I've been away from building due to some family stuff - I'll get back to this soon, Right now I'm leaning toward a "Telecaster Deluxe" style - black with aged pearloid guard - but that could easily change, depending on my mood when I get back to it.
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Chop Shop: Bronco Edition
- Thread starter Dark Horse
- Start date
Rhomco
Commercial User
Your ss tele bass looks familiar.
I buried the neck in mine all the way to the back of the neck pickup slot to shift the balance as far aft as I could to reduce neckdive. My body was a regular sized telebody so your larger body may accomplish the same thing.
Rob
I buried the neck in mine all the way to the back of the neck pickup slot to shift the balance as far aft as I could to reduce neckdive. My body was a regular sized telebody so your larger body may accomplish the same thing.Rob
OK group, here's a slightly different approach...
I've had a TV Jones pickup out of a Gretsch 2202 Jr. Jet for a while. It's now mounted in the Bronco - and it's a success! It doesn't have quite the roar that that my Gretsch 2202 does, but it's definitely fuller and deeper than the Strat-type pickups. It's powerful!
I first determined placement of the pickup by centering it under the strings upside down....when it looked right, marked its outline on the PG with a red wipe-off marker. Since this pickup has a trim ring that's black, I decided to keep it and mount both. That also meant I had more freedom to leave the sides of the cutout in the PG less than perfect.
Opened up the PG...drilled holes in the PG for each corner of the trim ring and for the pickup depth adjustment screws. Mounted the trim ring and pickup so i could see whether there clearance issues with the body cavity.
Under the PG, I did need to create about 1/2" more space on the E- string side. Both the pickup adjustment tab and the trim ring screws ran into interference. Fortunately there's a lot of room under there. A Dremel, patience and repeated test fittings did the trick. This picture was taken when part-way done; I took about twice as much material out as is shown in this pic, eventually moving the entire end of the cavity about 1/2" farther over. I also had to Dremel out one recess on the other side of the cavity for the top screw on the G string side...that recess is about where the angle cut is in the cavity.
Here's before, with the S-D Hot Rails Strat pickup:
Here's after (...how do you like the V8 emblem? Found it in a car parts store...liked it):
Personally, I think Fender ought to offer a humbucker option for the Bronco!
I've had a TV Jones pickup out of a Gretsch 2202 Jr. Jet for a while. It's now mounted in the Bronco - and it's a success! It doesn't have quite the roar that that my Gretsch 2202 does, but it's definitely fuller and deeper than the Strat-type pickups. It's powerful!
I first determined placement of the pickup by centering it under the strings upside down....when it looked right, marked its outline on the PG with a red wipe-off marker. Since this pickup has a trim ring that's black, I decided to keep it and mount both. That also meant I had more freedom to leave the sides of the cutout in the PG less than perfect.
Opened up the PG...drilled holes in the PG for each corner of the trim ring and for the pickup depth adjustment screws. Mounted the trim ring and pickup so i could see whether there clearance issues with the body cavity.
Under the PG, I did need to create about 1/2" more space on the E- string side. Both the pickup adjustment tab and the trim ring screws ran into interference. Fortunately there's a lot of room under there. A Dremel, patience and repeated test fittings did the trick. This picture was taken when part-way done; I took about twice as much material out as is shown in this pic, eventually moving the entire end of the cavity about 1/2" farther over. I also had to Dremel out one recess on the other side of the cavity for the top screw on the G string side...that recess is about where the angle cut is in the cavity.
Here's before, with the S-D Hot Rails Strat pickup:
Here's after (...how do you like the V8 emblem? Found it in a car parts store...liked it):
Personally, I think Fender ought to offer a humbucker option for the Bronco!
OK group, here's a slightly different approach...
I've had a TV Jones pickup out of a Gretsch 2202 Jr. Jet for a while. It's now mounted in the Bronco - and it's a success! It doesn't have quite the roar that that my Gretsch 2202 does, but it's definitely fuller and deeper than the Strat-type pickups. It's powerful!
