Squier Bronco Upgrades!

[Zoidberg523]

Ok, so today I'm at my local music store with my girlfriend, who wants me to teach her to play bass. So I'm looking for a cheaper bass that'll fit her small hands. I spy a nice little Squier Bronco on the cheap(new) and make the purchase. Being that she's new to basses, she doesn't much care about sound and tone, but I do. I want to upgrade it and make it a sweet short scale. I'm thinking EMG Strat pickup and Switchcraft input jack. As well as sheilding the wiring, and new knobs of course.

My problem is this; A.) I'm not sure what kind of tuners to buy. I'm on a limited budget, and want that classic Fender look, but cant afford the nice Hipshots I'm looking at($18.00 a PIECE!). B.) I like the classic look of the Bronco bridge, but I want a better one with the same look and cant find one. And C.) Where do they sell Bronco replacement pickguards? The only place I've found any is eBay, but they're $36.00 a pop! How is that?! It's a cheap bass!

Any help would be appreciated guys!
Thanks,

The Zoid

 

[bassmanrocke]

I'd look at a scpb quarter pounder from Seymour Dunkin. They have four polepieces that are wider than standard. This should help with any spacing issues that might come up with guitar pickups. I used one of these in my '51 p until I got the original pickup rewound, and it worked great. I'd also suggest upgraded 250k pots and a new capacitor. The indonesian Squiers all use those mini pots that are fine at first but tend to have a short life span and begin to affect tone. As for the pickguard, good luck. Not a real common piece, so you will probably have to pay more than you would for a p or j pickguard.

I don't know if it would fit your desires exactly, but I've seen some of the retro Danelectro bridges that have a shape similar to a bronco(From memory so I may be off). They seem to have a decent amount of adjustability and might suit the bill. They pop up on ebay quite frequently.


**** Just saw a musicmaster bass bridge on ebay. $18.oo buy it now. Same shape as your Bronco bridge, but four individual saddles with more adjustment. Auction number 350063897991

 

[ponticat]

Here are a couple of my Broncos for inspiration.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4876543#post4876543

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5458222#post5458222

 

[Zoidberg523]

Thanks guys! I think what I'm going to do is replace the jack w/ a Switchcraft, put either an SCPB-2 Seymour Duncan or a EMG-S pickup in it, with a Musicmaster bridge(I think I'll just have the local shop make my Bronco a string-thru body), add some Grover vintage style tuners, put on 2 red dice knobs(body color is red), upgrade to USA made 250K pots, shield the wiring and throw on some Rotosound pressurewounds!

 

[J.D.B.]

Ah, yes, time for the "polishing" to begin. A subject near and dear to me. Here's mine: DiMarzio Pro-Trac pickup, gotoh 7/16" pole machines, Musicmaster re-pop four-saddle bridge, and some Roto stainless flats. Didn't bother with the electrics as it works pretty good(quiet) as is and has a shielded cavity already. Truly a total waste of money, but way fun at the big gigs. THUMPY!
Josh.