surprisingly, my bronco...

[pie_man_25]

The thing that breaks my head about the bronco is that I think it's the cheapest bass at l&m, and even this bass is really good. I'm saying that without any sarcasm either, it gets a really nice thumpy sound.

I used to be an elitist about this stuff, but after getting out of high school and university I honestly just started realizing that decent gear is everywhere.

 

[Ostie]

Mine has a maple fingerboard. It's hard to see, since it's the same color/finish as the neck, and blends well, but it's definitely a separate piece of wood.

That’s what my Mustang has.

 

[pcake]

My Bronco is black with a black headstock (i painted) and a black single blade Lawrence L250 which is noise cancelling and a more powerful bottom and lower midrange compared to the stock pickup.

I will post pics (when i can) but i left the outline of the maple neck on the headstock when i painted the headstock black....it looks very custom now and the black single blade pickup looks great against the all white pickguard.

The bridge on mine is fine, no intonation or saddle movement issues.....BUT i went all of the way when i had the neck removed and did a total fret dress, rolled the edges and knocked down the sharp fret ends.

Now to decide what flat strings to purchase.....any suggestions?

what kinda sound are you looking for?

 

[13bass]

I keep looking at getting a Bronco, and then upgrading the pickup, maybe the tuners/bridge, IF there is an issue with them, but most folks don't seem to have any issues with them.

 

[instrumentlevel]

I totally get it. Lately, I’m finding I’m grabbing my Hamer Slammer ($100 used at GC) more than my custom shop, ‘74, or my Tobias. Love the 7lbs and the neck, although it is kinda an ergo disaster when playing seated (not an issue with the Bronco). Sold my Bronco to get the Slammer, but only because the Hamer Blades was my dream bass growing up in the ‘80s. Not as fancy, certainly, but so much fun! (Not sure if the fact that when I don’t bring a Fender, it drives my band mates crazy is part of what makes it fun to play...)

 

[J-Bassomatic]

i had a brief period of improvement so i could play the mustang, then it unimproved. i still can't figure out why the bronco is comfortable and the mustang hurts to play.



exactly



have you considered using a razor blade instead of a saw or router?



it has no fingerboard - the front of the neck IS the fingerboard. i guess that's one of the ways they sell the bronco so eheaply...



how old is yours? i owned a black one and never noticed that the neck and fingerboard were one piece, so i'm guessing they weren't, but in the case of this bronco, made in 2019, there's no separate fingerboard. i assumed there was because every guitar and bass i've played has had a fingerboard, but one night i was playing it in a well lit room, wearing glasses, when i realized it was all one piece. strange!

My Squier 50s CV has the same kind of neck, no fingerboard.
My Squier CV 50s has no fretboard

 

[LoTone]

Likely a one piece neck with a skunk stripe.

So, it has slab neck? If you buy an old 50's P-Bass, they used to have slab necks. People pay extra money for a slab neck.

Go figure!

 

[charlie monroe]

So, it has slab neck? If you buy an old 50's P-Bass, they used to have slab necks. People pay extra money for a slab neck.

Go figure!

Not quite. I believe "slab boards" refers to the thickness of the rosewood applied to the neck.
These were produced immediately following their move away from one piece necks.

 

[DonBorelli]

Check out my Bronco.
It is black like a starless night and it has been decorated with these awesome Hama Bead-Space Invaders that my 5 year old son has made.
Of course, it has now been dubbed the Bass Invader.

 

[J-Mags]

I totally get it. Lately, I’m finding I’m grabbing my Hamer Slammer ($100 used at GC) more than my custom shop, ‘74, or my Tobias. Love the 7lbs and the neck, although it is kinda an ergo disaster when playing seated (not an issue with the Bronco). Sold my Bronco to get the Slammer, but only because the Hamer Blades was my dream bass growing up in the ‘80s. Not as fancy, certainly, but so much fun! (Not sure if the fact that when I don’t bring a Fender, it drives my band mates crazy is part of what makes it fun to play...)

View attachment 3629140

I didn't love my Slammer after I got my Mustang so I ended up trading it for tech work on my amp, but it had a real particular sound that I sometimes miss. The two soapbars on a short scale was great - not too chunky, not too scooped, and very sensitive to the mix between pickups. Sometimes I find myself wishing my Jazz sounded a little bit more like my old Slammer.

