ShortScale.org

honeyiscool wrote:

robroe wrote:find a mustang bass or a musicmaster bass for 300 bucks and you are a WINNER

I bought my Bronco Bass for $90, I bought my Musicmaster Bass for $300, and my Mustang Bass for about $425. So what? I love them all, but this is a sweet bass, and will let me use all the various fun bass pickups that I can't use on my Mustang Bass, and looks good too. The Mustang Bass is the most difficult to hot-rod bass in the Fender lineup and I hate that about it.

There are a TON of options to mod a bronco. It takes any standard strat pickup like a champ... i put some SD Hotrails on mine, new pots, new knobs and colored the pickguard edges, and my Bronco now plays better than any Mustang or Musicmaster i've played... shoot the only better Fender ss basses i've played are a Squire Vista Musicmaster (a HIGHLY underrated thing of beauty) and the stupid-rare Fender Bullet bass. Anywho, here's my Bronco that, with mods, only set me back about $126:

robroe wrote:i wonder if a mustang bass, or musicmaster bass neck would fit on one of those squier jag things

No way, I would think. The neck looks quite different, also 20 fret neck, and it doesn't seem as "deep" in the pocket as the Mustang Bass neck.

+1

It will be interesting to see if the Jag neck is as awesome as the Bronco neck...


Still, i want to try the SX/Rondo ss Jaguar... alls i've heard is that they neck-dive pretty badly... Still though, i preffer the J/J on the SX to the P/J on the Squire... the J/J just seems more Jaguar-y to me :/

Din of Win wrote: There are a TON of options to mod a bronco. It takes any standard strat pickup like a champ... i put some SD Hotrails on mine, new pots, new knobs and colored the pickguard edges, and my Bronco now plays better than any Mustang or Musicmaster i've played... shoot the only better Fender ss basses i've played are a Squire Vista Musicmaster (a HIGHLY underrated thing of beauty) and the stupid-rare Fender Bullet bass. Anywho, here's my Bronco that, with mods, only set me back about $126:

So a new pickup, knobs, and colouring the pickguard makes it a better playing instrument?

Something that a lot of forumers seem to not want to accept, no matter how many times I repeat myself, is that a stock Bronco, IMO, plays better than a stock Mustang Bass or a vintage Musicmaster Bass. The 7.25" radius isn't that great on a bass and the maple neck is awesome.

My Musicmaster Bass plays amazingly now and that's because it has a Bronco neck on it. Prior to that, it was never that great. My Mustang Bass, I keep because it looks hot, that's about it. I'll probably sell it to get a short scale Jaguar Bass.

A bandmate had a '78 Musicmaster bass... I didn't much care for it. Another friend's sister had a Bronco, which was a lot of fun to play.
I've only played one Mustang RI for about 2 minutes, so I can't really comment much on it versus the others.
The Bronco is a solid little, extremely cheap bass.

honeyiscool wrote:Something that a lot of forumers seem to not want to accept, no matter how many times I repeat myself, is that a stock Bronco, IMO, plays better than a stock Mustang Bass or a vintage Musicmaster Bass. The 7.25" radius isn't that great on a bass and the maple neck is awesome.

My Musicmaster Bass plays amazingly now and that's because it has a Bronco neck on it. Prior to that, it was never that great. My Mustang Bass, I keep because it looks hot, that's about it. I'll probably sell it to get a short scale Jaguar Bass.

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...

honeyiscool wrote:Something that a lot of forumers seem to not want to accept, no matter how many times I repeat myself, is that a stock Bronco, IMO, plays better than a stock Mustang Bass or a vintage Musicmaster Bass. The 7.25" radius isn't that great on a bass and the maple neck is awesome.

My Musicmaster Bass plays amazingly now and that's because it has a Bronco neck on it. Prior to that, it was never that great. My Mustang Bass, I keep because it looks hot, that's about it. I'll probably sell it to get a short scale Jaguar Bass.

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.

Din of Win wrote:
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...

A wise man once said to me "If you feel the need to lie about something you do, or how you are doing it, then you are getting it wrong"

Honestly it's just stupid and so NOT rock n' roll.

Dave wrote:
A wise man once said to me "If you feel the need to lie about something you do, or how you are doing it, then you are getting it wrong"

Honestly it's just stupid and so NOT rock n' roll.

