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Humbucker for a Squier Sonic Bronco?

LeighOnSea

LeighOnSea

Aug 2, 2024
694
797
Lisbon
leighsutherland.com
#1
Hi!

I have been messing around with my Bronco
Here
Here
and here

I was trying to think what to do next, and I really want to try the EMG GZR pickups

I have heard that the PJ set would be perfect for my U5 for what I want

Then I thought of also putting an EMG GZR in the Bronco

Then I thought, 'but that will just be another set of P pickups on another bass ( I already have Sire P7, P5R, U5 & a sonic P)'

So I thought, 'why not try a humbucker?'
I have zero idea of and experience of humbuckers
they are mostly associated with Musicmen / Musicmans arent they?

Does anyone have any reasonably priced (100 quid, pr'aps to 150 of your US Dollars) suggestions?
That value was roughly fixed by wanting enough quality without costing more than the rest of the bass + mods put together, but it is negotiable :)

My stumbling attempts of pretending to be a teenager again are The Clash, AC/DC, Sex Pistols, ZZ Top etc
I do love the tone of Tilly Harris from The Bug Club


I do not slap
I am not funky or jazzy in any way whatsoever
 
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#2
This is a very good Bronco pickup. I used it in both my modded broncos. Also in a 51P. This pickup will stand up to many brand name PUs. I have used those too. I like the closed cover when I rest my thumb on the pickup.
1772968611628.png
IMG_1992.JPG
 
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#3
I reckon a Thunderbird-style pickup would sound good in there.

Here's a well-regarded budget option from EYGuitar: PU-21212-Thunderbird Bass Pickup Vintage Style for Gibson,Ch.

You'll also find Epiphone Probucker 760s on Aliexpress, but opinion is divided on whether they're (a) real, but slipped out of the back door of the factory, (b) as above, but b-stock/out of spec, (c) entirely fake. And whether the answer affects how they sound is another question!

Or something completely different and super affordable... a Warman Jazzbar: Warman Jazzbar Bass Humbucker: Drive the Beats of Your Style
 
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#4
“Humbucker” just means any pickup with an even number of coils, half of which are reverse-wound-reverse-polarity from the other half.

A split P pickup is a humbucker.

A Gibson mudbucker is a humbucker.

A DiMarzio Ultra Jazz is a humbucker.

A Wal multi-coil is a humbucker.

A Nordstrand Zen Blade is a humbucker.

Humbuckers come in many different shapes.

Humbuckers come in many different tones.

What tone are you looking for?

And are you willing to remove wood to fit a differently-shaped pickup?
 
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#5
Thanks!
Yup - I have no idea, just learning
I had the idea that a humbucker in the colloquial was like wot is in a Musicman, two coils side by side.

Ah, so by definition it bucks the humm?

yes, I am willing to remove wood

I forgot to say that, buried in those links in my post, I have already replaced the stock pickup with a Tonerider Apex Classic neck pickup, which is noisless and I now guess is a form of a humbucker?

I am very happy with that, but I am messing around learning things and I want something hotter and beefier and thumpier and rockier

I do like the tone that Tilly Harris gets in link above and this one, and although I am even worse (far worse in fact) with a pick than with fingers, I like her tone in general


EDIT:
She seems to use both pickups in parallel with a deep high roll of setting on her Acinonyx

I dont want to be Tilly Harris, nor ever will be, but that's the kind of stuff I like to pretend I can play
I dont mind putting tow pickups in, routing etc
I'd even invest in it if it became sommat special (it already is special to me)
Actually, given my GAS I will just continue to pour more money into my talentless hole
1772994663267.png
1772994693601.png


EDIT": Oh, they are single coil ceramic pickups
TBH I would rather put something with two coils next to each other (alongside) where the current one is

I realise I am careering off down rabbit holes now, sorry
 
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#6
LeighOnSea said:
Thanks!
Yup - I have no idea, just learning
I had the idea that a humbucker in the colloquial was like wot is in a Musicman, two coils side by side.

Ah, so by definition it bucks the humm?

yes, I am willing to remove wood

I forgot to say that, buried in those links in my post, I have already replaced the stock pickup with a Tonerider Apex Classic neck pickup, which is noisless and I now guess is a form of a humbucker?

