Help me Frankenstein my Gretsch G2202!

[Jonesy]

I really like my Gretsch G2202 short scale bass. Sadly, I can't leave a nice cheap bass alone. I've already taken a belt sander to it to give it some nice comfortable Fender body contours and now I'm planning on adding a 2nd pickup to it. I have chosen the Seymour Duncan Rickenbacker neck pickup cause it looks so much like the stock pickup, only slightly smaller. So remember, these are the ingredients. I'm not looking for advice on different pickups to buy. I already have the Duncan rick pup, so that's what's going in it.

In your opinion, would you leave the stock single coil in the neck position and put the Duncan humbucker in the bridge position? Or visa versa? I tend to use the neck pickup by itself more than anything,
and I like the stock pickup quite a bit, but it's kinda noisy for recording in my crappy studio. I'm planning on shielding the cavities with copper tape while I have it apart, so hopefully that will solve the single coil noise issue?

Also, I'm planning on wiring it like Telecaster. One volume, One tone and one 3-way switch. No coil tap for the Duncan. I don't know much about wiring so hoping you wiring gurus will advise if I need new pots or if the stock pots will work with a two pickup setup. The stock pots have been quiet and reliable for a couple years now.
Also, any advice on switches and any other items I'll need to complete the wiring would be appreciated. For instance, is there such a thing as a mini 3-way switch? Or do I need one like what is in a Tele or Les Paul?
Thanks!

 

[screaminglucy]

i'd love to see pics of the contours you did. i modded mine with a bridge pickup...

 

[Jonesy]

Your bass looks great! Pretty much what I had intended on doing but have not yet gotten around to. What kind if pickups are those? Do you like them better than the stock pickup? (I love that stock single coil pickup, but it's kinda noisy) Looks like you have the same pup in both locations but different mounting rings. What's the story there?

To update on my bass, I shielded it with a kit from Stumac and installed a metal jack plate to replace the stock plastic one (that broke on a gig!) It's a bit quieter than it was but not much. I'll work on it some more this winter I hope. I think I'll add a ground wire to the bridge and see if that helps. I still have the Duncan humbucker pup ready to install on it, but just haven't found the time to haul the bass to someone to route a bridge pickup cavity for me. One of these days....
This past summer I ran across the discontinued and apparently rare long scale 2 pickup version of the bass on Ebay. It's of similar quality but the shortscale is better balanced and I tend to play it more than the long scale. I've attached a pic of the 2 basses side by side and a pic of that shows the contours I added. When I repainted the contoured area, I didn't make much effort to match the finish on the bass. Just used glossy black paint and then took steel wool to "age and blend" the two different types of finish. No one has ever noticed my hack job unless I point it out to them. It is definitely more comfortable to play with the contours added and the long scale version will be getting the same treatment soon.

 

[TeeAre]

I'd say it depends what you want to play with it. If jazz, put the single coil closer to the bridge.

I have an Ibby RDGR500 with single over humbucker, and I love it. So many cool sounds from that config.