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Musicmaster/Bronco Pickup Suggestions

Which one did you use?
MusicMasterer

The volume pot was also changed to a 500K and the second cap removed to brighten the sound. The bass was very "dark" before that. It was a restoration gift for a friend so I had very little time to actually play the thing but it was nice.

Oh, and the old pup cover fit fine on the Aero.
 
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I don't know why a lot more people don't just put a split P or a P/J set in these.

There are ones that work stringspacing-wise. Bronco is 2 3/8ths.

Lots of real estate/space to work with under the pickguard. Or you can rout and add wood where necessary for anchor points.

I'll more than likely get another Bronco down the road to do this mod.

Pickguards from China (the ones I've ever got) off E-bay have worked great so far and they're relatively inexpensive.

On the one I have right now, it's got a Schaller rollerbridge, Gretsch humbucker for neck pickup and Lace Red Sensor for jazz pickup, wired V/V/T.....sounds great.

I love Broncos but I can't stand that stupid stock bridge they come with.

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I put the Dragonfire in my Bronco! What a great upgrade! Wow! I can definitely recommend it. $20 on eBay can't go wrong.

Just resurrecting your old thread here. Are still happy with this pickup configuration in your Bronco? I have a Musicmaster that I'm thinking of changing the pup on. But not handy enough with tools that I want to undertake any cutting the pickguard or body routing.

My other bass is a Gretsch G2220 with the mini humbuckers and just wondering if this type of pickup configuration would bring some of the "smoothness" to the tone to my Fender.
 
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Just resurrecting your old thread here. Are still happy with this pickup configuration in your Bronco? I have a Musicmaster that I'm thinking of changing the pup on. But not handy enough with tools that I want to undertake any cutting the pickguard or body routing.

My other bass is a Gretsch G2220 with the mini humbuckers and just wondering if this type of pickup configuration would bring some of the "smoothness" to the tone to my Fender.
That was a Dragonfire Pickup. $20 from T&T guitars? Klamath Falls Oregon on EBay. I loved what that pickup did for my Bronco! I did sell the bass! Wish I hadn't done that. Changing the pickups is Super easy to do! Humbuckers are smoother in a sense. But couple them to the wrong amp and they too can seem harsh even brittle. There are some great pickups from Guitar Madness on eBay. Korean built and of high quality. My Les Paul uses Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates. My other guitars are loaded with Guitar Madness Pickups. When and if I change my Precision and jag split pickups I will go with Fender Original '62 If you are interested in modding your bass IMO it's best to start with the better deal from Guitar Madness. The Dragonfire Rail Pickup was meant for a Strat type of guitar. Also the amp Tone knob drive/gain and Speaker can do a lot to the sound of a Pickup. Best Fun is to experiment.
 
Changing the pickups is Super easy to do! Humbuckers are smoother in a sense. But couple them to the wrong amp and they too can seem harsh even brittle.

Well, when I modded the Musicmaster I changed the pickup from the original strat pickup to a four pole quarter pounder from Seymour Duncan. Liked the better bass tone and it's been that way for years. I still like it but compared to the Gretsch, "smoothness" in the tone is the only word I can think of to describe the tone difference. Love the basses and don't want to do anything that makes either one worse in any way. That's why I don't want to cut the pickguard or rout the body, too permanent.

Thanks for the info!
 
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I don't know why a lot more people don't just put a split P or a P/J set in these.
Routing. Both the body and the pickguard. It is not necessarily cost-effective, or even affordable to some players, to do more routing. So the conventional way to upgrade these pickups is to use Strat-style rail humbuckers that are moderately wound and are a drop-in fit.
 
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