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Something I've been working on...

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I'm in the process of a Bronco to Bass VI conversion. I'm not sure where I want to go with it. I keep flip flopping between wanting to make a fictional 70's accurate instrument, a mash up of a Bronco and Jaguar (Brouar VI?) Or something completely different all together.

The fictional 70's one I'd do up with F tuners, black bronco (guitar) pickguard, Bronco knobs and a single Wide Ranger humbucker.

The mash up Bronco/Jaguar would be a tort mustang pickguard, upper jaguar rhythm plate, Mustang control plate,Jaguar 3 switch plate, white button head tuners, 2 Jaguar pickups (slanted?) side by side.

The electronics would be, (Jaguar switch plate) 2 on/off for pickups, series/parallel. (Rhythm circuit) volume and tone, switch would flip between a regular tone cap and a shottsky diode. Regular volume and tone for other pickup.

Both would have a Musicemaster bridge and be finished in a darker wood stain.

What say ye all? Opinions, thoughts or input, questions?

As a side note another finish option I'm considering trying is Epiphone's Silver Fox. In which case the project may go in a completely different direction. Oh decisions decisions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Guess this isn't as cool of a project as I thought it was hah. Regardless of that here's a small update on it.

Finally finished sanding off the sealer, down to bare wood now. I messed around a little with the ebonizing solution I made (vinegar and steel wool).

This one was shortly after a second coasting of the solution. It was still damp but I kind of like it. Not exactly what I am looking for though.


Here it is after it's dried a bit, Has a bit more of a chalky look to it, also nice but not what I'd need.


One concern I have with ebonizing is that since the body is a 4 or 5 piece ordeal I'm not sure the finish will be uniform on it.

I have been toying with the idea of going with a brown base and gold grain filler. Or maybe less flashy and go with a tan grain filler over brown.. Tweed Fox

I'm going to attempt to drill the string thru holes tomorrow. Then start seriously looking at the headstock and what needs to be done there.

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Thanks foxy.

Today I got the pickup for this project in the mail, a vintage Wide Range humbucker. You can see below the pickup has been somewhat modified from it's original form. Four conductor wiring, mounted on a standard humbucker base plate and pole pieces flipped around. Looks to be original other wise.






Not sure how I want to proceed with it. Either having it put back to it's stock form or leave it as is. I am tempted to ship it off to someone and have it restored, cover base plate and all. Although the idea of having a series/parallel option is kinda of intriguing.

Also I went ahead and ebonized the body today. Put 5 coats of strong tea on the other day to get the tannin count up in the wood. After drying over night I puts two coats of the ebonizing solution on. It's really fascinating how quickly the reaction happens between the solution and the tannin.

Here it is, two coasts after being wiped down.



Pictures were taken under florescent lighting, it's really hard to capture the actual color it is. Very much like a gray (blonde) finish. Has a bit of a blueish hue to it, transparent gun blue? I'm going to do another coating tomorrow after a little light sanding. Apparently there are a few tiny spots I didn't get all the sealer off from. Hopefully as it dries some of the blotchy-ness will lessen.

Now to decide what color I should use for the grain. What ever it is I'm going to forgo the trans/color layer the Epiphone has (the green). I'm kind of liking a gold but not really sure if that would go well. Maybe some shade of metallic blue. As the clear ages it'll become more greenish. I'm open to any suggestions. One thing to keep in mind is the fretboard is maple and the pickguard is going to be tort.

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