ShortScale.org

On second inspection, I think the guard is original. The aforementioned San Fran shop is just a sticker on the underside of the guard, I think it was sold at that shop at some point. Doesn't appear to be a guitar shop.

Anyway, ICEY FOTO BOMP:

Good fortune for Pens. Beautiful piece. I don't guess you could string it lefty. I can't remember which arm I used to replace mine when I had one. I think it was a Mustang.

I could but I'm keeping it righty. It's supposed to be that way. I consider it to be a bit like an art piece right now.

I don't remember tort ever being standard on a Bronco. The Red and Black ones had the white guards and the vintage cream had black guards. I think my Bronco has a Mint Guard which is not original, though the refine red paint matches the original color.

How does the neck feel? Anything under the Dog pic?

Yeah? Possible then that it's a replacement guard.

I didn't take the horse pic off of it, I kinda like it to be honest.


Also, this might make some mad here, but I did end up offering the dude a bro deal to sell it back to him as he was a bit torn on selling it in the first place. I don't know him too well but he is part of the local noise rock scene and him and his wife recognized me from some shows I played several years back, I chatted with them for a bit about that. I kinda just want to preserve it as it is for now and give the dude a year to buy it back from me. Just seems like the right thing to do. So, he has "first dibs" at this point.

Oh, and the neck is nice, a tad chunkier than I thought it would be, but the nut width is surprisingly only 40mm so its the same width as a Supersonic. It needs a proper set up and adjustment for me to give a final call on the neck, though.

Pens wrote:On second inspection, I think the guard is original. The aforementioned San Fran shop is just a sticker on the underside of the guard, I think it was sold at that shop at some point. Doesn't appear to be a guitar shop.

I'd guess maybe a guitar repair shop or aftermarket parts supplier? That sticker is mentioned in a few other forums

My 1973 Bronco neck is 41mm and is tied with my 1969 Mustang neck as my favorite. Profile is similar to the AVRI jaguar with a hair more chunk and not quite as wide. I love the 70s F tuners.

taylornutt wrote:My 1973 Bronco neck is 41mm and is tied with my 1969 Mustang neck as my favorite. Profile is similar to the AVRI jaguar with a hair more chunk and not quite as wide. I love the 70s F tuners.

You know I wish I had some digital calipers to directly measure it. It seemed a bit off to me to be 40mm, I expected it to be 41.

ah man, such a nice find, even if you're only holding it for a year or so.


is "the real world" as smitten with these guitars as we are, or is it just a shortscale thing? the scarcity of them tells me there's a bit of love for broncos, but fender has only offered the basses reissued so far.

George wrote:

rich wrote:i'm in love with that thing.

confirmed rich sighting

i know nobody missed me!

Pens wrote:Yeah? Possible then that it's a replacement guard.

I didn't take the horse pic off of it, I kinda like it to be honest.


Also, this might make some mad here, but I did end up offering the dude a bro deal to sell it back to him as he was a bit torn on selling it in the first place. I don't know him too well but he is part of the local noise rock scene and him and his wife recognized me from some shows I played several years back, I chatted with them for a bit about that. I kinda just want to preserve it as it is for now and give the dude a year to buy it back from me. Just seems like the right thing to do. So, he has "first dibs" at this point.

Oh, and the neck is nice, a tad chunkier than I thought it would be, but the nut width is surprisingly only 40mm so its the same width as a Supersonic. It needs a proper set up and adjustment for me to give a final call on the neck, though.

You're a good man Pens.

Regarding the pickguard:

From Tony Bacon's book The Fender Electric Guitar Book:

"Bronco(5) 1967-80 Model name on headstock, angled pickup at bridge.

*Maple neck with rosewood finderboard; 24 inch scale; truss-rod adjuster at body
end; one string guide; plastic tuner buttons (metal from 1975)

*Slab offset-waist body; red only (black or white from 1975)

*One black plain-top pickup (angled at bridge)

*Two controls (volume,tone) and jack socket, all on pickguard.

*13-screw (15-screw from 1970) white laminated plastic pickguard (black
laminated plastic from 1975)

*Six-saddle bridge/vibrato unit."

Bronco's never came from the factory with tort guards.

until i saw the sticker and read your post i was POSITIVE that it was grizzly tort. the pattern looks identical to the pattern grizzly sells. pretty cheap stuff really, if i remember its like 13 dollars a blank, as opposed to some place like stu-mac that wants about 45 for a blank with about 2 extra inches(that end up in the trash anyway)

dots wrote:is "the real world" as smitten with these guitars as we are, or is it just a shortscale thing? the scarcity of them tells me there's a bit of love for broncos, but fender has only offered the basses reissued so far.

Eh, I can only speak for this city, but they are fairly popular with the indie/noise crowd here, though almost no one knows why they love them. Almost no one I've spoken to with a shortscale even knows what a scale length is or means. They just know the guitars are really comfortable to play and they aren't strats/lespaul/sg like everyone else is using, so that's a bonus.

The ones that have them, absolutely fucking love them for how comfortable they are to play. They aren't quite obsessed as we are to the point of spending money on one that they aren't even able to play, though.

shortscale
beat to shit
fave color combo
bridge pup

it's fucking perfect.

Pens wrote:I kinda just want to preserve it as it is for now and give the dude a year to buy it back from me. Just seems like the right thing to do. So, he has "first dibs" at this point.

that's a good thing to do, and much better than trading it to any of the vultures currently circling 'round.

Yeah, if I were in his position I'd really appreciate your gesture.

I had to pull off a double trade to get my Bronco and I really think that tremolo gives the guitar a slightly different tone. It's subtle compared to a Mustang, but has it's own vibe. More metallic sounding. It has that slab body which is so comfortable. Very Underated.

booiiiinnnng

that's an amazing thing