Gretsch G2220 bass

[thedane]

I have hi-rez photos of both and I can confirm that the neck pickup on the newer version IS closer to the neck - but only by a pretty small amount, between 1/2" and 3/4".
If it is closer to 1/2" I suspect any shift in tone would be negligible. If 3/4" it "might" be audible - but not by much.
A tiny shift in your EQ, or your Amp, or your strings will make at least as much of a change.

My experience with neck pickups is that they need to be pretty close to the neck to actually deliver the "Neck Pickup" sound.

What would be THE BOMB is if you could "Blend" the 2 pickups how you like instead of just switching them on or off entirely.

Hey ih8law- when you upgraded the electronics did you replace the "pickup selector switch" with a better switch? Or is that an actual POT that allows you to fade from one to both to the other?

EDIT: OK- I see it's a volume pot. AWESOME.
Dude, I know we keep asking a lot, but could you list the components you used in your upgrade? I think you have found a great way to turn a good bass into a really great bass and we could really knock some people out if we all hot-rod our stuff like you did. Viva La Revolucion!

Thanks all.

 

[ih8law]

Here are my modifications:

1. Removed the pickup selector, capacitor and volume/tone pots.

2. Installed three CTS 500k pots and an orange drop capacitor (0.47). I wired it just like a jazz bass, so you should be able to find a wiring diagram to match what I did. Simply stated, there are two volume pots (one for each individual pickup) and a tone pot. I'll note that I had to slightly drill/ream out the existing knob holes to get the CTS pots to fit through.

3. I had to buy one extra Gretsch knob, since the bass only came with two. This was a cheap eBay item.

4. I also swapped out the bridge for a high mass bridge. I did this for cosmetic reasons only, as I really don't care for the "bent metal" bridge that is so common on most low or mid-priced basses.

That's it!

 

[mtsens1]

Question, what's the difference between to G2220 and G2224? Looking for a hardshell case as well.

 

[ih8law]

New mods to report. I have always thought Gretsch Thunder'Jets were the coolest looking basses, but there's just no way I could drop $2k into a bass. The next best thing is a D.I.Y. Thunder'Jet, complete with TV Jones Thundertron pickups:

This was not an easy mod. I had to route out two sizeable holes for the pickup switch and master volume knob, drill tunnels to feed the wires through, plus basically rewire the damn thing from scratch:

(It's a rat's nest in there! The controls are: master volume, pickup select switch, neck pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, and master tone.).

At the end of the day, though, it's totally worth it because it sounds pretty awesome! I've got a small shielding problem that I need to take care of (hums when I take my hands off the strings), but that's a project for another night.

 

[ih8law]

I can't stop tinkering around with this bass. It's made for a worthy test subject for all kinds of fun with my random tools and parts I've happened to acquire. The latest iteration has D'Addario nylon tapewound strings, foam mute and a Babicz bridge:

Here's an admittedly bizarre looking audio sample: Invalid Link Removed

 

[wwpete52]

Would anyone know what the overall length of the G2220 bass is?

 

[JennySuzuki]

Okay, it's 5:30a, I've been up all night, and I'm not positive I'm tracking properly. So let me make sure (as I necropost this thread) that I'm understanding correctly what you did, Ih8Law...

You replaced the pickup selector switch with a higher quality switch. Did this reduce or eliminate the issue you were experiencing, with the pickups being quieter when both were selected?

Then you went from a single volume / single tone pot to seperate volume pots for the two pickups, and an overall tone pot? Did this reduce or eliminate the need for a pickup selector switch, or were both knobs only functional when both pickups were selected?

You replaced the stock pickups with TV Jones Thunder'trons? And the only modification you had to make was new trim rings?

You put on a high-mass bridge. Which bridge did you choose, and how much modification was required to put it on?

 

[Zenbassie]

TV Jones pickups definitely fit into the body rout of a 2220, but some filing of the surround is required (not too hard). Blade style pickups are the best, because the pole pieces on most TV Jones pickups are too close together for the string spacing on this bass.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

I am completely inexperienced in all the areas of modding, rewiring, and upgrading that others seem capable of on here.

I just got one of these from GC about 2 months ago and was thrilled with it as is. It has a nice punchy and "smooth" sound out of my Rumble 500 that I've really liked. The only mods I trust myself to do are cosmetic. I painted the pickguard white, added white speed knobs and a stripe similar to Mustang Competition basses. Love this little bass.
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[chitoryu12]

Just got mine as my second bass! There were about a dozen in my price range at Guitar Center, but after playing about less than half of them I settled on it. It's incredibly easy to play and the humbuckers give it this really rich, fat tone that I can do a lot with. I'm excited to see where I go with it.

 

[juan77]

Hi everyone. Could someone tell me what is the width of the fingerboard at the 12th fret? It's for a short-scale bass construction project ...
Thank you very much!

 

[DECEMBER]

I got a 2018 model for $255 new and I love it! Perfect intonation, no fret buzz, and I'm in drop-D. Can't get bigger than a 105 in short scale, though. I put the 45 65 85 DR Hi Beams and a 110 nickel plated from Stringjoy.
Here's the 3 songs I've done so far with it:

New music by DECEMBER!
EmpathEyes
The Eyes of the Empath are Heart-wired. A gaze which never blinks, We feel your Soul in Eternity.
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DECEMBERmusic.org
MUSIC with INTENT for a PURPOSEFUL UNIVERSE

 

[Marije]

Hi all,

I decided to upgrade my Gretsch Bass as well:

Installed 2 filtertron pickups from Roswell
4-string Filtertron Bass Pickup / Alnico 5 – Roswell Pickups
made the pickuprings myself since I couldn’t find any that fitted.

Installed a Schaller bridge.
3D-4

I find the bass sounds much better with these pickups, more definition, more full and richer in sound. The single coils just didn’t do the job for me. I noticed a big difference in sound when I started to play my Hagstrom Swede shortscale bass in comparison to the Gretsch sound. Also the bridge is a great upgrade because you can modify it in 3D. My la Bella strings stay better on the neck.