Has Gretsch been lying to us for over a decade?

[LowEndLobster]

Hey everybody! First time posting.
I swapped the pickups in mine with TVJones Thunderblades but still have the original pickups around. That funky cool magnetic paper is supposed to arrive tomorrow, i'll post my findings then.
BTW, I was kinda surprised during the swap to find that BOTH of the original pickups (BHK, I think) were labeled for the bridge position.

Thank you for sharing and doing this. BTW, mine has two bridge pickups too! That's what started this whole debacle in the first place!

 

[Snert]

Aren't magnets usually oriented toward the strings, not parallel to the strings? I thought usually the "North" or "South" point up out of the bass body. These magnets look sideways. Seems like it would do some strange things to how the strings get magnetized.

There is steel in the centre going up towards the strings that makes the magnetic path. Lots of pickups are built this way.

 

[mrperkolator]

Aren't magnets usually oriented toward the strings, not parallel to the strings? I thought usually the "North" or "South" point up out of the bass body. These magnets look sideways. Seems like it would do some strange things to how the strings get magnetized.

The more I think about it... the weirder this gets. Your right that pickups with bars instead of pole pieces still have the magnet underneath making a T shape.... It is sorta like a sideways single coil.....

Edit: and upside-down T shape

Edit 2: I missed something on the picture. Disregard this post.......

 

[Snert]

I don’t have it, but I looked back then to see if it was stacked, it was not stacked. One big coil with a magnet on each side

Not trying to be argumentative, but if you didn't cut them in half, how can you tell they're not stacked?

 

[Ostie]

I got a G2220 about a month ago. I haven’t looked under the hood, but it’s very quiet, no hum. The pups seem really hot.

 

[skycruiser]

There is steel in the centre going up towards the strings that makes the magnetic path. Lots of pickups are built this way.

Looking at the magnets "stuck together" makes me think the polarity is something like this. Is this correct?

 

[Snert]

The more I think about it... the weirder this gets. Your right that pickups with bars instead of pole pieces still have the magnet underneath making a T shape.... It is sorta like a sideways single coil.....

The pickups built with adjustable screw type poles like some Dimarzio P and J are made this was, as well as a lot of guitar HBs.

 

[Kev1955]

The more I think about it... the weirder this gets. Your right that pickups with bars instead of pole pieces still have the magnet underneath making a T shape.... It is sorta like a sideways single coil.....

Here’s that pic again, can see the two black magnets sitting beside the pickup, and where they sit parallel to the coil on each side of the coil

 

[Adagietto]

I'm very curious to see the results here. I already filmed my review (quite scathing due to this discovery, I take corporate misinformation very seriously), but I want to get a good sample size of results from other peoples G2220s.

I'll get some magnetic paper if it's necessary in order to provide "evidence", but I'm virtually certain that my G2220 has single-coils. This is based on the pickups' behavior. [I own guitars with singles, humbuckers, and humbuckers with offset/unbalanced coils.]

 

[elgranluis]

instead of this:

View attachment 4646605

given the size of the winding , I’m inclined to think that there is another identical one underneath (stacked humbucker?).

 

[skycruiser]

Maybe this is more clear: wondering which orientation, A, B or C, is the direction of the N/S field on the double magnet shown above.

 

[WG Plum]

I'm certainly curious, but I guess if the bass sounds good when it arrives, it won't matter too much to me. Still, thread followed!

 

[Kev1955]

Not trying to be argumentative, but if you didn't cut them in half, how can you tell they're not stacked?

Looked for connections and other magnets

 

[mrperkolator]

I'm certainly curious, but I guess if the bass sounds good when it arrives, it won't matter too much to me. Still, thread followed!

now you know what to expect. Expect to eventually do some shielding. The nordy cat bass is single coil, and people love it. The G2220 is not bad, just not what what expected.

 

[LowEndLobster]

Another indicator that these are single coil and not stacked is the wiring. You see only a single lead and ground wire. Stacked humbuckers are still humbuckers, and should have two pairs of wires or some sort of evidence that the 'two' pickups are connected in series. Examples below.

This is just not the case with these Gretsch pickups, which appear to be cheap single coils in a larger mini hum housing based on what we're seeing.

 

[Kev1955]

Looked for connections and other magnets

What I saw was one coil wrapped around a slug bar, with a magnet on each side, my take

 

[mrperkolator]

we should all get the router out and put big holes in our basses and fit in two MM pickups.

Just kidding... if you do this I want to see/hear it....

 

[Snert]

Looked for connections and other magnets

You see only a single lead and ground wire. Stacked humbuckers are still humbuckers, and should have two pairs of wires or some sort of evidence that the 'two' pickups are connected in series.

That's just how those manufacturers have chosen to make them. The two coils could easily have been soldered together and the join inside the epoxy. There are plenty of side by side humbuckers that only have a pair of exposed wires out of them.

 

[Adagietto]

That's just how those manufacturers have chosen to make them. The two coils could easily have been soldered together and the join inside the epoxy. There are plenty of side by side humbuckers that only have a pair of exposed wires out of them.

If the G2220 pickups are humbuckers, mine are failing at their job of bucking hum.

 

[Turnaround]

Somebody should ask Gretsch.