I want to make one so bad from a cheap glarry guitar at my local pawn shop lol especially if it was possible to tune half a step down or even standard. Just the longer neck on a guitar is making me want one
I have a Bronco bass that I put a ridiculous amount of money into to make it a useful bass. Replaced and added pickup, switches, pots gears and more. With the Gibson mudbucker in the neck it will shake the rafters.
Nice work! I was planning on doing the same thing with a neglected Bronco I bought off eBay for real cheap and came across your video. I've got a set of guitar tuners, a tele-style barrel bridge, and a compensated bass VI replacement nut in the mail. Question: did you just eyeball the angle when you made the headstock cut? I didn't think about that when considering the tuner replacement...
Thanks, man. My approach was, I found some blueprint-type drawings of a Strat head stock. I printed that out at actual size, and then overlaid that on the Bronco head stock. It gave me the correct angle to cut. If you look at the actual Fender Bass VI, it's basically a Strat head stock shape. So you're just duplicating that onto the Bronco head stock by shaving off a bit of the wood from the Bronco neck. Another way to look at it, once you get your new six string nut, mount it on the Bronco neck; then, basically draw out your six lines from the nut so you have a straight shot to each tuner, where the string will begin to loop around the tuner You want a straight path from each nut slot to each tuner as much as possible. Once you do that, the angle you need to cut, and as well where you need to drill the holes for the machine heads, should be pretty clear (remember to measure twice, cut once!) I find making paper and/or cardboard templates is a pretty good way to mock things up before you start cutting wood. Good luck!
I've been drooling at how cool this is for a while and I'm finally taking the plunge to do one myself. Do you recall if you needed to get specific size ferrules for the thicker strings? and what those might've been? I know it was a while ago, but this is one of the more in depth videos I've found on the bronco > bass VI conversions. thanks for any help!
I bought the bridge as a Fender part, is is labelled "005-4945-000 Bridge Assy Musicmaster Gtr". So it should be off of a Squier MusicMaster. Will try to do a video of where I play it.
@@papagibbon515 Sorry didn't see this message until now -- likely you sorted it -- but for the record, yes, the screws did line up, for anyone else interested.
@@mzarich OMG, that was freaky... I literally just ordered myself a Bronco yesterday after 8 months of procrastinating. 😅 Thanks for the reply too... and it's eery timing 😂
I wound up selling it before I had a chance to record it, moved onto the next project. Getting an early 70s Ibanez EB0 bass back to working shape at the moment. Yes, I recommend the red Lace Sensor when you need a single coil sized pickup in a project like this. They sound good in guitars as well. Quiet and high output. Similar to a modern humbucker bass pickup style. And usually you can get used Lace Sensors for a good price, some people just don't like them, kind of like EMGs for some people.
@@RockStarOscarStern634 EXL156 looks like a pretty good choice, I like their strings in general. Yeah, the Gibson EB6, nice one for sure. But I went with a regular 4 string on this EB project it turns out. If I find a cheap Epiphone bass I may give it try.
@@mzarich You can also use EMG Pickups because they have a fun sound which is fun for Rock Music like Bellas Finals from Pitch Perfect arranged by Mark Brymer.
@@mzarich My name is Oscar Stern BTW & yes EXL 156 Strings are my Favorite cause they're colorful at the ball ends. Anna Kendrick from Pitch Perfect might love hearing you play Bellas Finals from Pitch Perfect arranged by Mark Brymer (SATB Score & ShowTrax CD Full Performance Track) on an EB0 converted into a Bass VI. Every Pitch Perfect fan wants a Bass VI. You could also do Lean on Me arranged by Roger Emerson (SATB Score & ShowTrax CD on Full Performance track) from Glee because sadly Bill Withers died & so did Naya Rivera. Every Glee Cast fan wants a Bass VI to shed light on Naya Rivera thanks to its low lovely sound.
Hey there, the easy solution would be to go to your local lumberyard or home improvement store, and just get whatever types of wood dowels they have, that has a big enough diameter to fill the hole that is there, plus a little bit more... I would suggest a lighter colored hardwood. You may not find maple, at least maple dowels are not common where I am. I used poplar, it works and it's cheap. You likely need to carefully bore out the turner holes to match the dowel size you bought, so it fits precisely. So a half inch dowel, use a half inch drill. I cut the dowel a little longer than it needs to be on either side of the peg head. Then I glue it in, and when it's dry I use a flush cutting saw to cut it level to the peg head on both sides. Now because the grain in a dowel like that runs in a different direction, it going to look obvious that there's a plug there. Simple solution, don't care about it and be punk rock. Otherwise, you can think about painting the head stock, at least the front side that everyone sees. There are fancier ways to plug holes and make it more invisible that I have been testing since I converted this bass, but this is supposed to be a simple DIY punk rock project, so I'll leave it at this for now!
