Here's a snazzy looking vintage 1976 Fender Bronco model in the classic "tuxedo" combo of Black finish with a white pickguard. The guitar was made at the original Fender factory in Fullerton California, U.S.A. It has been professionally set up and is ready to go-it needs nothing.
The body is the 1960's-style "slab" with the offset shape design-just like a Mustang. The black finish is in good condition. It shows plenty of handling evidence-which has a tendency to hide under bright lighting (yay black!). There are line scratches here and there-see photos. The backside may have more handling evidence than the front, but overall the finish looks nice and vintage with some small check lines here and there. The neck joint is solid. The neck slot does have several inspection stamps and at least one employee's ink stamp. The bottom of the neck has separate ink inspection stamps and a batch number as well as the green date stamp on the end, confirming the model year 1976.
The neck itself is super-straight as well as being nice and smooth with a glassy feel. The nut measures 1.60" wide. The neck profile is best described as a vintage U shape. The neck depth measures .822" deep at the 1st fret and .900" at the 12th fret. Very similar to a 1960's Fender Mustang. The truss rod functions easily. The tuners all work nicely and the guitar stays in tune well. The headstock and log both display excellent. The rosewood fingerboard is a beautiful high-contrast and it is in excellent condition. The frets have been professionally crowned and polished and appear near-new condition and height-see photos. They are in really excellent shape. A couple of the nut slots were slightly widened at some point and we have refiled those two for a proper string alignment. The action is set medium-low and the guitar plays easily with no dead spots. The current string height is .010" at the 1st fret and .055" at the 12th fret. The guitars plays great up and down the fingerboard.
The pickup has an excellent signal and measures 5.61 ohms. It is a grey bobbin unit with 1976 date code stamped on the bottom. The pickup sounds like a classic vintage Fender and has the quintessential "bell" chime and brilliance that we all know and love. The original potentiometers are CTS units stamped from the 13th week of 1976. The entire wiring harness is in excellent original condition. The pickguard is a rare white unit and it is super flat and crack-free. A very nice Bronco pickguard. Let's keep it that way-be sure to lay a hand down firmly on the pickguard when removing the instrument cable. This pickguard design has the same flaw as the Precision Bass in that the spot between the output jack and the tone control is the weak spot and prone to cracking. Again, this one is in excellent shape-so use care. The bridge functions well. The vibrato arm swings free and works smoothly.
The guitar is super lightweight and fun to play. It only weighs 7.66 lbs. so you can play it all night long with zero shoulder fatigue. It feels great!
The original 1960's style salt & pepper hardcase is included.
This guitar is a really great deal for that person that wants an affordable vintage Fender. The rare color combo really stands out and the guitar gets lots of compliments and attention.
