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Has anyone modded a Squier Bronco Bass?
- Thread starter JBPB
- Start date
Hello,
New member, first post. I am modding a Bronco with new pots, jack and cap. Do you guys recommend 250k or 500k pots? Do you also stick with .05 cap value?
P/up will be next and I have heard good things about the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails (STHR-1n). Thoughts?
After that the bridge and tuners. If I get real creative I might repaint and change out the pickguard.
Looking forward to hanging out here.
Thanks in advance for your help!!!
Steve
New member, first post. I am modding a Bronco with new pots, jack and cap. Do you guys recommend 250k or 500k pots? Do you also stick with .05 cap value?
P/up will be next and I have heard good things about the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails (STHR-1n). Thoughts?
After that the bridge and tuners. If I get real creative I might repaint and change out the pickguard.
Looking forward to hanging out here.
Thanks in advance for your help!!!
Steve
The difference between the 250k and 500k pots is going to be pretty minimal, soundwise, although the higher the pot resistance, the less it attenuates higher frequencies. In other words, 500k pots can sound brighter. The 250k is pretty standard, though, as is a .047 cap.
The pot values might also depend on the pickup used. You can always check with the manufacturer's website to see what they recommend.
LOVE it!!
That pickup was the only big change. Everything else was cosmetic. It's become one of my top gig basses, and i reach for it even more than my Fenders. Compaired to my other two ss basses... an SX Shorty Jag and a Gretsch G2202... The Bronco feels the best, though i HAVE been warming up to the SX... anywho... pics!
LOVE it!!
That pickup was the only big change. Everything else was cosmetic. It's become one of my top gig basses, and i reach for it even more than my Fenders. Compaired to my other two ss basses... an SX Shorty Jag and a Gretsch G2202... The Bronco feels the best, though i HAVE been warming up to the SX... anywho... pics!
How does the hot rails PU compare to a P bass split coil or the kneck single coil of a jazz? Interested to hear what it sounds like?
My bronco before and after
Removing paint (thinking of refinishing it in the future)
Mustang Pups
four saddles string through body bridge
vintage style tuners
brown tort pg
Jazz Knobs
Removing paint (thinking of refinishing it in the future)
Mustang Pups
four saddles string through body bridge
vintage style tuners
brown tort pg
Jazz Knobs
Took me a while to spot that note....
Measuring the PG for the pickup....traced around it with a pencil and used a Dremel. Some relief also had to be Dremeled into the body.
This is partway through the body mod...
My beloved Badtz Maru has seen a few mods:
After I chipped the face of the headstock while removing tuner bushings, I decided to refinish the headstock, sprayed a few coats of clear, and then I drew on it with Sharpie paint pen, then hit it with a few more coats of clear. I love how it turned out.
Otherwise, GHS Pressurewound strings, Hipshot bridge, Lace Sensor pickup, Schaller M4 tuners. This is a wonderful little bass, my favorite bass I've ever played. Very light and toneful.
After I chipped the face of the headstock while removing tuner bushings, I decided to refinish the headstock, sprayed a few coats of clear, and then I drew on it with Sharpie paint pen, then hit it with a few more coats of clear. I love how it turned out.
Otherwise, GHS Pressurewound strings, Hipshot bridge, Lace Sensor pickup, Schaller M4 tuners. This is a wonderful little bass, my favorite bass I've ever played. Very light and toneful.
Here's mine. I've routed for a neck pickup and put in two hot rails humbuckers. I've also added series/parallel switching for each pickup, replaced pots, cap, knobs, nut, and tuners. Also added a new pickguard.
I originally mounted a musicmaster bridge but didn't feel like it was built that well and wasn't crazy about the 17mm spacing. So, I added a Gotoh 201 w/19mm spacing. It wasn't that much closer to the edge of the fretboard, and it worked out pretty well.
Still got the stringthrough holes in the back, but oh well. Awesome little bass.
I originally mounted a musicmaster bridge but didn't feel like it was built that well and wasn't crazy about the 17mm spacing. So, I added a Gotoh 201 w/19mm spacing. It wasn't that much closer to the edge of the fretboard, and it worked out pretty well.
Still got the stringthrough holes in the back, but oh well. Awesome little bass.