I don't let not having every kind of tool under the sun stop me, so I will sometimes fabricate a solution to move forward. Cutting the head stock, now, just use whatever lets you do it accurately. Measure 10 times, cut once. I believe for this one I may have used a handsaw, the type you use with a miter box so it's not all flex-y and sloppy. Then again, I may have users a handheld jig saw; sorry, was a while ago. When I need to do a precise cut with a jig saw like that, I'll of course clamp down the neck to a hard surface, and then create a bit of a jig with a piece of straight metal for the saw to follow. Basically, you are creating a guide rail for the baseplate of the jigsaw to follow on the right angle. A bandsaw, if you have one, is good too. And if you're a bit sloppy, you can bust out the files and sanding paper to touch it up. Take your time, and watch your fingers!
MarkusZero If you turn your EB0 into an SG Bass VI I'd like to hear The Bellas Finals (SATB Divisi Voicing) arranged by Mark Brymer played on it w/ the Full Performance Track as our Background.
@@mzarich That could be an intro right before we get into the Bellas Finals arranged by Mark Brymer. I love Pitch Perfect & the EXL 156 Strings have Colorful Ball ends.
Would have been the typical guitar model Grovers. The Bass VI type strings taper down like guitar strings at the peg head end so guitar tuners work just fine.
can you provide me with a link to find this bridge? ive used the product code you've listed below and nothings come up, i cant find one anywhere. Much appreciated.
I wonder if Fender / Squier discontinued this part... I may have mentioned, I got it at Angela Instruments, but that was in 2013. You might want to start looking at a generic hardtail Strat bridge. The mounting screw holes may not all line up, but if the original unused holes are covered by the new bridge, that should be OK for most people I hope. The trick with a strat bridge will be dealing with the low e string. As in this case, it's got a much bigger diameter than a guitar's low e, you might need to be prepared to do a bit of drilling on the bridge plate to make it fit. I'm thinking of the bridges where the string ball end is anchored to the bridge plate through a hole, "top loader" style versus "string through body". On the other hand maybe a string though will be easier, it really depends on the bridge. When you look at the potential bridge, also look carefully where and how the saddle's intonation screw attaches to the saddle, and where that is in relation to the hole that the string comes through, especially on the low e. With some bridge and saddle combos, there may not be enough room to accommodate the thicker string, where it would be fine with a guitar's thinner low e. Maybe check out a site like Guitar Fetish, they have a few reasonably priced hardtail bridge options. Likely they are made out of cheap metal, so they will be easy to drill to mod them if needed! Do some thinking and visualization of it before you spend money on parts, if you can -- do it wrong in your head 99 times, and then do it right once in the real world!
I forget exactly what I did, it's been a while.. Maybe I should watch the video, ha ha ha. Making one from scratch would be the best if you have the tools and some experience, or are willing to learn and buy the proper files. But if not, you should look at pre-slotted 6 string guitar nuts. Buy a few cheap ones to experiment. Even with pre-slotted, likely you will need to sand them down, or shim them up, to get it where you need it for each string. And of course with pre-slotted, you will need to make the slots for each string wider, where once again having the proper files makes a big difference. There are other hacker ways to do it without the proper files, if you search around for them. You can measure out the dimensions of the existing nut slot and have a look at Graphtech's web site as they show a bunch of replacement nut options with all the measurements. But the key thing is you are looking at 6 string guitar nuts, not 6 string bass nuts -- unless someone makes a replacement Fender Bass VI style nut... So it's pretty likely need to prepare to work on that nut! It's a learning experience. Lately I have been 3D printing nuts, actually!
It would be from a Squier Musicmaster. But many others should work as long as the can accommodate the thickness of the larger bass strings. Getting bass strings with small ball ends, like those for a Bass VI or Schechter Hellcat is important.
It's a fun project, and not too hard to do if you are handy. These days you can buy a Squier Bass VI if you want six strings, but this is maybe more fun to do and a little cheaper if you can find a used Bronco bass.
@@mzarich yeah. But it's kinda hard living in a third world country so not all of the pieces and processes are as easy and cheap to find/do as they would elsewhere.
