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New Bronco Day...

screefer

screefer

Nov 7, 2017
102
76
The Island
#1
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I'm a long time guitar player who has recently switched to bass. Specifically shorties. I have two Mikros and a Squier Jag. They all have rosewood boards and being a maple guy, I got this Bronco with plans to have fun modifying it. I got it from Long and Mcquade. It had a back bowed neck and buzzed badly but was relatively light ( 7.25 lbs) so I decided to take advantage of L&M's free set-up. Here is what was done...

"buffed frets, restrung with L&M 50-105 rounds, adjusted truss rod and nut slots, reshaped nut, set action to 6/64 bass side and 5/64 treble side, radiused saddles, adjusted pick up height, set intonation, tightened all hardware"

The result is a sweet little unit that I may just leave stock. The pick up is hum free. The strings sustain nicely. the neck and action play beautifully. And the intonation is a close as dam is to swearing! I had visions of new pick up, bridge and tuners but everything works AND sounds great. The bass was $199 cdn and a set up is $65 but free in this case. Great deal!

One interesting thing is the number of wraps on the tuners. I've heard of enough wraps to achieve break angle but these posts are maxed. Any issues here?

Thanks all and play on!
 
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#3
screefer said:
The pick up is hum free.
Click to expand...

The pickup isn't a humbucker so the area you played it in or the amp you used may simply not generate much hum/noise. Don't be surprised if it's noisier in a different environment. I've modded a few Broncos because they were quite noisy so I installed a Strat style dual coil blade humbucker, a Lace Alumitone and an EMG pickup. All worked well and were noise free.

screefer said:
One interesting thing is the number of wraps on the tuners. I've heard of enough wraps to achieve break angle but these posts are maxed. Any issues here?
Click to expand...

I personally use 3 wraps on those tuners but it should be fine the way it is.
 
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#4
mongo2 said:
The pickup isn't a humbucker so the area you played it in or the amp you used may simply not generate much hum/noise. Don't be surprised if it's noisier in a different environment. I've modded a few Broncos because they were quite noisy so I installed a Strat style dual coil blade humbucker, a Lace Alumitone and an EMG pickup. All worked well and were noise free.



I personally use 3 wraps on those tuners but it should be fine the way it is.
Click to expand...

Will a 51 P bass style pick up drop in a Bronco ?
 
#7
mongo2 said:
No, the string/polepiece spacing is too wide on the '51 style pickup and it won't fit through the slot in a stock pickguard.

Strat sized pickups fit since inside the OEM Bronco pickup is essentially a Strat pickup with non-staggered polepieces.
Click to expand...

The '51 pick ups would require a small amount of filing but I believe there is enough routed room. I'm considering a Cavalier or Sentell unit but I'm digging this stock unit so far :)
 
#8
screefer said:
The '51 pick ups would require a small amount of filing but I believe there is enough routed room. I'm considering a Cavalier or Sentell unit but I'm digging this stock unit so far :)
Click to expand...

Still, the 51 style pickup is made for a wider string spacing so the strings of the Bronco will not align properly.

Someone here did use a '51 style SCPB pickup in the Musicmaster bass (same string spacing situation) but it required a custom 'guard and enlarging of the body route so the pickup could be angled to align the '51 pickup poles with the strings.

Here's a photo they posted on TB of that project:

lectrick_02-jpg.jpg
 
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#10
Personally, I would trim those strings and get rid of some of the wraps. It's very easy to achieve the same string angle with less wraps by simply pushing down as you wind the string on, holding it in place lower on the post. The tension eventually takes care of the rest.

I love Bronco necks. I always wished Fender did another Bronco with better tuners and a real bridge. It would still be low cost but it would be a fun bass.
 
#11
I changed out the rounds for DaD Chromes. I way prefer the LaBella low tension flats on my Jag shortie. They are a lot less stiff than the Chromes thus playing easier and faster for me...YMMV.
I also installed a lipstick pup which is not very powerful but has a completely different tone than the Jag pups. Diversity is good!
Cheers
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