Squier Bronco bass mods Ep.10: Artec soapbar humbucker ceramic pickup MDC4 - neck
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ค. 2024
- In this unsponsored video, I will feature the Artec soapbar humbucker ceramic pickup (MDC4) in a Squier Bronco short scale bass. Installing this pickup required a small corner of wood to be routed out from the existing cavity. The video will demo the sounds from this pickup as well as a sonic comparison with the stock single coil pickup.
The bass was recorded direct through a Line6 Pod Go with my usual GK800RB model settings. No EQ or compression was added in post.
Stock roundwound strings.
00:00 Intro
00:19 Inspiration & background
01:26 Mod steps
02:47 Sounds
05:04 Track
07:43 Assessment
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Wow ,you bought this Artec pickup from us. Thanks for your big support.
Thanks for watching!
As someone with super small hands, I’ve learned after a few years that I just need to play a short scale, but I still don’t especially find the single coil in the original bronco to be sufficient.
This series has allowed me to see the potential in a Bronco! I ordered one since it’s fairly cheap and I plan on soldering a new pickup into it. Thanks for making this series! It’s helped me come to a decision on how to mod my future Bronco!
Right on! Thanks so much for watching and commenting! As you can probably tell from the video, I have small hands too….and with the arthritis cooking all the time, short scales have really improved my ability to play. I still enjoy my 34” P bass, but it can be a struggle for longer sessions. Good luck with your bronco!
Those pickups are really great. I converted a Fender Jaguar bass from active to passive with no problem at all using one of these.
Right on! Sounds like you made a great mod! Thanks for watching!
Seeing your fibreboard guard reminded me of years ago when I made a “51 P black guard” by thinning down masonite on the rough side and then painting the shiny side with black paint. You could even try the gold guard look, which it sorta looks like already, by spraying gold over top. Or even veneer it. Burled redwood looks a bit like tortoise. I did that to a Jazz Bass I heavily modded 20 years ago.
All good options! These fiberboards are just make-shift temporary pickguards....just needed something to hold the pots in place! Although the gold anodized colour would look very cool! Thanks for watching!
The more I play my Bronco the more I like it! Now that I adjusted the truss rod, it's even better! Great methodology on these videos, I was just hoping you'd be trying string types and sizes next, and then you said you were going to do that very thing next! I'm not too happy with the low E open sound (on my bass anyway)using the stock strings, hopefully your next video will help me choose replacements, or will point to my pickup as the source.
The stock rounds are different from fender nickels. Suspect it’s an offshore brand of nickel strings. They’re also 105 to 45 which is a bit heavy on this bass, string balance and tone-wise….get some wonky overtones with the tone knob all the way up. I have a set of old/backup TI flats on it settling in until next week, will try some tapewounds too!
Thanks for watching!
@@jonathanwong458musicI was talking with my local authorized fender dealer about this, they said fender contracts various manufacturers to make strings for them, so it's a crapshoot as to what's actually on there...I always restring any bass I acquire just so I know what's actually on there and how old they are
Me too! Many of my basses have different strings and brands as I haven't found one set/type that universally works on everything. Different gauges too. Every instrument gets their own string hunt! $$$ unfortunately.
@@jonathanwong458music Strings are a good way to diversify your tonal options...certainly cheaper than other options
Absolutely! That’ll be the message of ep.11
Very Funky! with that Artec soapbar pickup.
Thanks for watching! It’s a different sound, for sure
The Artec sounds pretty good. I'm really enjoying this mod series. I picked up a brand new Squier Rascal bass (black) from my favorite music shop for $299 US. I'm excited to see what I can do with it. Thanks Jonathon Cheers from Utah
Right on! Rascal looks really cool. How does it balance? Thanks so much for watching!
@jonathanwong458music I assume you mean weight balance. It's a tad neck heavy but I hardly notice it with the strap. I have a set of Hipshot ultralight tuners I'll put on it at some point.
I dug the overdrive with that soapbar
that's awesome! Proportionally, with all that extra wood behind the bridge, it looks like it will balance and sit quite differently compared to other short scales. Thanks!
It's a cool sound! Before I recorded it, I actually expected there to be more lows with the overdrive.
As it's a humbucker 500 K pots will make a huge difference to the tone. A more effective comparison between pickups would be to wire them direct to the jack output.
Thanks for the feedback! Yes, you are right in that the more scientific comparison would be to bypass all the pots and caps altogether as you suggested. But it’s less of a ‘real world’ application (for me at least, as I prefer having the versatility of a volume and tone pot.
As an aside, I did try this artec with a 500k pot but I personally didn’t like how it sounded. It brought out a harsher mid frequency I didn’t prefer. Everybody likes different things.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Hi Jonathan! I'm loving this...
