PLAN B ?

[Dark Horse]

Well, I was going to mod this Bronco bass with a pair of Thunderbird pickups (PLAN A), but at the last minute I decided to put those into a Jazz Bass instead. It turned out to be a KILLER bass, so that was the right choice. Here’s a pic of how it turned out….

So that leaves me with a Bronco in need of some modding. I love these little basses, they can be made to play and sound awesome, and are amazing for fly dates and stuff. Anyway, in deciding what to do with the Bronc, I remembered that I have a pair of these old G&L pickups. “Smart me” would take some time and explore what these are worth now that G&L has shut its doors. But they are a possibility for this bass. I also have three EMG Thunderbird pickups…. To of the ones that house a precision style pickup, and one that’s the TW, can split for more versatility.

Either setup would sound great, I’m sure.

And the bass is getting a ridiculous set of upgrades … USA Hipshot lollipop tuners, hipshot string tree, bone nut, rolled fingerboard edges, an Albridge bridge, CTS pots, PIO cap, etc…. It’ll be the worlds most expensive Bronco

Anyway, which set of pickups would you put in there ?

Here’s a quick mockup with the G&L pickups…

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

MFD or bust

 

[birminghambass]

If you're doing the work yourself, try them all!

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

Also how are you liking the thunderbird pickups ? What position do you have them in? Thunderbird locations?

70s or 60s bridge pickup? I know Ian Alison has his modified version of his IMA bass with a different bridge pickup position

 

[Lo-E]

MFD.

Obviously.

 

[Dark Horse]

If you're doing the work yourself, try them all!

I am, but my health and stamina is limited. The EMGs are a little larger than the MFDs, which are a little larger than the standard Thunderbird pickups. So with the MFDs or the EMGs I’ll have to route the pickup cavities slightly…. So if I route for MFDs, the EMGs won’t fit. And if I route for the EMGs, the fit on the MFDs will be a little loose.



Now if they’d just make them all the same dang dimensions ….

Leaning toward the MFDs …. Kinda

 

[Dark Horse]

Also how are you liking the thunderbird pickups ? What position do you have them in? Thunderbird locations?

70s or 60s bridge pickup? I know Ian Alison has his modified version of his IMA bass with a different bridge pickup position

I love them, gave this bass a new life. Fat, thick, but still defined.

They’re in the 60s position

 

[Plake]

One of each?

 

[Wood and Wire]

Well, I was going to mod this Bronco bass with a pair of Thunderbird pickups (PLAN A), but at the last minute I decided to put those into a Jazz Bass instead. It turned out to be a KILLER bass, so that was the right choice. Here’s a pic of how it turned out….

View attachment 7481441


So that leaves me with a Bronco in need of some modding. I love these little basses, they can be made to play and sound awesome, and are amazing for fly dates and stuff. Anyway, in deciding what to do with the Bronc, I remembered that I have a pair of these old G&L pickups. “Smart me” would take some time and explore what these are worth now that G&L has shut its doors. But they are a possibility for this bass. I also have three EMG Thunderbird pickups…. To of the ones that house a precision style pickup, and one that’s the TW, can split for more versatility.

Either setup would sound great, I’m sure.

And the bass is getting a ridiculous set of upgrades … USA Hipshot lollipop tuners, hipshot string tree, bone nut, rolled fingerboard edges, an Albridge bridge, CTS pots, PIO cap, etc…. It’ll be the worlds most expensive Bronco

Anyway, which set of pickups would you put in there ?

Here’s a quick mockup with the G&L pickups…

View attachment 7481440

I'd be tempted to just limit that bass to a single MFD.

It's short scale, so I don't feel it's really going to be a great candidate for a spaced pair of pickups, and being short scale is inherently a bit more tubby sounding, which could get exacerbated by having a hulking great neck pickup.

I'd be tempted to either put it in the P spot (like a short scale L-1000), Kiloton spot, or StingRay spot, to combat some of that tubbiness.

The second MFD, I'd save for a different mod project, on a different bass.

 

[Dark Horse]

I'd be tempted to just limit that bass to a single MFD.

It's short scale, so I don't feel it's really going to be a great candidate for a spaced pair of pickups, and being short scale is inherently a bit more tubby sounding, which could get exacerbated by having a hulking great neck pickup.

