NOBD: Gretsch Script-Head G2202 ($100!)

[Bongolation]

I always thought one of these might come in useful someday, but kind of forgot about them. Since mangling my hand, a short scale seemed like a worthwhile experiment, so when this came up on local CL for $100, I figured...well...OK, I'll spring for some short-scale Chromes and give it a try.

Some dings, but the only other things wrong were a missing tone knob and a thrust washer on the G machine knob. No discernable fretwear, setup near-perfect. No noise in the pots. Grotty roundwounds.

I'm curious about this one -- not a single marking anywhere on the entire instrument except what's on the face of the head.

Anybody know what iteration of G2202 this is?

Thanks for any info!

 

[Bongolation]

Another revelation when this thing was on the bench: It really does have a plywood body.

 

[Justice]

I believe that was called the Jet Jr. street price was around $250 new.

 

[MakoMan]

Looks just like a regular G2202 to me. Some said Gretsch on the headstock and Electromatic on the truss rod cover. Others like yours were the opposite. Otherwise they are all the same bass as far as I know.

 

[AaronVonRock]

I believe that is the very first version of the Junior Jet 2202. The earliest models just had "Electromatic" on the headstock. The ones right after had the Gretsch logo which is what I have. Mine also has a small plate on the back of the headstock for the 125 anniversary of Gretsch (which means it was made in 2008). The 2202 is a great shortscale bass and the pickup sounds absolutely amazing. Nice find.

 

[Bongolation]

Update: I've spent a ton of bench time on this beast so far, with a bunch more to go.

Another interesting revelation: This is actually a "trans black" teardrop sunburst over an ornamental veneer top, though it's virtually invisible. Can you see it in the picture? It's there. Who got fired over that, I wonder.