I am very happy with that, but I am messing around learning things and I want something hotter and beefier and thumpier and rockier

I do like the tone that Tilly Harris gets in link above and this one, and although I am even worse (far worse in fact) with a pick than with fingers, I like her tone in general


EDIT:
She seems to use both pickups in parallel with a deep high roll of setting on her Acinonyx

I dont want to be Tilly Harris, nor ever will be, but that's the kind of stuff I like to pretend I can play
I dont mind putting tow pickups in, routing etc
I'd even invest in it if it became sommat special (it already is special to me)
Actually, given my GAS I will just continue to pour more money into my talentless hole
View attachment 7448577 View attachment 7448578

EDIT": Oh, they are single coil ceramic pickups
TBH I would rather put something with two coils next to each other (alongside) where the current one is

I realise I am careering off down rabbit holes now, sorry
Click to expand...

FInd out your relationship to a given tone first. Passive single coil sound is very different from a more complicated scheme involving multi-coil, preamplified signal.

The hole is less deep and treacherous if you have tonal goals.
 
#7
LeighOnSea said:
Thanks!
Yup - I have no idea, just learning
I had the idea that a humbucker in the colloquial was like wot is in a Musicman, two coils side by side.

Ah, so by definition it bucks the humm?

yes, I am willing to remove wood

I forgot to say that, buried in those links in my post, I have already replaced the stock pickup with a Tonerider Apex Classic neck pickup, which is noisless and I now guess is a form of a humbucker?

I am very happy with that, but I am messing around learning things and I want something hotter and beefier and thumpier and rockier

I do like the tone that Tilly Harris gets in link above and this one, and although I am even worse (far worse in fact) with a pick than with fingers, I like her tone in general


EDIT:
She seems to use both pickups in parallel with a deep high roll of setting on her Acinonyx

I dont want to be Tilly Harris, nor ever will be, but that's the kind of stuff I like to pretend I can play
I dont mind putting tow pickups in, routing etc
I'd even invest in it if it became sommat special (it already is special to me)
Actually, given my GAS I will just continue to pour more money into my talentless hole
View attachment 7448577 View attachment 7448578

EDIT": Oh, they are single coil ceramic pickups
TBH I would rather put something with two coils next to each other (alongside) where the current one is

I realise I am careering off down rabbit holes now, sorry
Click to expand...

I love this! More people need to be less precious about the few canonical tones that a bass makes.

So - check this out - the Bronco has narrow string spacing, right? If that's the case, then you also have access to the massively huge world of guitar humbuckers!! All of them will work fine - will produce noise. Some of them will have a tone that you find pleasing. Some will have a tone that you will NOT find pleasing.

I can heartily recommend the Wilde L90 - it's a guitar humbucker sized pickup, but it works fantastically well on bass. It has a deep, rich bottom end, and loads of clarity up top (that can be tempered by your tone knob, of course).

www.wildepickups.com

L90

In 1976, Bill revolutionized the guitar industry with his release of the twin blade L90. Earlier in his career, Bill spent years doing rebuilds of traditional humbuckers for players in his shop that wanted improvements to the response losses created by metal covers and mounting plates, poorly...
www.wildepickups.com

I'm not entirely sure of the cost of shipping to the EU however. The pickup itself is relatively cheap by US$$ standards, so maybe that will help international orders as well?
 
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#9
Well. I think I am out of my depth so shouldn't spend much
I thought maybe I can look at getting more out of the Tonerider Apex
When
I put it on I used the original Bronco cover with no holes.
So just now I tried with the one that came with the tonerider that had pole holes in it.
It made the pickup far hotter as I could adjust the pickup and action to get a much more volume and I feel, thump.
Very happy with that. 😄
It was quite difficult to balance the A string compared to the others (it was weaker). Is thus because it isn't over a pole?
Would the blade types be better for this?
I'm having fun anyway.

Will now also look into the L90

Thanks again
 
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#10
LeighOnSea said:
Thanks!
Yup - I have no idea, just learning
I had the idea that a humbucker in the colloquial was like wot is in a Musicman, two coils side by side.

