Gretsch Junior Jet or Danelectro Hodad

[JennySuzuki]

My 2220 does not have the TV Jones logo on the pickups. It's still a fabulous bass.

 

[mjmeche]

I just picked up an SX 4 string short scale fretless. I like it a lot PJ setup. Really finished well

 

[Temcat]

I have to echo this. The model 2202 basses (the series before the current one) have a fantastic TV Jones designed pickup that absolutely roars. That's the pickup in my Bronco, and it is a marriage made in heaven.

I don't know whether the current Junior Jets have the same TV Jones designed pickup. It looks similar but may not be the same.

BTW, does anybody know if these pickups are sold separately?

 

[JennySuzuki]

TV Jones has a website where they sell pickups. I haven't done a size comparison to know if their aftermarket pickups can just be dropped in on the Junior Jet models, or if some routing or shimming would be required.

 

[fjadams]

Probably not exactly the same, but I have a set of the ThunderTrons in a Epiphone Flying V. Good sounding pickups.

http://tvjones.com/pickups-2/bass-pickups/

 

[GIBrat51]

TV Jones has a website where they sell pickups. I haven't done a size comparison to know if their aftermarket pickups can just be dropped in on the Junior Jet models, or if some routing or shimming would be required.

Can't say for sure; Junior Jets use mini-humbuckers, not Filtertrons. Best bet would be to call/ e-mail them and ask, but I'm thinking some routing might be required. And, for what it's worth, anyone who's been thinking about getting a Jet I or a Broadkaster - you may want to hurry up, 'cause they might have been dropped. Looked at the Gretsch Home Page earlier today, and they're not there no mo'.

 

[ih8law]

The TV Jones pickups are slightly larger than the stock Junior Jet pickups. The body routing is fine, but you'll need to slightly modify the pickup ring. I detailed this in a post in another thread here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/gretsch-g2220-bass-818089/index2.html#post12133907

Unfortunately, it's not going to be a simple plug and play switch to TV Jones Thunder'trons The TV Jones pickups are about 3-4 mm longer (from top to bottom) than the stock pickups. The width (side to side) is the same. The problem this presents is that while the Thundertrons will probably fit in the cavity of the G2220 without any need to route the wood, the stock pickup ring ("bezel") is simply too small.

Here's some picks to show what I'm talking about:

This is the G2220's pickup ring on top of a Thunder'tron bridge pickup in my G5123B. It is just a little too small to clear the pickup.

Next, the same problem arises over the neck pickup.

Here's the G2220's pickup route. I measured the height at 38mm, which should accomodate the Thunder'tron.

One possible solution is to get a bigger pickup ring. However, you should note that the pickup rings you can buy from TV Jones or Gretsch present a new problem: while the opening is wide enough to accomodate the Thunder'tron pickup, the outside perimeter is substantially smaller than the G2220's pickup ring (note the difference in the picture above). This means that you would have to (1) drill four new holes in your bass to fasten the new pickup ring, and (2) live with having the four existing holes for the old ring visible for all to see.

Maybe the best (however crude) solution is to simply file the G2220's pickup ring to be a little wider so it can fit over the Thunder'tron.

I hope this helps!

 

[UK Philip]

junior jet - i have the current single pickup version.

it is a beautiful old-fashioned bass and the pickups are full of guts. couldn't be happier with it.

it is heavy, though. i like that but some people can't deal with weight.