That's awesome! I totally feel the same way.

A simmilar wise man also one told me; "Rock what ya got."

I've known people to sand off the Squire logo... but they're the same people that would sand off a Fender logo too...

I'd openly play Squire if I had one, but, as of yet, I don't have one

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.

Is that blue Musicmaster a Squier? Really nice - and the guy did a good job on both the refinish and the peghead reshapng IMO. I like the neck tinting too - that's one beef I do have with some Squiers and even a few Fenders - the pale white of the necks looks funny to me. YMMV.

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?

I've gigged Squiers before. I have gigged Epiphones before. A good guitar is a good guitar, no matter what it says on the headstock, and some Squiers are very nice guitars. For example, any MIJ Squier from the early to mid 1980s is going to be just as good, if not better than any MIM standard series Fender. The Squier CV Duo Sonic is a nice guitar, regardless of what it says on the headstock... and there are several other similar examples IMO. Of course, there are also some not so nice Squiers, and some Fenders over the years have been dogs too, but certainly not all of them... it really depends on the model in question and even the individual instrument IMO. Two guitars of the same model and year can sometimes sound different based on the actual pieces of wood used in them.

Either way, I think sanding the logo off and replacing it with something else for no other reason than "what it says" is kind of silly. It's a Squier, not a Fender, and I'm not interested in trying to pass something off as something that it isn't.

buh. I put tape over all of my SX and all of my Squiers. I wouldn't sand it down and put a Fender decal on it, but I certainly will cover it up.

I just find people will take me less seriously if I'm playing a Squier. It's obviously the people who don't know shit about guitar and own a Squier themselves (but have no idea how to play it) but if you just throw tape over the name, no one seems to notice. Maybe the only person I'm tricking is myself.

Phil O'Keefe wrote:Is that blue Musicmaster a Squier? Really nice - and the guy did a good job on both the refinish and the peghead reshapng IMO. I like the neck tinting too - that's one beef I do have with some Squiers and even a few Fenders - the pale white of the necks looks funny to me. YMMV.

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?

what blue musicmaster are you talking about? i went through the whole thread and didn't see a pic of one. i have a blue bronco that i converted to a mm, but it's not posted in here.

i would gig the fuck out of a squier or epiphone if i had talent enough to play anything out (i'm working on this aspect). i'd gig the shit out of my sx jazz bass if the opportunity arose.

I DON'T GIVE A FUCK AND NONE OF THE TALENTLESS DRUNK HORNY SCUMBAGS WATCHING SHOULD EITHER.

this one?

folks ashamed of using a squier are dumb fuckers who probably play shitty music anyway.

also, when are the big chains getting these jags? i'm dying to try one out.

Phil O'Keefe wrote: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?

To be honest, I'm embarrassed to play my Fender Jaguar thought my '72 Twin Reverb openly on stage... The reason: It's such a fucking good setup, and *I* suck. I love playing the gear, but I'm not up to par, and I feel judged "Look at that tool, all the expensive gear and can't play for shit"

I don't really feel this way about my Fender bass, but I'm a better bass player than guitar player. I still feel judged, but much less so.

As I mentioned previously, if I see a Squire logo, played well, or if I had one, I wouldn't care, I'd openly play it. But, at the same time, I'll frequently overlook Squire instruments when in the shop poking around. Though, honestly, I skip over most Fender models too, as they're largely all the same I used to judge Squire harshly (again, mostly in-store, not so much on stage), but I'm working on getting past that; they've put out some quality that goes well beyond the name.

there's a scottish band i know that the guitarist plays vintage fedner stuff, and the chubby-cheeked bassist plays squier CV jazzy? WTF@

it all depends on your fingers, not gears

if I see someone playing a guitar or bass with tape on the headstock my immediate thought is, "laaame." anyone who you imagine would care knows what's under that tape. all you are doing is showing that you actually care what people think of the guitar brand you're playing. it is so much cooler to just play that squier fully exposed without a care in the world. brandishing a squier shows people your priorities are about the music not BS gear worship.

sanding the logo off the headstock is just a damn shame. especially when it's a nice guitar like the CVs. just think of the vintage squier JVs that idiots sanded the logos off.