Din of Win wrote:I'd agree that stock it plays better than a vintage Mustang and Musicmaster... i doubt i'd take the leap to say it sounds better than a Mustang RI... i just really like those basses! Still though, the Mustang RI costs almost 5 or 6 times as much, for a (IMHO) veryyyyyy slight improvement in tone.
+1million about the Bronco neck, though.
Do you have a stock Affinity Bronco, or just the Badzt(sp?) Maru one? Are they the same, aside from the pick-guard?
Have you played a Vista Musicmaster? I like that, stock, even moreso than the Bronco!
@Haze: Better for ME, sure
I have a perpensity to 'tweak' every bass/guitar i own. I'm always taking them apart and re-assembling them to attain my own sonic wants and needs.
As for the Bronco... The stock pickup was cracked in half and it was missing the knobs. So i HAD to replace the pup, and i had some Fender Amp knobs lying around, so they went on, too. The pots i change moreso out of habit these days. The pickguard was the only real aesthetic thing. I just don't dig 1-ply pickguards, painting the sides is an easy way to make a faux 2-ply
Open question: Who honestly gets 'iffy' about the Squier logo? I know a ton of bassists (and i'm gonna assume guitarists, too) that sand off the squier logo and put on a Fender waterslide. Do any of you gig 'openly Squire' instruments? Will you? Do you honestly find that people react negatively if you do?
Just curious...
1. I think after you replace the pickups, it
can sound better than a Mustang Bass, but what's better is at best your opinion. My Mustang Bass has the $150 Aero Mustang pickup in it and it's a fantastic pickup, it sounds just like a good P-Bass. Unfortunately, I prefer a slightly different sound, and the Bronco's more customizable in that sense because there are a lot of Strat pickups with all kinds of voicings, but only a few options for Mustang, basically stock, vintage, Aero, or hand wound. If you want something that will be just a P-bass lite, the Mustang's the better option for sure. I tend to prefer a midboosted, preamped type of sound, and the Lace Red gives me that in passive format, so I prefer the sound of my Musicmaster and Bronco Bass.
Best part is, Bronco Bass is routed for a humbucker, so it's got enough room for an EMG humbucker if you're like that.
2. I have the Badtz Maru. It's similar in most ways except it's rear routed and it's basswood instead of agathis. It even has a humbucker route. I'd imagine the tonewood results in slightly more muffled tone, although I mean, it's probably at most a 2% difference in tone, but I see basswood described as being similar to mahogany whereas agathis being similar to alder, and most snobs hate both.
3. I've never played a Musicmaster Vista. I'd love to, though. My Musicmaster plays like a dream, though, I'm not sure I'll need a second one.
Note: I didn't sand the Squier logo myself on my Musicmaster, it just came like that from the seller on Talkbass, who tinted it and redid the headstock to a Telecaster shape. I really like it, actually. I will probably sand my Bronco neck one day because I want to tint it as well.
Yeah, I played on the Mustang some more, and I realize I can't sell that thing. It's a pretty vintage sounding instrument that has perfect intonation and a Fender logo and I don't want to be without that, besides I won't get back the amount I put into it anyway.
portugalwillie wrote:a lot of people probably don't want to accept your opinion on something subjective. Just because you like the feel of maple on a bass, doesn't mean I do. I've never even played a bronco bass, so I don't know which I prefer but lets be real; just because you think it plays better doesn't mean that everyone thinks so.
glad you like the bronco bass; it will definitely make things easier on you wallet.
Yeah I get that. I think most bassists seem to prefer maple or ebony over rosewood, at least on Talkbass it seems like it. Most guitarists seem to prefer darker fingerboard over brighter. I think it doesn't make that big a difference in guitar tone. On bass, I think the difference is not quite night and day but at least daybreak and high noon.
More importantly, I think it's about the shape of the neck itself. The Bronco neck has a bit more meat and a flatter radius and it just seems to make things a bit nicer. I'd slap a Bronco neck on a Mustang except people would think that I'd just dressed up a Bronco, and plus, Mustang Basses are too nice looking to ruin like that.
Kicking and squealing Gucci little piggy.
