experiments with (modifications), but after unboxing it and playing it I’m not sure I want to mess with it at all.

This is no cheaply-made guitar. It’s solid in the hands with a good body and big ol’ headstock. The maple neck is beautiful.

The first thing I did was feel the frets. Edges aren’t perfectly smooth but they’re not rough either. I can live with it actually. Feels pretty good. The pick guard, knobs and bridge feel solid as well. Metal knobs are a pleasant surprise. I can’t vouch for the machine heads yet, however. We’ll just have to see.

I grabbed my tuner and was surprised that the A string was spot on. The E was just a little flat. The D needed a bit of tension and the G easily slid into place.

Someone must have set it up proper, which I didn’t expect because it was boxed up and hasn’t been opened. Lots of cardboard and good bagging as well. They did a great job getting it ready for shipping. Very protected.

Finally (and this surprised me): the intonation is really good. I’m able to play chords up and down the neck with decent results. By contrast, my Ibanez Mikro (also a short scale but even shorter) is a fun little bass, but it doesn’t have nearly the sustain and solid feel of this Bronco, nor is it easy to intonate. The Bronco is only $20 more than the Mikro. No contest.

For the price you can’t go wrong.

Now I just have to wait until the Mrs. Goes to sleep and I’ll plug it in with headphones. Lots of reviews are trashing the single coil pickup, but this is just a learning bass for me as I get my chops back after years of not playing.

 

[jd56hawk]

What's the supposed problem with the pickup?

 

[Fairmont]

What's the supposed problem with the pickup?

Many claim the output is weak. I haven't tested it yet. I've enjoyed playing acoustically this evening. I was going to plug in, but maybe tomorrow instead.

 

[JoeDaddio]

Many claim the output is weak. I haven't tested it yet. I've enjoyed playing acoustically this evening. I was going to plug in, but maybe tomorrow instead.

You've got some kind of will power, man.


joe

 

[jallenbass]

What's the supposed problem with the pickup?

It's not the clearest sounding pickup but it may have a character that you enjoy. You know, YMMV.

 

[Bass V]

there's an older model on our fb mkt pl for $200, been waiting for the $100 version lol
stock they have 'their own sound', kinda mild, which some like, others mod to taste and I've heard rumors they can best a P at sounding like a P. you likely made a great re-entry investment.

 

[Fairmont]

You've got some kind of will power, man.


joe

It's because I'm really tired this evening and want my first plug-in with this little guy to be positive. Tomorrow I'll have more time.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Congrats! I liked the one I had. It was black just like yours. Sold it for $110 a couple of days ago.

If I were to spend $200 on a new one I definitely would have bought the shell pink variety.

Squier Affinity Bronco Bass Shell Pink (CME Exclusive) Pre-Order

 

[sloppy_phil]

I had a student with that exact bass. Played really nice, and felt the same. The sound was definitely the weakest link, but it's by no means horrid. I could see a new p'up being a good option for that bass, but for now just enjoy the new axe, and let 'er rip

 

[squarepeg]

They are amazingly good for the money.

The bassist in my surf band had the pickup replaced. We were recording in a studio and the engineer told us that the pickup was microphonic, and it buzzed. She replaced it with a DiMarzio Model J neck pickup that fixed the problem.

I own basses that cost ten times as much and they don't sound any better than this.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

They are great little basses, mine came to me as project pieces through a couple different sellers here on TB. The pickup was already upgraded and so was the bridge. A little adjustment between this and my two Musicmasters but I love it.

The neck is so smooth. IMO, you made a great choice on an easy playing bass to get back into playing. Nice and lightweight too! Enjoy!

 

[Volker Kirstein]

I stopped by the Fayetteville, Georgia Guitar Center after work and grabbed this $199 Squier Bronco to do some experiments with (modifications), but after unboxing it and playing it I’m not sure I want to mess with it at all.

This is no cheaply-made guitar. It’s solid in the hands with a good body and big ol’ headstock. The maple neck is beautiful.

The first thing I did was feel the frets. Edges aren’t perfectly smooth but they’re not rough either. I can live with it actually. Feels pretty good. The pick guard, knobs and bridge feel solid as well. Metal knobs are a pleasant surprise. I can’t vouch for the machine heads yet, however. We’ll just have to see.

I grabbed my tuner and was surprised that the A string was spot on. The E was just a little flat. The D needed a bit of tension and the G easily slid into place.

Someone must have set it up proper, which I didn’t expect because it was boxed up and hasn’t been opened. Lots of cardboard and good bagging as well. They did a great job getting it ready for shipping. Very protected.

Finally (and this surprised me): the intonation is really good. I’m able to play chords up and down the neck with decent results. By contrast, my Ibanez Mikro (also a short scale but even shorter) is a fun little bass, but it doesn’t have nearly the sustain and solid feel of this Bronco, nor is it easy to intonate. The Bronco is only $20 more than the Mikro. No contest.

