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So I came across a mostly original '76 Bronco. Apart from the obvious EVH refin, it was mostly original apart from the pickup (cheap EMG import) and some screws. Played great, trem worked well and stayed in tune, and included the oft lost trem arm.

The guitar had been well-loved and played. Always a good sign.





Is this the original red finish underneath the EVH stripes ?

Some hardware had been spray-painted black - trem arm tip, tuner bushings and tuner housing. That will have to be fixed.

So, given that body already had a refin and a non-original pickup - I decided to really turn into into a first-generation EVH tribute by adding a bridge humbucker and a crudely cut black pickguard and eye-bolt screws for strap buttons.

The black lacquer came off nicely after soaking in lacquer thinner. Left the trem arm tip alone.

The original EVH pickguard looked like a single-ply. Picked up a thin black single-ply Bronco pickguard from WD.

Notice the single white TONE knob. Originally a strat knob - how about a Jazzmaster tone knob in keeping with the offset theme ? Picked up a single original '60s tone knob - just my luck being sold as a single.

A new bridge humbucker was required. This seemed like a great opportunity to finally try Arcane pickups. The Brownbucker was in stock, F-spaced aged with double-black bobbins. Perfect ! (https://www.arcaneinc.com/humbuckers/brownbucker) Came as a 4-conductor so will be able to play around with coil-splitting later.

Now that I had all the bits, this was pretty easy to put together. Routed out the body for the bridge humbucker. Cut the pickguard slightly oversized - hack job with an exacto. Wired it up and here you go ! What a fun little project. This thing sounds great and plays great.

Dude! Between this and the JazzVI, you're really in lock-step with my kinda offbeat offset fun!

As someone who's had long-term soft plans to do a JM/Frankenstrat mashup, this is some great inspiration. Your build turned out great.

First few paragraphs in I was afraid you were going to botch that nice Bronco but damn you made it into something really cool! I like it; stuck with the theme without going over the top!

I'd like to echo the sentiments here, this is rad as hell!!! I've never played that kind of trem before. Is it similar to a Mustang trem in feel?

This is so rad. It really is.

Not at all like the Mustang trem - or the jazzmaster / jaguar trem for that matter. Very much stiffer and precise - feels more like a strat trem to me. Which is kind of what it is. It pivots on two studs screwed into the body. Jazzmaster trem and Bigsbys remains my favourite, but his trem is perfect for the dive-bomb type wiggle sticking. And it stays in tune !

Shadoweclipse13 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:50 am

I'd like to echo the sentiments here, this is rad as hell!!! I've never played that kind of trem before. Is it similar to a Mustang trem in feel?

Thanks for the responses. It sounds great with a Rat - couldn’t help myself playing heavier than I normally do.