If it's possible, could you try out a MusicMan style pickup (passive)? I wonder how it would sound compared with this soapbar pickup.
Keep going on this series. You are making an awesome job! 👍
Thanks so much for watching! Re MM. I I wasn’t planning on it….So sorry to disappoint you….in my experience, I found musicman pickups really benefit from a preamp. I had an Aguilar MM in a Warwick jazzman run in passive and the tone was rather ‘meh’ and on the clanky side. Once you dial in more bass from the preamp it comes alive though!There, unfortunately, isn’t much room in the bronco for a preamp + battery unless you route a rear cavity or hide the battery under the pickguard.
@@jonathanwong458music That sounds like what you could expect from the pickup wired in parallel (stock MM StingRay style), but what about wired in series?
@@MadJackF1 Good question! (The Artec in this video was wired in series.) The MM would probably have more output and more low end in series. It would be an interesting experiment to put a MM in a bronco. It'll look huge and menacing with those big pole pieces! Could go really crazy and go double $$!
@@jonathanwong458music come to think of it, why not wire the Artec in parallel? It might be enough to tame the lows and bring back some of the treble.
Great idea! I did that with the Seymour Duncan hot rail in Ep 2
Hello. I love my Bronco and your videos are awesome. Myself I am leaning toward installing a ‘51 p-bass single coil in mine. The dimensions of the ‘51 are slightly wider and longer than the original strat pickup, but it seems feasible to easily modify the pickguard. No going back though with the modified pickguard.
Awesome project! And thanks for the encouragement! Does the '51 p/u come with a pickup cover? If it doesn't have a cover, then sweat, grime and dirt can get into the pickup windings and potentially wreck the pickup. If you have a sonic series bronco, the string spacing should line up without issue (the older affinity has a narrower bridge spacing, I believe). It would be a cool tone!
Same as with the musiclily humbucker: wire it in parallel and get more highs at the cost of some output level.
Yeah! Good idea. I also tried this artec with a 500k volume pot and didn’t like what it did with the midrange. Hard to describe, but it became a little harsher. See episode 2 where I tried series and parallel wiring with a Seymour Duncan hot rail. Thanks for watching!
@@jonathanwong458music I watched episode 2 and your experience is much like mine. I have tried a rail humbucker on my bronco (a telecaster version which is wider than a strat rail) but in series it sounded too muffled and in parallel too bland and thin. I switched to a single coil p-bass pickup off a harley benton pb-50, and that one turned the bronco into a beast, loud and lots of definition.
I also heard you talk about your autoimmune issues. I strongly suggest you watch a video of Dr. Ken Berry, a doctor I deem respectable and sincere and who has much experience with dietary changes to improve autoimmune problems. There is much much more info available but this is a good start: th-cam.com/video/CWD-QvnKWqk/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the health tip! I’ve gone all carnivore, then all veggie, haha. Didn’t really do much for me unfortunately. But always open to new things.
Thanks for sharing your pickup experience!
Hey! Whats the width at the heel of the neck on a bronco?
The widest point at the heel (before it curves) measures ~2.25”.
Thanks for watching!
I just picked up one of those Artecs as a replacement pickup for my old Westone spectrum DX I am trying to revive. It’s a perfect fit! same position as your bass, in the middle. Question: is there a reason why you chose the neck version? I selected the bridge version b/c I thought it had a slightly larger pole spacing and would match up better.
Thanks for watching! In a dual soapbar equipped bass, the pickup closest to the neck is considered the neck pickup. With that in mind, that neck position is more or less where this bronco pickup is (more so than the bridge position).
Is the neck so skinny as on the squier mini p bass? Like your idea... keep rocking sir. ( a gold folie pick up would be nutz too if i look at ya bass but a sope bar is cool. I have two on my streamer. )
The neck on the bronco is wider and slightly thicker compared to the mini P. Gold foils are cool!
Can i ask u what song you play? i think i know but i can't figure it, tnx
It’s something I made up. Thanks for watching!
@@jonathanwong458music very good, i like it
Thanks!
Not a fan of ceramic pickups, a Nordstrand Alnico humbucker might be nice . . . or if rerouting isn't an issue, the Nordstrand Alnico MM.
Yes! A nordstrand would be nice!! Thanks for watching!
I swapped out the ceramics in my MM Sterling bass and put in Nordstrands and added a John East preamp. . . both the guys at Nordstrand and John East himself were great@@jonathanwong458music
Great setup!
A dimazio hotrail... because i am lazy
The dimarzio fast track rail p/u would be a good choice. Episode 2 was on the Seymour Duncan hot rail. Was a drop-in replacement. Thanks for watching!