 

[DonBorelli]

...and I forgot to mention:
I love my Bronco. It is fun to play, easy to carry and sounds great.
Mine has been stringed with GHS Precision Flats and it sounds fat and warm.

Usually, I roll down the tone knob a bit and go for that non-trebley oldschool sound.

 

[PlatoFunFactory]

When I saw the title I thought “Yup! I’m the same way with my stock MIM p/j Mustang!” Then I saw you have exactly the same Mustang!

I love the lighter weight, the short scale and it’s the first P/J that I’ve actually used the J pickup on. I think maybe having only the full-on or full-off options actually makes it better for me.

Glad you’re enjoying the Bronco, but please, for the sake of my marriage, stop feeding my G.A.S.!

 

[Novarocker]

Here's my vintage Kay EB0 knock off, about 3/4 the size of a real EB0. Lots of fun and sounds surprisingly good!View attachment 3628277

Sweet little bass! How do you like that bassman? I've been itching to try one of those combos for a while. Can't find one around me and I'm curious how they'd do for a gig. Heavy as hell I'm sure though.

To the OP, totally get it. My cousin has one and they're a ton of fun.

 

[godofthunder59]

Sweet little bass! How do you like that bassman? I've been itching to try one of those combos for a while. Can't find one around me and I'm curious how they'd do for a gig. Heavy as hell I'm sure though.

To the OP, totally get it. My cousin has one and they're a ton of fun.

I strictly use this at low-moderate volume, the stock speakers even when new were inadequate. It will do nice warm Motown thump or grind away quite nicely. If you were to gig it you would definitely have to add a good 1x15 cab. I bought it cheap found it languishing on the guitar side of a local music shop.
It's main purpose for me is having a cool looking tube practice amp in my music room.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

what kinda sound are you looking for?

The sound i get with the Lawrence L250 in my Bronco is similar to the stock pickup but more power overall and increased bottom as i mentioned and a bit more lower mids, plus it's quiet.

It did not radically change the tone...im happy with it.

 

[matt-o-]

I've tried a lot of different pickups in my musicmaster and bronco basses and all share a definite familiarity of tone. They differ in timbre and quietness. But the pickup position dominates the soundcharacter.

 

[RobOnBass]

Yeah you could say I like broncos/mustangs...

the red bronco I ordered new online, I had to clean up the neck pocket as it was uneven with paint and shavings, but after that it was great. Made the pickguard and control plate when I switched the pickup to a tele noiseless.

badtz I bought 2nd hand and had to level/recrown the frets and later replaced the pickup with a lace sensor.

The mustang is an am perf and my baby, but I always gig with the other two, scared to take the stang to pubs.

ive sold all my long scales, no turning back now!

 

[WI Short Scaler]

After thinking I just didn't have the motivation and tools to complete my Bronco bass project I came across something interesting for sale in the classifieds here on TB. A fully loaded body with updated '51 pickup and hipshot bridge, already painted in the great sonic blue I liked.

So after some scraping of the neck pocket with a razor scraper and a utility knife I got it assembled and it's now hanging proudly with my Musicmasters.

Great little basses, all of them.

 

[Logic_11]

Hello, ive been looking into getting a new pickup for my bronco and i have heard of a couple of pickups, but i wanted to see if there were any you guys have tried and really liked.

ive thought about doing a jazz bass mod to it, but i want to keep the character of the bass for the neck/guitar style pick up. I'm looking for a sound that you would typically find of a standard neck pick up on a bass. The typical warm, neck sound.

I plan on making a cavity near the bridge for a jazz pick up to get the mid range and more tonal variation, as i felt the stock pick up sounded a bit hollow. I've read of people using the Dimarzio Pro track, duncan hot rails, or the lawrence l250, as someone mentioned earlier. Wondering if there was any other pickup i could look into.

thanks in advance, i really appreciate it

 

[matt-o-]

Hello, ive been looking into getting a new pickup for my bronco and i have heard of a couple of pickups, but i wanted to see if there were any you guys have tried and really liked.

I have summarized my findings in this post: #170