@@lordundhimself1310 i just bought a second hand bronco for £20 and I checked the pickup when fixing the electronics and it is indeed a guitar bridge from what I understand. theres 6 pole pieces spaced the same as my strat.
The short answer would be, use a bass amp for best results. It's tuned just like a regular long scale bass, the low E would be down around 41 hz, just like a Jazz bass or whatever typical long scale bass you can think of. Longer answer, if you want to use a guitar amp, you need one with a speaker and cabinet configuration that won't crap out with that low E 41 hz fundamental coming through, at anything beyond bedroom levels. I find that open back guitar combos are the most likely to crap out. Sealed cabs tend to do better, in general. But this advice I would apply for any bass played through a guitar combo amp / guitar speaker cabinet, not just a funky short scale 6 string bass.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Bigger In Texas [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QxTkZTLWdo4/mqdefault.jpg)
I want to make one so bad from a cheap glarry guitar at my local pawn shop lol especially if it was possible to tune half a step down or even standard. Just the longer neck on a guitar is making me want one
I have a Bronco bass that I put a ridiculous amount of money into to make it a useful bass. Replaced and added pickup, switches, pots gears and more. With the Gibson mudbucker in the neck it will shake the rafters.
Nice work! I was planning on doing the same thing with a neglected Bronco I bought off eBay for real cheap and came across your video. I've got a set of guitar tuners, a tele-style barrel bridge, and a compensated bass VI replacement nut in the mail. Question: did you just eyeball the angle when you made the headstock cut? I didn't think about that when considering the tuner replacement...
Thanks, man. My approach was, I found some blueprint-type drawings of a Strat head stock. I printed that out at actual size, and then overlaid that on the Bronco head stock. It gave me the correct angle to cut. If you look at the actual Fender Bass VI, it's basically a Strat head stock shape. So you're just duplicating that onto the Bronco head stock by shaving off a bit of the wood from the Bronco neck. Another way to look at it, once you get your new six string nut, mount it on the Bronco neck; then, basically draw out your six lines from the nut so you have a straight shot to each tuner, where the string will begin to loop around the tuner You want a straight path from each nut slot to each tuner as much as possible. Once you do that, the angle you need to cut, and as well where you need to drill the holes for the machine heads, should be pretty clear (remember to measure twice, cut once!) I find making paper and/or cardboard templates is a pretty good way to mock things up before you start cutting wood. Good luck!
Mark Zarich great, thanks for the tips!
great build, i wish i could make one but hard to come by a lefty mustang
Thanks...
I've been drooling at how cool this is for a while and I'm finally taking the plunge to do one myself. Do you recall if you needed to get specific size ferrules for the thicker strings? and what those might've been? I know it was a while ago, but this is one of the more in depth videos I've found on the bronco > bass VI conversions. thanks for any help!
Hi bro!
I've been thinking about to do one of those too. Did it worked for you? Do you have some advice or something?
Which squier guitar did you get that bridge off of? And would you wanna post a video of how it sounds?
I bought the bridge as a Fender part, is is labelled "005-4945-000 Bridge Assy Musicmaster Gtr". So it should be off of a Squier MusicMaster. Will try to do a video of where I play it.
Did the Musicmaster bridge (fixing) screw holes line-up with the Bronco's original bridge?
@@papagibbon515 Sorry didn't see this message until now -- likely you sorted it -- but for the record, yes, the screws did line up, for anyone else interested.
@@mzarich OMG, that was freaky... I literally just ordered myself a Bronco yesterday after 8 months of procrastinating. 😅 Thanks for the reply too... and it's eery timing 😂
You can find these basses at pawnshops and online marketplaces for around $50-75 all day long. I bet it would scream with a JB in the bridge!
Agreed, they are cheap to find used (in North America at least) so perfect to experiment with! JB might sound good, try it and let us know...
could you tune it to B fourths like how an actual 6 string should be tuned, or would the strings be too thick
Very cool! I am very curious about how heavy it sounds, like you had mentioned!
I wound up selling it before I had a chance to record it, moved onto the next project. Getting an early 70s Ibanez EB0 bass back to working shape at the moment. Yes, I recommend the red Lace Sensor when you need a single coil sized pickup in a project like this. They sound good in guitars as well. Quiet and high output. Similar to a modern humbucker bass pickup style. And usually you can get used Lace Sensors for a good price, some people just don't like them, kind of like EMGs for some people.
@@mzarich You can turn the EB0 into an SG Bass VI & use D'addario EXL 156 Strings for that.
