Modding a Squier - Bronco? Cabronita? CaBronco!

Hi there. My first post. So first off: Thank you guys for all the input and knowledge I gained by browsing this forum. Kinda led to my after hour modding adventure.
It started with the simple need for a bass. I'm recording my songs at home and just wanted a basic model within my budget. So it had to be dead silent, student's price range, one pickup config and a short scale neck. These were my initial thoughts:

I thought about the Gretsch 2202 but people just seemed to love the older models - rumor has it that the pickups were made/designed by TV-Jones.
Apart from that I was intrigued by Fender's off set models. Mainly the Mustang Bass. The only affordable model would have been the Mikey Way bass. But... why, you know. Maybe it was the sparkly paint job but I just couldn't warm to that instrument.
I'm also coming from the Telecaster-League. And for me the Cabronita designs were and still are the best design next to the goode ol' originals. Cabronita basses were just too expensive for me.
Finally - only bass within my budget: the infamous Bronco by Squier.

Sooo... browsing Talk Bass for ideas I gained enough motivation to start this project and simply just throw all my initial thoughts together, grab my jigsaw and drill and DIY the hell out of a used 2002 Bronco bass I found on eBay (for approx. 100 of hard american currency). Also, I found a vendor, who sold "1990 Gretsch 2202 Bass Pickups" for 35 bucks apiece - done deal.

To keep it less boring and text-heavy - some pictures:

That's how it started.

It was quite roomy under the hood. Actually too roomy.The pickup and the mounting ring were exactly the size of the pickup cavity. So I had to glue in some pieces of wood to support the pickup ring but also had to chop off some wood to make the wider Gretsch-pickup fit the cavity (full-time and pro luthiers: please look away now):





Not a big deal. Clumsy but solid. Finishing off with nail polish.
Pickup found it's place. Next in line was the pick guard. Again - if you're sensitive by nature and if you don't want to see the abusing of the finest craftsmanship Squier could offer: look away now.



Yeah, I know. Some people wouldn't even use those tools I used for modding a bass for building a simple tree house. But the budget dictates the parameters. By screwing the pick guard on a straight and long enough piece of wood and sanding the cut surface with fine sandpaper made it look quite acceptable.

After that, I swapped the bridge. I liked the retro looks, but the intonation drove me nuts. Common problem with those bridges. Again, eBay helped me out with a solid four-saddle solution. I disliked the chrome saddles. So I got a Wilkinson bridge and swapped the chrome saddles for brass ones (the left over Wilkinson bridge got the chrome saddles and was sold instantly):





As you probably noticed in the last picture - I wanted to give the Bronco that Mustang swag. So, besides the shape of the body the control plate is what makes a Mustang (look like) a Mustang. The only one I found which was reasonably priced (you can find a lot of 1960something control plates for approx. 150 $ each) was a MIJ one with the rounded edges where the pick guard sits. It was not easy to get the pick guard cut with that slight rounding - but a hacksaw and more sandpaper did the job just right:





Next: moving under the hood. First off: in the world of Telecasters are a lot of people who like straight-into-the-output-jack-wiring. It's like fixed gear cycling. Like flintlock-pistols compared to a semi-automatic. Like rubber-less... 100% denim-no-spandex-jeans. However. I tried to include this way of wiring by installing a push/pull pot. To anticipate the result: it didn't work. It sounded the same pushed (with vol/tone on max) as it does pulled (directly into the jack) or as it did when I had the pickup wired without controls for testing. Maybe it's the heights which are not as prominent on a bass as they are on a Tele. Maybe my wiring schematic. I don't know. It's kind of a useless gimmick now; "cool... a puch/pull". Gives me a killswitch with the volume on zero.
Also, I first tried a TV-Jones Model 10 wiring. Mainly because it's supposed to be a TV-Jones affiliated pickup. I found the diagram on their homepage. It had a volume-jump when maxing the volume. Rolling it off just a wee bit made the volume drop a significant bit. Disliked it. Discarded it. Rewired everything to modern P-Bass configuration. To be found on Seymour Duncan's Homepage. Thanks, Seymour. I think the Fender Cabronita Bass' guts look alike. Not sure though. Maybe some TB-Member can tell? 500k audio taper pots, switchcraft jack, push-back wire and a .068 tone pot (and bushings to make the solid-shaft control knobs fit the split-shaft pots):



Maybe someone here knows why my straight-into-the-jack-method failed. Maybe you can also tell me what to do with that push/pull instead.

Well, that was it. It didn't took me too long. I worked maybe five times for one or two hours in the evening over a period of two weeks while preparing for my law degree (compensation...).

I'm still in the process of finding out which strings to play. I have Fender Short Scale something (105-45) now and think they are too bright. I mean, I like a slightly distorted sound with grainy highs but the Fender strings are just... well, too metallic and not musical at all. Maybe I'll get me some GHS Brite Flats. A lot of people here on Talk Bass seem to like them. Also they seem to be a good compromise in terms of feel and sound (not-too-flatwound-sounding). Regular flats would be too dull for my purposes. Let's see.

Le grand finale, in comparison with the first picture:



So - what do you think? I'm especially interested in what you guys think about the wiring.
But don't tell me I used the wrong tools or that my way of modding that bass reminds you of a brain surgeon with a pair of hedge shears
Also - what do you think is a suitable name for that beast? CaBronco is ok, but sounds a little... off.

 

And one for the family album:

 

Thank you! The plate is a little off, due to the routing of the control cavity. If you look closely at how the pickguard follows the contours of the body you see that the plate moves a little further away from the body's outline.
Also i regret following the arc of the control plate with the pickguard at the upper corner - I should have cut it like the Mustang's guard, going straight up right after the control plate (for the remaining 1/2 inch). But again, I'm glad you like it!

I put wood filler in the screw holes and dabbed some black nail polish on it. After it dried it left a tiny bulge, which I leveled by "steam rolling" it with an even round piece of wood. By doing this the polish lost its shiny surface and was pushed into the lightest cracks of the bullet proof poly finish. The result is not perfect, but since the body is from 2002 and is quite worn and slightly beaten, it hides the previous holes just right.

You are right - I love it! I would say it's a rather bright pickup with a lot of low end though. Perfectly ballanced and very articulate, imho. But since I'm still looking for strings I like this can only be an incomplete verdict for now. I was considering Labellas too but decided against flat wound.
I think that pickup is still up for sale. Seems like it's an nos bulk from the 90s. Just try it with "Gretsch Electric Guitar Electromatic Bass 2202 Chrome Pickup" at the 'bay. But i think there's no way to confirm if that's the sought after TV-Jones designed pickup.

 

Just answered that in the post above. Main ingedient is a bulging drop of nail polish. Main action is rolling it even after it comletely dried. My modest camera did the rest of the job.
It works fine with a solid black body which already has its marks and scratches. But you would notice the job on a newer body - less than you would notice the holes of course. Also I think finding the right color if it's not black isn't too easy.
I also had to cover up the screw holes around the control plate which is a lot smaller than the area covered by thre pick guard before.