Ah, so by definition it bucks the humm?

yes, I am willing to remove wood
Click to expand...
I have just re-read that and realised it could be interpreted as sarcastic - it wasnt, it was a real sudden 'Duurrr' moment from me
 
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#13
Bodeeni said:
This is a very good Bronco pickup. I used it in both my modded broncos. Also in a 51P. This pickup will stand up to many brand name PUs. I have used those too. I like the closed cover when I rest my thumb on the pickup.
View attachment 7448202
View attachment 7448206
Click to expand...

Bodeeni said:
This is a very good Bronco pickup. I used it in both my modded broncos. Also in a 51P. This pickup will stand up to many brand name PUs. I have used those too. I like the closed cover when I rest my thumb on the pickup.
View attachment 7448202
View attachment 7448206
Click to expand...
This all day long. People often have a hard time believing a cheap Amazon guitar pickup can sound good in a bass. Or even phenomenal.

Kind of a long story but back in maybe 2008 a friend was coming to visit bringing a Badz Maru bass. Since I’ve got all the tools we were planning on. Swapping the pickup for something better. New Hipshot Bridge. New Hipshot Tuners. And it was all set up so all the parts would arrive here in time for this visit.

Nope. The pickup was delayed. So we went with the cheapest
Humbucking single coil that Amazon Prime could get here in a day. And that was a 16K hot rails style pickup just like this. I know everyone’s thinking Way To Hot. And at around 20.00 Way To Cheap. It’s gonna sound hot and thin and inarticulate with those two blades….

Um. Surprise! Probably the single best pickup upgrade I’ve ever done. It would NOT be my first choice. I’d lean towards something in the 9K range like this. In theory.

This pickup or this type of pickup. Which was obviously a Duncan Hot Rails clone. And a cheap one at that. Worked out beautifully. Blew both our minds actually. Early Squier Broncos. Let’s be generous and say they may not have the greatest pickups. They hum. They are weak. The poles are flat leaving the two inner strings noticeably lower in level. With a maple neck descriptors like thin, weedy etc are very appropriate. They excel at amplifying winding and finger noise more than anything else.

The stupid hot dual blade was fat and mid focused. The blades are narrowly focused so they are articulate. Since there’s two of them they are sending a wider length of string so there’s a nice little bit of phase cancelation or compression going on. The highs have a natural roll off. So does the bass. Fat. Punchy. Warm. Powerful is what we got.

And no one ever has ever described a stock Bronco pickup new or vintage of being Fat. Punchy. Warm or powerful.

These Amazon dual blades actually work quite well. And there’s no hum. And it fit the stock pickguard with very little filing.

I have no desire for a Bronco bass. But this would be my first upgrade.

For anything other than pure nostalgia meaning solving problems and making a Bronco sit in a band mix without sounding thin and weak these are a very good choice. And priced appropriately to the basses purchase price.

Just my own experience. The Badz Maru is still playing strong. It’s just Way Badder now. The Badazz Maru it is.

Edit: I’d totally buy a used cheap Bronco JUST to jam one of these pickups in it.
 
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#16
A full size blade guitar humbucker also works great, I use a GFS Power Rails in one bass and a Crunchy Rails in the another both the hotter bridge pickup. I think you might just have to trim the pickguard IIRC there was space when I replaced my Bronco pickup.
 
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#17
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#19
LeighOnSea said:
It was quite difficult to balance the A string compared to the others (it was weaker). Is thus because it isn't over a pole?
Would the blade types be better for this?
Click to expand...
Yes, blade type will help balance it out! you can find blade style pickups in any size and formats, single or humbucking.

I don't have a lot of experience with short scale basses, but most bass pickups are made to fit a long scale bass that has a 19-20mm string spacing at one ''specific'' point on the bass (closer to the bridge or closer to the neck). If I'm not mistaken i think the bronco has a 17,5mm string spacing? which means most long scale bass pickups might not align perfectly with the strings in your case. So going for a rail type may be the ''safer'' choice for that reason. or to go with pickups that were made for short scale basses (although, a lot less choices). Such as the mudbucker, the pickups that were on Hofner violin basses (small humbuckers with a row of poles, and a row of blades), that Fender wide range humbucker don used...
 
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