I first determined placement of the pickup by centering it under the strings upside down....when it looked right, marked its outline on the PG with a red wipe-off marker. Since this pickup has a trim ring that's black, I decided to keep it and mount both. That also meant I had more freedom to leave the sides of the cutout in the PG less than perfect.
Opened up the PG...drilled holes in the PG for each corner of the trim ring and for the pickup depth adjustment screws. Mounted the trim ring and pickup so i could see whether there clearance issues with the body cavity.
Under the PG, I did need to create about 1/2" more space on the E- string side. Both the pickup adjustment tab and the trim ring screws ran into interference. Fortunately there's a lot of room under there. A Dremel, patience and repeated test fittings did the trick. This picture was taken when part-way done; I took about twice as much material out as is shown in this pic, eventually moving the entire end of the cavity about 1/2" farther over. I also had to Dremel out one recess on the other side of the cavity for the top screw on the G string side...that recess is about where the angle cut is in the cavity.
Here's before, with the S-D Hot Rails Strat pickup:
Here's after (...how do you like the V8 emblem? Found it in a car parts store...liked it):
Personally, I think Fender ought to offer a humbucker option for the Bronco!
if your not wanting the hot rails send it to glasgow for me
Didn't know you needed the love man!
I like it a lot, looks cool.
Chrome... can't go wrong with a bit of chrome can you?
I've been watching with interest since you started.. very nice work!
I like it a lot, looks cool.
Chrome... can't go wrong with a bit of chrome can you?
I've been watching with interest since you started.. very nice work!
I don't know if that's a thread killer. More like a "oh-man-that's-so-sweet-I'm-speechless" maker. 
It changes the whole look of the bass - the chrome with the trim ring looks great.
I agree that it should have a factory humbucker option. The cheap rail humbucker I had in mine absolutely transformed it. With flats it was a thump machine...
It changes the whole look of the bass - the chrome with the trim ring looks great. I agree that it should have a factory humbucker option. The cheap rail humbucker I had in mine absolutely transformed it. With flats it was a thump machine...
Definitely not a thread killer. That's an unusual pickup on a bass to say the least, but I actually like the look of it! The V8 logo goes well with it, especially since you have the pickup ring installed as well.
The V8 logo goes well with it, especially since you have the pickup ring installed as well.
I got some better photos of the Bronco with the TV Jones/Gretsch pickup...I've played a gig with it, and it help up its end perfectly, as well as being light and easy on the shoulder.
I dig it !
Great job on the mods - those pups sound great (I had one of the Gretsch's for a bit....) !
Hopefully I'll find time to get back to the Tele Bass soon....
Great job on the mods - those pups sound great (I had one of the Gretsch's for a bit....) !
Hopefully I'll find time to get back to the Tele Bass soon....
I just tuned in to this, and it is freaking sweet, I must say. I think it's really cool that people are doing something like this, this makes me want to get one of these, and make an SG style body, and try to make an EB-squier or something. The name isn't important, what is is the fact that I have ideas...
You could go either way with that idea. The Epi EB-0 and the Squier Bronco are about the MOST modded basses on the market today. In the case of the Epi, the open space between the neck pickup and the bridge provides room for a lot of different pickups.
I think I didn't word my thoughts out very effectively in my last post, I generally have a hard time with putting thoughts into words, because the way I think isn't as straightforward as the way most think. What I was thinking about was basically an equivalent of what John Entwhistle had done with his T-birds, he took all the hardare and put had Fender put them into some bodies and necks designed by them, resulting in the Fenderbird. What I was thinking about was basically taking one of these basses, and getting a "mudbucker" - the ones they put on the EB-0, EB-3, and Gibson SG standard basses - and making a more fender-esque "EB-0" inspired body for it.
Of course, I've also been thinking of getting one of these, putting it on to a tele body, and making a tribute bass to Joe Strummer.