I'd be tempted to either put it in the P spot (like a short scale L-1000), Kiloton spot, or StingRay spot, to combat some of that tubbiness.

The second MFD, I'd save for a different mod project, on a different bass.

It’s already routed for the two Thunderbird pickups that I was going to originally put in it.

 

[Wood and Wire]

It’s already routed for the two Thunderbird pickups that I was going to originally put in it.

View attachment 7481573

Join the two routes together, and set it up like a Gibson Grabber, with an even bigger area for the pickup to slide positions in.

 

[Dark Horse]

Join the two routes together, and set it up like a Gibson Grabber, with an even bigger area for the pickup to slide positions in.

Actually a pretty interesting idea.

 

[buldog5151bass]

My question is, do you like the Thunderbird sound enough to have them in both basses, or do you want something different?

 

[ghostdog93]

I voted for the dual Thunderbird pups (P-style), mainly because the hard work is done already and all you have to do is drop them in, wire them up and play. Plus, two P style pickups in a Bronco would probably sound awesome.

Personally, I'd hoard those MFDs...but that's just me.

 

[Dark Horse]

My question is, do you like the Thunderbird sound enough to have them in both basses, or do you want something different?

I don’t need it in both. The EMG T-Birds don’t sound like Thunderbird pickups though, and neither do the MFDs.

I had thought about ordering another set of tbird pickups for this bass, but as you questioned, I really don’t need the redundancy. In fact that’s the whole reason I replaced the pickups in that Jazz with the TBird pickups… I already have a few Jazzes, so I figured it’d serve me better to have something different.

On this Bronco, redundancy would be acceptable but maybe not “preferred” …

 

[Dark Horse]

I voted for the dual Thunderbird pups (P-style), mainly because the hard work is done already and all you have to do is drop them in, wire them up and play. Plus, two P style pickups in a Bronco would probably sound awesome.

Personally, I'd hoard those MFDs...but that's just me.

Actually, the EMGs are slightly larger than the regular Thunderbird pickups (and the MFDs), so I’d have to route either way… but I agree, a pair of P pickups (in the Thunderbird casings) could be really awesome in this bass.

As I think on it more, I lean more and more toward installing the EMGs for that reason. I definitely agree it could/should be really cool !

 

[Yahboy]

Well, I was going to mod this Bronco bass with a pair of Thunderbird pickups (PLAN A), but at the last minute I decided to put those into a Jazz Bass instead. It turned out to be a KILLER bass, so that was the right choice. Here’s a pic of how it turned out….

View attachment 7481441


So that leaves me with a Bronco in need of some modding. I love these little basses, they can be made to play and sound awesome, and are amazing for fly dates and stuff. Anyway, in deciding what to do with the Bronc, I remembered that I have a pair of these old G&L pickups. “Smart me” would take some time and explore what these are worth now that G&L has shut its doors. But they are a possibility for this bass. I also have three EMG Thunderbird pickups…. To of the ones that house a precision style pickup, and one that’s the TW, can split for more versatility.

Either setup would sound great, I’m sure.

And the bass is getting a ridiculous set of upgrades … USA Hipshot lollipop tuners, hipshot string tree, bone nut, rolled fingerboard edges, an Albridge bridge, CTS pots, PIO cap, etc…. It’ll be the worlds most expensive Bronco

Anyway, which set of pickups would you put in there ?

Here’s a quick mockup with the G&L pickups…

View attachment 7481440

How about TV jone ? Clean looking.

EA magnet forward bridge site may solve the 30 scale mussy E string sound slightly.,

 

[Yahboy]

It’s already routed for the two Thunderbird pickups that I was going to originally put in it.

View attachment 7481573

Oh, I am late to the party.

 

[Dark Horse]

How about TV jone ? Clean looking.

EA magnet forward bridge site may solve the 30 scale mussy E string sound slightly.,

View attachment 7481600

I looked at those, and would like to try some in the future, but they’re smaller than the routes…so I’d have to use a pretty big ring around the bridge pup, and make a new pickguard for the middle.

That said, I really want to try those, I’m guessing they sound really good and have a ton of character.

 

[don21480]

What Thunderbirds are in the Jazz bass?