Attachments
thread revival!
i've made lotsa mods to my bronco, which is now officially SO NOT a bronco.
all of the changes are - my cavalier '51 p-bass pickup (sitting in the original but modified bronco pickguard), cts 250ka pots, switchcraft jack, p-bass bridge, wilkinson butterfly tuners, vintage bone nut, strat pot knobs, d'addario chromes short scale bass flatwounds .... and a dummy coil (under the pickguard) wired in series with the '51 pickup to kill the single coil humbuzz.
for those folks not wanting to mod their bronco or musicmaster bass guitars, i've created a replacement strat pup that will deliver real bass guitar tones and it's a drop-in replacement. it's well wound and uses 43awg coil wire and alnicu 3 magnets, and will work with or without yer existing pickup's plastic cover ...
i've made lotsa mods to my bronco, which is now officially SO NOT a bronco.
all of the changes are - my cavalier '51 p-bass pickup (sitting in the original but modified bronco pickguard), cts 250ka pots, switchcraft jack, p-bass bridge, wilkinson butterfly tuners, vintage bone nut, strat pot knobs, d'addario chromes short scale bass flatwounds .... and a dummy coil (under the pickguard) wired in series with the '51 pickup to kill the single coil humbuzz.
for those folks not wanting to mod their bronco or musicmaster bass guitars, i've created a replacement strat pup that will deliver real bass guitar tones and it's a drop-in replacement. it's well wound and uses 43awg coil wire and alnicu 3 magnets, and will work with or without yer existing pickup's plastic cover ...
I never modded my Bronco, it was a gift, and I don't think it needs to be modded. All of my other basses are heavily modded, and the Bronco is the only one that I find perfect 
I love my bronce and I plan to build another musicmaster style bass and possibly purchase another bronco when I get the chance. I love these little basses, they've got a different mojo than other fender style basses and they are an incredible value for under $200 new. Love them!
-Ron
I love my bronce and I plan to build another musicmaster style bass and possibly purchase another bronco when I get the chance. I love these little basses, they've got a different mojo than other fender style basses and they are an incredible value for under $200 new. Love them!
-Ron
Not really. I put a used Model 1 on my Bronco, but not in the 'predetermined' spot. I measured on my Musicmaster how far the pickup was from the neck, then measured how far the front coil (closest to the bridge) was going to be, and routed out some wood toward the neck area to make it fit. Then wired it up with a on-on-on switch for parallel/single/series. It sounds good, but not really a difference between parallel and single.
I would imagine that a mudbucker would sound very similar to the Pawn Shop Mustang, although I don't really know since I haven't tried either.
I would imagine that a mudbucker would sound very similar to the Pawn Shop Mustang, although I don't really know since I haven't tried either.
I must be one of the odd people that love the sound of the original pickup in these basses. That is probably one of my favorite things about the bass (Besides the weight and the neck shape). I love how it has a really scooped sound that can be aggressive, but can also mellow out very easily. It's really responsive to your technique as well.
Not bad for an affinity strat pickup
-Ron
Not bad for an affinity strat pickup
-Ron
wow, v cool! Is that a SD hot rails in the black one?
Which one do you prefer for tone?
Plus, where do you get the black pickguard from? DIY job?
Not a hotrails, but a GFS Lil' Killer. Massive thump with flatwounds.
Thwe red one has a SDPB-1, rounds, and I bought the pickguard (B/W/B) off of some guy on the 'Bay. I wish I could find him again; he did great work.
Thwe red one has a SDPB-1, rounds, and I bought the pickguard (B/W/B) off of some guy on the 'Bay. I wish I could find him again; he did great work.
I used the 10k lil killer, kind of someday want to do the full 3 pickup set. Has a set of fender short scale rounds, 500k audio pots, a .001 cap directly off the pickup to ground, to cut some lows off the bat, then has a .1 cap on a switch, and a .033 tone knob, also installed a kill switch since it was black and matched and was there.
Great bass, might do chromes next change. but it's gor a good bright cutting tone, and can be switched over to grunty or scooped from the tone and switch.
I've got a Bronco babe of my own, got my beauty for $50. Her name is Bessie, and it was originally black. I'll post pics soon. I drilled four holes in it at "45" degrees to make a string through bass, and I took 2 of the polls out of the pickup which has made it substantially better.
