Bronco pickup replacement

[Nathan1709]

Hi guys. I'm looking for some help on what pups will drop in to my bronco without the need for any body or pickguard mods? I am erring on the side of a Seymour Duncan rail pickup but I keep reading conflicting information on whether to go for hotrails or coolrails. I know that it depends on the sound I want but I'm a bit worried that the hotrails might be too zingy for a bass. I'm also confused whether to go for a bridge or neck pickup? I gather if I go for hotrails then a neck pickup would be best as it's less likely to be too zingy? I've tried to research but unfortunately rather than enlightening me, with all the contradictory things I've read I'm just getting more and more confused. Any help much appreciated. Also if anyone can suggest a pup I haven't considered I'll be happy to consider it. My only real requirement is that it will ideally be humbucking. Cheers guys.

[brensabre79]

I think the bronco pickup is a strat size, it certainly looks that way.
so a hot (or cool) rail should fit, but the tone difference is entirely down to personal preference, and probably more important for guitar...

The main difference for you will be in the output. Hot rails being louder, Cool being not so loud (but not quiet). But both will probably be louder than the stock pickup. For guitar, hotter pickups mean you can get a bit more drive out of the pre-amp stage of your amp, so more distortion [b]basically[/b]...

For bass, many people prefer to have a cleaner tone anyway (or use pedals for drive), and an overly hot pickup may be too much for a pre-amp (although most bass amps can take higher volumes due to active basses). So for a cooler pickup, you'll need to turn up the pre-amp more, for a hotter pickup, you'll need to turn the pre-amp down a bit.

For now I'd personally go for something cheaper like:
http://www.warmanguitars.co.uk/product/twin-loco-single-coil-sized-twin-rail-humbucker/

See what you think...

then maybe upgrade to Kent Armstrong (which are really good by the way) if you feel the need:
http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/electronics-c17/kent-armstrong-guitar-pickups-c100/kent-armstrong-strat-replacement-guitar-pickups-c187/kent-armstrong-power-blades-rails-mini-humbucker-hot-output-p3991

I believe the Kent Armstrongs come in Hot and Cool too. Either will be fine.

EDIT: I should add, if you're swapping a single coil for a humbucker, expect an increase of output but a decrease of treble / attack. you can change the volume and tone potentiometers to overcome this, but that's another thread and depends what you have and what you get

Edited October 19, 2016 by brensabre79

[Nathan1709]

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it. I actually ordered myself a Red Lace Sensor yesterday after doing lots of reading on people's upgrades to their Broncos. I was going to go humbucker but apparently the lace senor cuts out a lot of the hum associated with singlecoils. Just to make sure, I have purchased some copper tape to shield the cavity for good measure. I'll probably get the pots upgraded to 500k too.

Looking forward to seeing how it sounds. Any thoughts anyone has about the Lace Sensor, a potential pot upgrade and anything to be aware of I'd be very grateful to hear them.

[brensabre79]

Good stuff I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
You may not need to go with 500k pots if you're putting a single coil PU in there.
I'd see how you get on with the pickup first.
The usual rule of thumb is 250k for single coil, 500k for humbucker. This is because 500k allows more treble through and humbuckers tend to sound dark.
Although you don't have to follow the rules

[Nathan1709]

Thanks very much. I'll stick with it in that case. I am a bit naive regarding all this technical stuff. I assumed you'd have to upgrade the pots for a higher output pickup. Looking forward to getting it all put together. Got some serious fret buzz which I'm hoping a good set up will cure too.