$200? That’s maybe if I want the shell pink one. Picked one up over the holidays for $130.
Of course in true Buzzer tradition I upgraded everything on it
Of course in true Buzzer tradition I upgraded everything on it
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You really kinda had to, though.
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Yeah I just got a Fralin Split P in my Shell Pink bronco. It sounds pretty good with Labella Low Tension strings, 500k pots and .05 cap.
I’ll post a pic later; the only knobs that fit clash with the bass. It’s kinda funny looking right now. So pics after new knobs
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Not sure what pots you are using, I used cts split shaft for this one. But they are bigger than the stock ones. I ended up buying these knobs and they fit with no problem.
Musiclily Pro 1/4" Steel Fine… Amazon.com
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Mine are CTS pots but are solid shaft. Those knobs should fit nicely, here’s a picture of the accidental knobs anyway
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I like the look of the Broncos, but not if you HAVE to replace everything.
If I was to get a Fender or Squier I would want it to be good, if I get something to upgrade it will be from AliExpress or Ebay or 2nd hand.
Why buy a name brand if you have to improve it (as opposed to want to)
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They have these Sonic Broncos at the local store for $419 AUD
I guess they are the same:
Squier Sonic Bronco Bass, Maple Fingerboard, White Pickguard, Tahitian Coral - Vivace Music Store Brisbane, Queensland’s Largest Music Store
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You don’t have to change everything. Sorry if I gave that impression.
Here’s my story. I had a Squier 51 p bass with a Fralin Split 51 Split P pickup in it. I like the sound of a 51 P pickup, I really dig it. But with my arm issues I get pain when playing long scale. And they don’t make a short scale with a 51p pup. I looked.
When Fender released the Bronco in Shell Pink I said to myself, heck, I can get into a short scale 51p cheap. So I jumped on it. $219 USD. Here in the states that’s what it is.
At the holidays you can get a bronco in the $150 range. I paid the $70 for the color.
I had the pickup and pots. All I bought was a pickguard so I didn’t have to butcher the old one - my Dremel skills suck. And I bought a Gotoh bridge but could have kept the original.
So not a lot of money in this project for me. And when I put the stock pickup back into the Squier and sell it I’ll have even less in.
(the shell pink is only from Fender online store)
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Mate, Iwas referring to so,e other comment that said you had to replace everything, I may be mistaken but I took it to mean that what is comes with it sub par
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On the other hand: if body and neck is good, you can always go wild with replacing anything else … just for the fun of it!
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technically you can also replace the body and neck.
Or you can just buy a good instrument instead.
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I don’t like off-the shelf stuff. Everybody has that - except the ones that can pay for an expensive custom bass.
It’s a matter of philosophy, I guess!?
By the way, I had my mods tested by my punk-funky luthier and two professional bass players, who visited me after they read about it in zzzee Zzeerman forum.
My luthier said that my modded basses play in a 2000++ € league now (except the HB paint job, which really sucks … it looks great, but it’s not very durable). Of course, they don’t look as cool as an Offbeat or a Reverend.
One of the bass players played Ronin against his Spector Bantam 4 (which is beautiful, by the way) and found mine much better (probably cause of the 35TWX - the Specter has 35DCs).
The other bass player brought his very expensive custom made (long scale) fretless to compare and found Minty playing in the same league (not taking into account scale length and strings). He was very intrigued by Ronin though (that was before I made the mistake to move the neck PU to a not so good sounding position).
So, I don’t see an argument against it!
Specter Bantam 4 
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Which is why I said get one from AliExpress, Ebay or 2nd hand…
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Have you tried it already with an AliExpress bass?
There is only one bass type I would like to mod before I will start building my own basses: a semi hollow!
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Understandable, you’ve never owned one that wasn’t a Harley Benton.
That’s not a dig on bentons either, they are fine and a great deal for the price, but stock they do not have especially remarkable parts.
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I’d say out of the box they play great. I bought mine for 160 (black Friday sale) off the fender website. It did need a set up, but I’m picky. Frets on mine were ok, not really any sharp edges etc., my only gripe is the pickup, which sounded fine, but just a little weak. I think these are a great deal. I bought one of these and a sonic p bass for about the same price. I really enjoy working/modding basses. This was a good 300 dollars for me to spend. Learned a lot by redoing both of these. I just bought another sonic p bass with the intention to play around with the electronics. My goal with that one is to get the stock pickups to sound the best that they can.
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Not true: I owned an ESP. It was great! But long scale … so didn’t work out for me.
I have tested quite a few basses though. From bad (Ibanez TMB, Vintage Reissued VS4CR), mediocre (several P, JJ and P/J Fenders - up to 1000€) to great (Ibanez headless, Sire U5). Some of them I had here for a few weeks.
No Fender was better than my HB, neither in feel nor tone. Fender - at least in that price range - is overrated!
The Ibanez EHB was great, but it didn’t work out for me (also the Bartolini PUs were “muddy”). The Sire U5 was comparable to my Harley Benton MV-4MSB, had better PUs (all other parts were on par) … but didn’t feel perfect. I assume that the Sire has better paint, as I am really not happy with the durability of the HB paint job!
If you haven’t played this HB, you simply cannot judge…
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Looks great! I like that color. Too bad those knobs don’t match. If they had some matching ones that would be a great look. I ended up mounting the pickup to the body and not the pickguard. I just couldn’t get the screws to line up the way I wanted.
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