Obrienp Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 (edited) I bought this Bronco bass from PMT earlier this year as an interim, while I waited for a short scale to be made by a local luthier. It is the ultimate mod platform as far as I can tell. Stock it is a sound instrument, let down by some of the hardware. I have only used it my home studio but it is a lot of fun. I have made some modifications to it, as can be seen from the photos. I fitted lightweight tuners from Northwest Guitars, with 14mm posts. You can see from the photo that I have filled the original screw holes with the old toothpick trick. The electrics have been replaced with CTS pots and a decent jack socket. I have shielded the cavities with copper tape so it’s very quiet on standby and fitted a Tonerider Precision Plus (TRP1) pickup, which sounds great. I have now replaced the original pickguard with a custom made 4 ply dark red tortoiseshell item cut to fit the precision pickup set. I also replaced the bridge with a chunkier item with individual saddle adjustment but the same (approx 18mm) spacing. It uses the same screw holes as the original but is a bit of a compromise. The design doesn’t really allow for enough saddle adjustment to get the intonation right, so I have had to replace one of the adjustment screws with a shorter item and use a spring behind the back of the bridge to pull the A string saddle back a bit. The intonation now sounds spot on to my ears. The neck plate and scratchplate still have their protective plastic film on. Condition wise the body and neck are in very good condition. There are a few minor scratches in the gloss black but none that go through to the wood. You will get all the original parts with the bass, so you can put it back to standard if you should want to, although you will need to sleeve the post holes, if you want to put the original machine heads back, as I have enlarged them from 12 to 14mm. I just fitted a new set of D’Addario 40-95 nickel round wounds. I decided to stick with the gauge it comes with as stock but I am sure it would be great with standard light, or even medium gauge. The extra lights are just so easy to play but I don’t they lack bottom end. Try and buy in Fakenham, Norfolk. Will travel up to 50 miles to handover, if I get the asking price. I have the original box but I am very nervous about posting TBH but will do at buyer’s expense. Edited December 14, 2021 by Obrienp Upgraded bass 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 Update to the above. The machine heads are Wilkinson, not Northwest’s own brand. One of the pictures shows where the chrome has come off the edge of one of the retaining nuts. The grey marks on the nut are where I have used graphite (pencil lead) to lubricate the slots to stop the strings from binding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 You sir, have a PM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 7 hours ago, Obrienp said: I know it’s Halloween - but seriously, that bass appears to be possessed... 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Seriously though GLWTS 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 Further update: I have now replaced the original pickguard with a custom made 4 ply dark red tortoiseshell item that cost £30. I have also fitted new D’Addario nickel round wound strings. If I could find a way of editing the price, I would have put it up to £140 but I can’t, so at £120 it’s a total bargain. No trades please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted December 14, 2021 Author Share Posted December 14, 2021 Sorry if you were interested, it’s sold but watch out for some more interesting gear in the near future: Ashdown Little Stubby all valve amp; Ibanez Affirma 5 string bass in Walnut (breaking my heart); TC Electronic BH550; Ibanez SRH 500 Aerium bass in Dragon Eye burst. Contact me if you are interested, or wait for me to get round to doing the adverts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts