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Bronco Mods quick and easy...

#41
ZenG said:
This is what mine looked like looked like straight out of the box.....I haven't done anything to it yet.....intonation is way off right now. (Sorry for the blurred pic)

But I'll mess around with that today....
Click to expand...

Easy enough to try but IME, the OEM strings are horrible so intonation wasn't satisfactory for me until I installed better strings. I also make sure there are good witness points at the bridge and nut.
 
#42
Sage advice......:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I left the factory strings on for now.....I do have some others I'm going to try though...I'll put them on when my replacement bridge gets here....

Well....trying to intonate these strings was an adventure in frustration.....the E/A saddle are now so far back that the string end double wrap is riding on the saddle. And the A/E strings are still sharp some. I don't have much room left to pull the saddle much farther back.

I fared a little better with the D/G saddle....but had to pull it quite aways back....

Set the string height at the same time and then fired up and played along to 'Do It Again' by Steely Dan ( my favorite record for checking string tuning).

Sounded pretty good, considering, and the notes seemed to be just about right on (or maybe I'm tone deaf) , even soloing on the 12th fret.


Edit update:- turns out these can't be the factory strings on this bass. (The bass was transferred from another store). It almost looks like somebody put a set of long scale strings on it because the E-string is wrapped on the tuner post way past the tapered part.
So I have no idea what they are or what gauge.
 
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#43
ZenG said:
I stand corrected......just measured the Bronco nut and you're right...it's 1 and 5/8ths inches.....

Is there such a thing as a black Bronco pickguard on the market?

The Schaller Roller Bridge is looking like a good choice.....they have all the measurements on their site for this bridge....and it seems to be able to do the job pretty nicely.......

Not convinced about the Hipshot .669 bridge yet from what I see on their diagrams though........

On the Dimarzio site they list the BC-2 pickup as a hum cancelling Strat.
Specs show it's got lots of bottom end and good mids......
Click to expand...

I believe it was me who mentioned the BC-2; Yup it is a humbucker, but it should fit in a hole routed for a Strat pup...it's sold as such, anyway.

I tried many different wiring schemes, but the standard wiring arrangement (can't remember if series or parallel) they suggest in the instructions seems to be the best all around for my ears.
 
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#45
ZenG said:
String spacing on the Bronco stock bridge is 2 1/8 inches.

Most bridges are 2 1/4 inch.

That 1/16th of an inch per side isn't huge.......but it might be just enough to throw some people's game off.

Funny when you compare a Mikro to a Bronco.

The Mikro nut width is 1.5 inches....but it takes a 2 1/4 inch bridge.

The Bronco is 1 5/8ths inch nut width....but takes a 2 1/8th inch bridge.

The Mikro is 30 inches string ball-end to nut.

The Bronco is 31 inches string ball-end to nut.

Last night I sat down with both side by side trying to figure out why, if the Bronco neck is wider,it would use a 2 1/8th inch bridge instead of a 2 1/4 like the Mikro.

The Bronco is wider at the 12th fret than the Mikro.

As stated you COULD use a 2 1/4 inch bridge on the Bronco...but you'd be pushing the strings out an extra 1/16th of an inch on each side.

I measured this last night and it would be doable if one didn't mind giving up the 1/16th of fret space on the edge per side.

Personally I like the string spacing on the Bronco dead on as it is stock.........

But there's not a hell of a lot of bridges that go down to 2 1/8th...
Click to expand...
 
#46
ZenG said:
Molochnik :- What kind of tone/sound did you get out of the BC-2?
Click to expand...
Gosh, I'm not sure how to describe it other than "generic P-bass" sort of sound. It is certainly better than the stock pup for sure. I can say that nobody has complained and it seems to do fine no matter what I plug into.
It stays articulate - never muddy even with the tone knob full dark, which is pretty much where I leave it.
The power is fantastic though. At a local jam night they have a GK bass amp (don't know any details though) and I had to turn down a bit to avoid speaker farts and leave some room for the guitards. In contrast, I used my Fender PJ and I was just loud enough to be heard.

I'm using D'addario chrome flats for strings, BTW.
 
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#47
In my experience it's a pretty good bass all stock.
Having said that, I modified my Bronco heavily over the years, and eventually settled on "mustangerizing" her with 1974 Mustang pickup, Squier Mustang neck, and Schaller tuners (for optical reasons only).

DSCF5100.JPG
 
#48
Neither Pyramid Gold Shortscale Flats or GHS Stainless Precision Shortscale Flats will work on a Squier Bronco (or Ibanez Mikro).

Just for the sake of info.....

The E-string thick part of both string sets is too long and overlaps the tuning post......

Nice looking strings though......

****damn****
 
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#53
felis ......all I did was take the old bridge off......line the Schaller up...drill some pilot holes ( not too big or too deep...because the Bronco has pretty soft body wood)....then screw it on ......and I was done.

I did actually move it back a tad farther than the stock one though.

The holes on the old bridge are not the same as the Schaller.....

I like the string height for me about 2 millimeters at the 12th fret.....which I can get with the Schaller....

It comes with 3 screws......but when I put it on I noticed there were 2 extra holes in the bridge as well...so used a couple more screws for a total of 5.

It's ok for the 2 extra as long as you select a screw that fits into the recessed hole and does not stick up above.

Be aware that the rollers do not lock like a Hipshot. They are held in place by the string which prevents them from rolling.

But it's definitely a "low profile" bridge..........so you can get the string height pretty low.
 
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#56
I got a used one and returned it. Probably should have kept it. It was in new condition.
I could get the intonation close with a tuner, but not exact.
Probably too picky, but it just bothered me.
Hard to believe they'd put out a bass nowadays with that type of bridge.
 
#58
Next will be the pickup.

After giving it some thought , I'm going to put a DiMarzio BC-2 in it...

I couldn't do anything with the stock bridge for tuning or intonating, it just would not work.

This new bridge sounds really sweet...but I also put new strings on it at the same time.

They are D'addario Nickel Round Wounds handpicked shortscale singles from BassStrings Online.

Gauges:- 105,85,65,45.

Sounds way better than when I first got this bass.
 
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#59
ZenG said:
Next will be the pickup.

After giving it some thought , I'm going to put a DiMarzio BC-2 in it...

I couldn't do anything with the stock bridge for tuning or intonating, it just would not work.

This new bridge sounds really sweet...but I also put new strings on it at the same time.

They are D'addario Nickel Round Wounds handpicked shortscale singles from BassStrings Online.

Gauges:- 105,85,65,45.

Sounds way better than when I first got this bass.
Click to expand...

Seems like a good choice for a pickup. Any thought on whether you'd wire it in series or parallel?
 
#60
I like the specs of the BC-2......from DiMarzio's site.

However I'm not well-versed at all when it comes to wiring for series/parallel or any of the electronic parts really.

I just figured I'd solder it in the same way the stock one came out......and then go up to my Luthier/tech's house if it doesn't work.....:cool:
 
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