NGD: 71 Bronco + more!

rlm2112 · Post by **rlm2112** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 2:33 am

I just got the best deal ever. (maybe not ever, but it's pretty great)

Sam Ash had a vintage Mustang and Bronco last time I was there, for $799 and $499 respectively. After selling some stuff this week, I wanted to try to get the Mustang. I called them today, and they said someone just bought it an hour ago. I was pissed, but I asked if they still had the Bronco, and he said they did. So I go down there, and check it out. I didn't have time to look at it closely the first time I saw it, so today when I picked it up I noticed some issues right away.

1. The bridge was jacked up about an inch off its base, but the action was not high.
2. The neck has a backbow, which explained the bridge being up so high.
3. The electronics are scrachy as hell, and cut out easily. (probably normal for a vintage guitar)
4. The pickup is either not original, or has a replacement strat cover.
5. The body has some major paint checking/lines, and the bottom has big spots of paint missing.

They said they thought it was flood damage. (or some dumbass kept it in a tub.) They offered to lower the price to $399. I thought about it for a while, and decided the neck was a dealbreaker. As I was leaving I offered $299 mostly as a joke, and the guy stopped me and said he would check if they could do that. 5 mins later, he said they could. I was shocked.

I then noticed they were having a Presidents Day special, where they were giving away a free Carlo Robelli acoustic for any purchase over $349. They had some other stuff on sale, including a brand new Squire Affinity Jazz bass for $150. So I grabbed the last bass AND the last free acoustic and checked out.

$479.31 with tax, and I have 3 new guitars

Right now I'm taking the Bronco apart, and checking the dates on everything. So far the neck and neck plate date to 71. My main questions are: Is it possible to straighten a neck with a backbow? Should I consider repainting it, or just leave it alone? I tried to show how bad the paint is in the pics. I'm either going to repaint this or the other Bronco body I have, but honestly the paint is much better on the other one.

BTW, I got bored last night and made the other Bronco body playable with spare parts as you can see in the pics.

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Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:36 am

That's a pretty awesome deal! If I had spare money to blow at a president's day sale I would have gone to sam ash too. Serfx's thread has kind of inspired me to want to rip into a cheap acoustic and put a humbucker in it.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:48 am

Wow! a vintage Bronco for $299? That is awesome! This was a great Presidents Weekend for everyone(except for that 15 inches of snow we just got).

ploppy · Post by **ploppy** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:47 pm

Looks cool as fuk as it is!

cur · Post by **cur** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:34 pm

First off, you might want to string it up with 11's and then loosen the truss rod a good bit. Let it set a couple days and see what happens to the neck. The back-bow may settle out.

weed_killer · Post by **weed_killer** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:02 pm

Fuck, nice deal(s). Are you going to keep the other two, or sell them off?

AaronGuitarDude · Post by **AaronGuitarDude** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:38 am

i wish i am u

Boab · Post by **Boab** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:22 am

brilliant deal. Congrats.

Pacafeliz · Post by **Pacafeliz** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 3:51 am

OH LORD MY EYES!!!

Asher · Post by **Asher** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:54 am

$299???

So jealous..

rlm2112 · Post by **rlm2112** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:58 am

cur wrote:First off, you might want to string it up with 11's and then loosen the truss rod a good bit. Let it set a couple days and see what happens to the neck. The back-bow may settle out.

Unfortunately the store already did that. I think it even has 12s on it. I had to take a more drastic approach. I loosened the truss rod all the way, and removed the nut. Then I used a straight edge to see where the bow started (around the 12th fret). Using two C clamps an a cut up leather belt, I clamped it to the edge of my kitchen table. I used a microwaveable heat pad to apply heat to it a couple times a night and left it clamped for two days. After two days I checked it, and while it was better it was still bowed back. So I clamped it as tight as I could for one more night, and continued applying heat. It looked like this "(" but horizontal. The next day I checked it again, and it was almost completely straight. I put it back on the guitar and strung it up, and there is just enough tension to pull it to the right position. So its playable, but the truss rod has zero tension.

Once the neck was straight I also noticed the frets are really worn down on the treble side. The high e bottoms out on the fourth and fifth frets. So it looks like a re-fret is in order.

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I also noticed the pickup and electronics are definitely not original. The pickup is old though, and it almost seems like it's homemade or something. It's very tall and heavy for a single coil. The cover does not come off.

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Anyone have any idea what it is, or what it's from?

The pots seem newer, and sport some questionable soldering.

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I noticed someone marked the body for a humbucker route, but thankfully didn't do it.

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Here it is all cleaned up!

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ploppy · Post by **ploppy** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:46 am

Exellent thread this rlm2112 !!
Whats the frets like?
Mine need work but they're very low and flat - look different to yours tbh.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:13 pm

i wouldn't repaint it- it looks cool.

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:57 pm

Maximum respect for tackling a back bow like that, it's a shame the frets need doing as well. Still, that will help with the playability of course.

I have heard of using that composite stone stuff that they make kitchen benches with, as a straight edge. Wonder if you could find an offcut of that, then clamp your neck to it (maybe with a plank of wood between the clamps and the neck, to distribute the pressure) then steam it somehow.

Lastly the pickup looks like the terrible ones in my first electric, some no-name Korean or Taiwanese thing. They had the same plate underneath and the same terrible solder job.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:00 pm

MatthewK wrote:Maximum respect for tackling a back bow like that, it's a shame the frets need doing as well. Still, that will help with the playability of course.

this.

great job.