Bronco bass pickup

[Brock the Mod]

A good friend of mine had to return his beloved 1978 musicmaster bass to the original owner recently and has been complaining about how heavy his Watkin Rapier bass is (but its a pretty dope bass).

I keep seeing these Affinity Broncos going for like less then 100$ and I want to get him one as a gift but Id also like to replace the stock pickup.

I see alot of hot rail suggestions or something similiar with a single blade/noise cancel setup but im curious what the brethren here agree on when it comes to a bronco bass.

My pal also seemed to just enjoy the vintage pickup in his musicmaster for what thats worth.

[JackFawkes]

Never tried it and definitely not "vintage", but I've heard that a lot of people like a Red Lace Sensor in a Bronco Bass.
I have a spare one from the late 80's kicking around in my spare parts drawer that I'd be happy to let go to a fellow member for cheap.
(I really need to do a "Spring Cleaning" and post these odds and ends in the Classifieds...)

Jack

[Brock the Mod]

I too have heard that. Pm sent

[Brock the Mod]

Feels silly to have a thread now for this but Im grabbing said pickups for Bronco off our fellow forumite.

Do pot values need to be changed for lace sensors? 500k id assume?

[JackFawkes]

Damn, good question...
In a Strat, Lace has always recommended Sensors with "normal" guitar single-coil pots values of 250K; but I actually like to use them (a Blue, Silver, Red set) with slightly higher 300K pots in a Strat.
But in a bass, I... honestly don't know? I'll Google around a bit and see if I notice a go-to value for it.

[Brock the Mod]

I got this guy for 60$ today

Im already contemplating painting the headstock black and getting a squire decal any tips?

[JSett]

$60 is such a steal...That's pocket change really!

[Brock the Mod]

$60 is such a steal...That's pocket change really!

Kinda fits my pal too because he'd be annoyed if I spent more then that



It will probably be close to this look but thats a Musicmaster pickguard on that guy.

Which Im not opposed to doing but then all the remaining screw holes will have to be filled and possibly nail polished black.

I feel like the headstock black with a gold squier decal would look a lot sharper too but that would be a first attempt for me.

[Brock the Mod]

Here it is!!! Sounds actually pretty good but I dont really play bass enough to know what to look for in a pickup.

But it is QUIET no noise or anything. I ended up swapping out the bridge too.

[soggy mittens]

Those strat hats are a nice touch

[Brock the Mod]

Those strat hats are a nice touch

I didnt even realise I had them until I went into my tool box. I feel thats era specific to musicmasters too.

A pal of mine also ripped off the black tuners off his pbass/mustang hybrid bass so I may add those on there to upgrade that part.

[JackFawkes]

Sounds actually pretty good but I dont really play bass enough to know what to look for in a pickup.
But it is QUIET no noise or anything. I ended up swapping out the bridge too.

Sweet! Looks great. And yeah, the super-low noise floor is one of the things that I really like about Lace Sensors...

Jack

[JSett]

Those strat hats are a nice touch

I didnt even realise I had them until I went into my tool box. I feel thats era specific to musicmasters too.

A pal of mine also ripped off the black tuners off his pbass/mustang hybrid bass so I may add those on there to upgrade that part.

Yeah, that looks great!

I have some OG 1977 MM bass/Strat black knobs in my parts box if you ever want some for free but, to be honest, the white ones look sharp as hell!

[Brock the Mod]

Those strat hats are a nice touch

I didnt even realise I had them until I went into my tool box. I feel thats era specific to musicmasters too.

A pal of mine also ripped off the black tuners off his pbass/mustang hybrid bass so I may add those on there to upgrade that part.

Yeah, that looks great!

I have some OG 1977 MM bass/Strat black knobs in my parts box if you ever want some for free but, to be honest, the white ones look sharp as hell!

Appreciate the thought but I'm quite happy with the results.

[JazzLee]

This looks so great! What a lovely thing to do for your friend!

I've been thinking of getting a Bronco Bass recently, I tried to buy one last week, but they were all sold out in black, so I ended up buying a Fender Player Mustang Bass (sherwood green) to try out. It was a bit of an impulse buy, which is very out of character, but I got a job last week after being self-employed for the last 5 years, so I was feeling frivolous! I think I might send it back though and do what you've done, I've always loved those Musicmaster basses and this seems like a pretty good way to get that spirit!

Do let us know your friend's reaction when you gift it