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Gretsch 2220 jet bass mods

shababy32

shababy32

May 2, 2015
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70
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#1
First, if I misspelled anything or didnt get the model number correct, forgive me. Its feels like its 159 degrees here in Mississippi and ive been out in all day, so I'm doin good to even spell my name!

Anyway, a friend, a very good friend, bought me a new Gretsch Jr. Jet bass or whatever its called. Wow! For 299, i think its a steal. For a gift, well u cant get much better. Actually I'm thinking about making this bass better. First, I was gonna put some Hipshot or Grover ultralight tuners on it. Does anybody know of a direct replacement? Second, new pots and maybe getting rid of the pickup selector switch and adding a blend or another volume. Ive read if u were gonna use CTS pots, then u gotta bore into the body? Is that true? Also which do I use? 500k? 250k? Ive not even opened it up. Tone cap recommendations? Then we get to the pickups. I like these but if there is another one that sounds better, please let me know.

Thanks!
 
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#3
Rickbee007 said:
My thoughts. I have one of these. The only thing I did was put some flats on it. I wouldn’t change anything else. It plays and sounds great. They are what they are.
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I concur with Rickbee, I just got one of these last Sat and have been amazed at how good it plays and sounds. The dark red color isn't as bright a color as I like but IMO it's a step above black or boring sunburst. Fun bass to play!

But the flats are on order and I should have them tomorrow!
 
#5
Rickbee007 said:
I have La Bella Flats designed for Hofner Beatle and Club basses. I was amused how La Bella says they are designed for use on only The Hofner Beatle Basses.
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I put GHS precision flats on my G2220, sounds good. Mostly I was just looking for something lightweight with decent tone and this fit the bill.

I did put different volume/tone knobs on, and painted the pickguard white. Mine is the "wine" color but still very dark for my taste, needed some brightness. As you can see from my avatar I like bright colors on my bass. I'd get the bass repainted but that's expensive and not something I'm willing to try again.

Nice little bass.
 
#6
I actually put some Rotosound nylon tape wounds on mine and holy mother of God and all things pure and true! If u wont that nice Motown sound, u got it. Add some overdrive for a nice dirty vintage sound, bingo. Add some fuzz for just pure nastiness, jackpot!
 
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#7
I replaced the bridge and tuners with Gotohs, and the pickups with TV Jones (if you do this, make sure you get a "blade" style, as most TV Jones pickups are made for a narrower string spacing that this bass has, and so the pole pieces won't be under the strings).
 
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#11
Rickbee007 said:
My thoughts. I have one of these. The only thing I did was put some flats on it. I wouldn’t change anything else. It plays and sounds great. They are what they are.
Click to expand...
Old thread but I'm chiming in for anyone who stumbles in on this. With all the upgrades including tone pot, bridge, tuners and tvs ( blades were not necessary if you center thundertrons) and (I would not use flats) this bass has become my favorite take out with it's unique clean punch that growls when you dig in. Dudes are coming up to tell me so. Light, no neck drop and a gas to play. Added an ampeg classic pedal in the loop just to top it all off. The only drawback is the short neck for a few extra frets and a little fret slap which was easy to dial out but otherwise the upgrades were enjoyable and I can leave my kubicki xfactor, GandL Fallout and Fender Jag safe at home. Seriously, it's that hot. It cost 200, put 400 in upgrades with no regrets. Satisfying project for this old schooler.
 
#12
I would be interested to see a pic of the bass with the Thundertrons. I would have preferred to use pickups with conventional polepieces, but couldn't find any TV Jones ones that lined up with the wide string spacing.
 
#13
Zenbassie said:
I would be interested to see a pic of the bass with the Thundertrons. I would have preferred to use pickups with conventional polepieces, but couldn't find any TV Jones ones that lined up with the wide string spacing.
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They don't completely line up but with a thin wedge on the left (looking down at them) they at least centered and I'm not having any issues with individual string output variance although I did drop the A string pole down slightly as it was hot. I believe the magnetic field is strong enough that the E/G alignment didn't matter. I was surprised how low the pickups are to the strings as set by TVJ specs. Quite a unique sound through LM 2-12s. (500watts).
 

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#14
Rickbee007 said:
I have La Bella Flats designed for Hofner Beatle and Club basses. I was amused how La Bella says they are designed for use on only The Hofner Beatle Basses.
Click to expand...
The Hofner basses have a trapeze style bridge that requires a longer string. That’s why they are specificly designed for those. They also have strings “designed for Danelectro” basses that are the opposite. They’re shorter , to suit the wooden Dano bridge.
 

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