For the price you can’t go wrong. View attachment 3976481
Now I just have to wait until the Mrs. Goes to sleep and I’ll plug it in with headphones. Lots of reviews are trashing the single coil pickup, but this is just a learning bass for me as I get my chops back after years of not playing.

View attachment 3976484

Broncos rule!

 

[Leonid Nidis]

A month later...new pickup,new tuners,new bridge,new neck
A killer bass got just 700$ in it

 

[EatS1stBassist]

I stopped by the Fayetteville, Georgia Guitar Center after work and grabbed this $199 Squier Bronco to do some experiments with (modifications), but after unboxing it and playing it I’m not sure I want to mess with it at all.

This is no cheaply-made guitar. It’s solid in the hands with a good body and big ol’ headstock. The maple neck is beautiful.

The first thing I did was feel the frets. Edges aren’t perfectly smooth but they’re not rough either. I can live with it actually. Feels pretty good. The pick guard, knobs and bridge feel solid as well. Metal knobs are a pleasant surprise. I can’t vouch for the machine heads yet, however. We’ll just have to see.

I grabbed my tuner and was surprised that the A string was spot on. The E was just a little flat. The D needed a bit of tension and the G easily slid into place.

Someone must have set it up proper, which I didn’t expect because it was boxed up and hasn’t been opened. Lots of cardboard and good bagging as well. They did a great job getting it ready for shipping. Very protected.

Finally (and this surprised me): the intonation is really good. I’m able to play chords up and down the neck with decent results. By contrast, my Ibanez Mikro (also a short scale but even shorter) is a fun little bass, but it doesn’t have nearly the sustain and solid feel of this Bronco, nor is it easy to intonate. The Bronco is only $20 more than the Mikro. No contest.

For the price you can’t go wrong. View attachment 3976481
Now I just have to wait until the Mrs. Goes to sleep and I’ll plug it in with headphones. Lots of reviews are trashing the single coil pickup, but this is just a learning bass for me as I get my chops back after years of not playing.

View attachment 3976484

Those are great basses! I modded the crap out of a red one!

 

[Deleted member 271037]

The main problem with the stock pickup is that it's EXTREMELY susceptible to picking up noise. To the point of being practically useless for anything other than home practise IMO.

YMMV of course.

 

[iiipopes]

The traditional replacement pickup for a Bronco/MusicMaster bass is a Seymour Duncan rails pickup: Cool rails if you want a lighter tone; Hot rails if you want a heavier tone, fine-tuned by your choice of neck or bridge version.

 

[Dan_reeves]

I replaced the stock pickup in mine with a Seymour Duncan hot rails. The stock pickup is a generic strat pickup under the cover. Nothing wrong with playing it first - maybe you got a good one. I also replaced the tuners on mine - they didn’t fail, but they felt really cheap and I just didn’t like that.

The necks on these are really nice, and they tend to be really light too. It is a super fun bass to play for sure!

 

[Fairmont]

Congrats! I liked the one I had. It was black just like yours. Sold it for $110 a couple of days ago.

If I were to spend $200 on a new one I definitely would have bought the shell pink variety.

Squier Affinity Bronco Bass Shell Pink (CME Exclusive) Pre-Order

That's actually a good idea (the pink one). Covid has caused a serious boom in the guitar industry, especially with girls. It's really cool to see. March was a disaster for the business, and they felt doomed, but by May sales were breaking records all over the industry.

We're getting a second wave or rock and roll in the next few years. Take that, Pop Music!

 

[Fairmont]

The traditional replacement pickup for a Bronco/MusicMaster bass is a Seymour Duncan rails pickup: Cool rails if you want a lighter tone; Hot rails if you want a heavier tone, fine-tuned by your choice of neck or bridge version.

What do you mean by lighter and heavier tone? I've never replaced a pickup. Back in the 80s and 90s I played bass and guitar every day and had some nice stuff. I haven't played in about twenty years, so my left hand is out of shape, but I'm shocked that my right hand somehow remembered what to do. I mostly play with my fingers and occasionally use a pick if I'm recording and want a punchier sound.

About the pickups you mentioned: The sound I would like ideally is a hard rock sound, like AC/DC or even Dave Ellefson of Megadeth (although I don't play thrash or speed metal--I just really love that music and his sound).

My favorite stuff to play is just good ol' classic rock and hard rock that we all hear from most cover bands.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

I grabbed a Squier fretless Jazz off of Craigslist late last year, with a good bag and brand new Chromes, for $200. Other than a minor tweaking of the setup, I've had no desire to change a thing.

Squiers have come a long, long way... Enjoy that Bronco!