@@RockStarOscarStern634 EXL156 looks like a pretty good choice, I like their strings in general. Yeah, the Gibson EB6, nice one for sure. But I went with a regular 4 string on this EB project it turns out. If I find a cheap Epiphone bass I may give it try.
@@mzarich You can also use EMG Pickups because they have a fun sound which is fun for Rock Music like Bellas Finals from Pitch Perfect arranged by Mark Brymer.
@@mzarich My name is Oscar Stern BTW & yes EXL 156 Strings are my Favorite cause they're colorful at the ball ends. Anna Kendrick from Pitch Perfect might love hearing you play Bellas Finals from Pitch Perfect arranged by Mark Brymer (SATB Score & ShowTrax CD Full Performance Track) on an EB0 converted into a Bass VI. Every Pitch Perfect fan wants a Bass VI. You could also do Lean on Me arranged by Roger Emerson (SATB Score & ShowTrax CD on Full Performance track) from Glee because sadly Bill Withers died & so did Naya Rivera. Every Glee Cast fan wants a Bass VI to shed light on Naya Rivera thanks to its low lovely sound.
Great vid! I'm looking into doing a similar mod myself and I'm wondering where I can get my hands on the bridge you used. Thanks!
Thanks, the bridge is Fender part "005-4945-000 Bridge Assy Musicmaster Gtr".
Thanks again! found one on eBay for a steal.
What type of dowels did you use to fill the holes? What tool did you use to cut the headstock to shape?
Hey there, the easy solution would be to go to your local lumberyard or home improvement store, and just get whatever types of wood dowels they have, that has a big enough diameter to fill the hole that is there, plus a little bit more... I would suggest a lighter colored hardwood. You may not find maple, at least maple dowels are not common where I am. I used poplar, it works and it's cheap. You likely need to carefully bore out the turner holes to match the dowel size you bought, so it fits precisely. So a half inch dowel, use a half inch drill. I cut the dowel a little longer than it needs to be on either side of the peg head. Then I glue it in, and when it's dry I use a flush cutting saw to cut it level to the peg head on both sides. Now because the grain in a dowel like that runs in a different direction, it going to look obvious that there's a plug there. Simple solution, don't care about it and be punk rock. Otherwise, you can think about painting the head stock, at least the front side that everyone sees. There are fancier ways to plug holes and make it more invisible that I have been testing since I converted this bass, but this is supposed to be a simple DIY punk rock project, so I'll leave it at this for now!
I don't let not having every kind of tool under the sun stop me, so I will sometimes fabricate a solution to move forward. Cutting the head stock, now, just use whatever lets you do it accurately. Measure 10 times, cut once. I believe for this one I may have used a handsaw, the type you use with a miter box so it's not all flex-y and sloppy. Then again, I may have users a handheld jig saw; sorry, was a while ago. When I need to do a precise cut with a jig saw like that, I'll of course clamp down the neck to a hard surface, and then create a bit of a jig with a piece of straight metal for the saw to follow. Basically, you are creating a guide rail for the baseplate of the jigsaw to follow on the right angle. A bandsaw, if you have one, is good too. And if you're a bit sloppy, you can bust out the files and sanding paper to touch it up. Take your time, and watch your fingers!
MarkusZero If you turn your EB0 into an SG Bass VI I'd like to hear The Bellas Finals (SATB Divisi Voicing) arranged by Mark Brymer played on it w/ the Full Performance Track as our Background.
Are you a Fan of Pitch Perfect? Every Pitch Perfect Fan needs a Bass VI.
Man, I was just gonna offer to play Greensleeves...
@@mzarich That could be an intro right before we get into the Bellas Finals arranged by Mark Brymer. I love Pitch Perfect & the EXL 156 Strings have Colorful Ball ends.
@@mzarich Thanks for the Offer but I've already done that one on the Fryolin which is a Violin made out of a Frying Pan.
@UCdaMFbuEApZd1nkRTicb4EA
The Bass VI is great for playing Violin pieces 2 Octave lower such as the Theme from Schindler's list.
Do you have a sample tone?
Which model Grovers did you use?
Would have been the typical guitar model Grovers. The Bass VI type strings taper down like guitar strings at the peg head end so guitar tuners work just fine.
You could've played Stay or Leave by Dave Matthews on the Bass VI (E Standard Capo on Fret 7) because I love that song.
What size dowel did you wind up using?
Most likely was a 3/8” dowel, going from memory… you can always drill out with a common 3/8” bit and then you know the dowel will fit.
can you provide me with a link to find this bridge? ive used the product code you've listed below and nothings come up, i cant find one anywhere. Much appreciated.
I wonder if Fender / Squier discontinued this part... I may have mentioned, I got it at Angela Instruments, but that was in 2013.
You might want to start looking at a generic hardtail Strat bridge. The mounting screw holes may not all line up, but if the original unused holes are covered by the new bridge, that should be OK for most people I hope.
The trick with a strat bridge will be dealing with the low e string. As in this case, it's got a much bigger diameter than a guitar's low e, you might need to be prepared to do a bit of drilling on the bridge plate to make it fit. I'm thinking of the bridges where the string ball end is anchored to the bridge plate through a hole, "top loader" style versus "string through body". On the other hand maybe a string though will be easier, it really depends on the bridge.
When you look at the potential bridge, also look carefully where and how the saddle's intonation screw attaches to the saddle, and where that is in relation to the hole that the string comes through, especially on the low e. With some bridge and saddle combos, there may not be enough room to accommodate the thicker string, where it would be fine with a guitar's thinner low e.
Maybe check out a site like Guitar Fetish, they have a few reasonably priced hardtail bridge options. Likely they are made out of cheap metal, so they will be easy to drill to mod them if needed!
Do some thinking and visualization of it before you spend money on parts, if you can -- do it wrong in your head 99 times, and then do it right once in the real world!
What nut did you use? I’m planning similar thing but can’t find a nut
I forget exactly what I did, it's been a while.. Maybe I should watch the video, ha ha ha.
Making one from scratch would be the best if you have the tools and some experience, or are willing to learn and buy the proper files.
But if not, you should look at pre-slotted 6 string guitar nuts. Buy a few cheap ones to experiment. Even with pre-slotted, likely you will need to sand them down, or shim them up, to get it where you need it for each string. And of course with pre-slotted, you will need to make the slots for each string wider, where once again having the proper files makes a big difference. There are other hacker ways to do it without the proper files, if you search around for them.
You can measure out the dimensions of the existing nut slot and have a look at Graphtech's web site as they show a bunch of replacement nut options with all the measurements. But the key thing is you are looking at 6 string guitar nuts, not 6 string bass nuts -- unless someone makes a replacement Fender Bass VI style nut... So it's pretty likely need to prepare to work on that nut! It's a learning experience.
Lately I have been 3D printing nuts, actually!
what bridge did you get, thinking of doing this myself
It would be from a Squier Musicmaster. But many others should work as long as the can accommodate the thickness of the larger bass strings. Getting bass strings with small ball ends, like those for a Bass VI or Schechter Hellcat is important.
I really wanna do this someday
It's a fun project, and not too hard to do if you are handy. These days you can buy a Squier Bass VI if you want six strings, but this is maybe more fun to do and a little cheaper if you can find a used Bronco bass.
@@mzarich yeah. But it's kinda hard living in a third world country so not all of the pieces and processes are as easy and cheap to find/do as they would elsewhere.
Interesting, you didn't have to change the pickup?
squire broncos come with a guitar pickup
@@lukeytac Say whaaaaaattt?
@@lordundhimself1310 i just bought a second hand bronco for £20 and I checked the pickup when fixing the electronics and it is indeed a guitar bridge from what I understand. theres 6 pole pieces spaced the same as my strat.
@@lordundhimself1310 currently finding it impossible to find a 6 string bridge. idk where this guy found it.
@@lukeytac Custom maybe?
Did you use a guitar amp or a bass amp?
The short answer would be, use a bass amp for best results. It's tuned just like a regular long scale bass, the low E would be down around 41 hz, just like a Jazz bass or whatever typical long scale bass you can think of.
Longer answer, if you want to use a guitar amp, you need one with a speaker and cabinet configuration that won't crap out with that low E 41 hz fundamental coming through, at anything beyond bedroom levels. I find that open back guitar combos are the most likely to crap out. Sealed cabs tend to do better, in general. But this advice I would apply for any bass played through a guitar combo amp / guitar speaker cabinet, not just a funky short scale 6 string bass.
G R E A T WORK!!
Hey, thanks!
New videos pls! ✌
Yeah, I've been pretty slack on the videos. Maybe I need to make a New Year's resolution for 2021, post more videos?
@@mzarich Yeah man even one a month. You obviously know what're talking about
Why?
It's like mountain climbing. Why do you climb the mountain? Because it's there.
Thats pretty suck lol
I’ll always take love or hate rather than indifference, so thanks for your reaction!
喋ってないで弾けよ
OK!