Gretsch Junior Jet Bass

[Chris P.]

Strange. The humbuckers are single coils... Why would Gretsch/Fender do this?

[morrow]

I suspect somebody looked at it and said “yup , mini humbucker” .
I don’t believe there was any intentional fraud .
Hell , we all make stupid assumptions .

[Pilgrim]

There's a group of Gretsch fans at TB, and a long thread about this.  I know the pickups design in their Junior Jet series has changed over time, and I wonder if they left some information on the website which turned out to be incorrect.  I personally don't care as long as the instrument sounds good. 

[morrow]

The original Jet with a single pickup was Korean made . Production moved to China . From the start it was an inexpensive bass , and when they decide to cut corners to make something really cheap , well , you get something cheap .
So they stuck a single coil under the cover , not a big deal to me . It looks like a mini humbucker , so someone assumed it was . Who actually looks carefully at their pickups to insure that they did , in fact , get the humbuckers that were on the spec sheet ?
I doubt this was an attempt to scam the consumer .


But perhaps it was .

[Alanko]

I found the same inside the pickups of my old Aria TAB bass. They looked like Firebird pickups but were cheap singlies and lots of paraffin wax.

The naughty Gretsch pickups will be generic OEM pickups made by BHK, Artec or some other cheap shite like that. Probably spec'd as humbuckers and nobody at Gretsch ever bothered to gut one for any reason.

[Dave W]

He may be right, but he's obviously no pickup construction expert. It's not very smart to make a public video accusing Fender and Gretsch of lying before getting a response from them.

But it's about what I'd expect from a goober with a fake lobster claw.

Of course, if it is a true single coil, FMIC should correct the description.

[amptech]

Reminds me of the Grabber pickup. When I was a kid I thought it was humbucker. I think there was a 70's ad referring to the sliding pickup as a super humbucker or something. Not that is matters, though.

[Dave W]

To expand on my previous post:

It does look like a single coil, and if it is, then the description should be updated. But I'm not taking the word of somebody who obviously doesn't know much about pickups. I'm no expert, but I do know that only seeing two wires doesn't prove that it's single coil. Neither does the magnetic viewing paper.

The idea that Fender and Gretsch are lying and trying to defraud is just pure bullshit. At worst, it's an error they shouldn't have let happen. Fraud requires intent. With all the expensive gear FMIC sells, do you really think an entry level sub $300 bass has any impact on their bottom line?

In the words of Robert Ringer, this guy is a schmexpert.

From the terms of use on Gretsch's website:

Reasonable efforts are taken to ensure the accuracy and integrity of information and related materials provided by Gretsch Guitars on this Web Site, but Gretsch Guitars is not responsible for misprints, out-of-date information, technical or pricing inaccuracies, typographical or other errors appearing on this Web Site, the Web Sites of any Gretsch Guitars dealer or distributor or any other Web Site. Information and related materials are subject to change without notice. This Web Site and all information and related materials it contains are provided "AS IS." Gretsch Guitars makes no representation or warranty whatsoever regarding the completeness, accuracy, currency, or adequacy of, or the suitability, functionality, availability, or operation of this Web Site or the information or materials it contains. By using this Web Site, you assume the risk that the information and materials on this Web Site may be incomplete, inaccurate, out of date, or may not meet your needs and requirements. Gretsch Guitars SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THIS WEB SITE AND THE INFORMATION GRAPHICS AND MATERIALS CONTAINED HEREIN.

[Chris P.]

Of course the video title is click bait. But you didn't watch the whole video Dave, cos after the paper and the wire, he dismantles the pickup and it's a single coil indeed.

It's just strange that they claim for years it's a humbucker and it isn't. I'm just curious how such things happen.

[Alanko]

Not sure why this is blowing up on the bass forums. Cheap bass has cheap singlecoils instead of cheap humbuckers. If Sadowsky misrepresented a pickup then it might be worthy of attention. As it stands there is always the risk of a little murkiness creeping into the specs of an offshore production bass being built at arms length for a big guitar conglomerate with hundreds of products on the books.

As I mentioned already, I found the same thing in my old Aria bass. I just don't make videos about these things, using ridiculously insincere vocal fry while wearing pyjamas and a prosthetic crustacean claw. Maybe this is where I'm going wrong...

As it stands, anybody wanting to spend serious time playing one of these Gretsch things (the epitome of brand dilution!) would be looking at TV Jones or another aftermarket pickup manufacturer, or enjoy the tone of the bass regardless of the spec of the pickups.

Likewise I remember some guy on Talkbass losing the plot because Fender revised the MIM line and swapped out the alnico pickups for ceramics. Somehow this guy knew the ceramics would be cheap and nasty sounding, rather than the lush, soulful alnico pickups of the previous iteration of basses.

You wonder what percentage of guys on Talkbass etc, getting this upset about a blip in the reported spec of a budget bass, can actually play their way out of a paper bag?

[Dave W]

Of course the video title is click bait. But you didn't watch the whole video Dave, cos after the paper and the wire, he dismantles the pickup and it's a single coil indeed.

It's just strange that they claim for years it's a humbucker and it isn't. I'm just curious how such things happen.

I did watch the whole video, and his short followup video. What makes you think I didn't?
https://youtube.com/shorts/2CMPRfDDWsU?feature=share

As I said, it looks like a single coil. Somewhat like a P90 but with steel blades instead of steel polepieces. But I'll wait for an official explanation from FMIC.

[Dave W]

Not sure why this is blowing up on the bass forums. Cheap bass has cheap singlecoils instead of cheap humbuckers. If Sadowsky misrepresented a pickup then it might be worthy of attention. As it stands there is always the risk of a little murkiness creeping into the specs of an offshore production bass being built at arms length for a big guitar conglomerate with hundreds of products on the books.

As I mentioned already, I found the same thing in my old Aria bass. I just don't make videos about these things, using ridiculously insincere vocal fry while wearing pyjamas and a prosthetic crustacean claw. Maybe this is where I'm going wrong...

As it stands, anybody wanting to spend serious time playing one of these Gretsch things (the epitome of brand dilution!) would be looking at TV Jones or another aftermarket pickup manufacturer, or enjoy the tone of the bass regardless of the spec of the pickups.

Likewise I remember some guy on Talkbass losing the plot because Fender revised the MIM line and swapped out the alnico pickups for ceramics. Somehow this guy knew the ceramics would be cheap and nasty sounding, rather than the lush, soulful alnico pickups of the previous iteration of basses.

You wonder what percentage of guys on Talkbass etc, getting this upset about a blip in the reported spec of a budget bass, can actually play their way out of a paper bag?

Exactly.

Bring up the matter with FMIC, respectfully. Don't make a video accusing them of fraud and then get every goober on TB riled up and calling for a class action lawsuit. For pity's sake.

[BTL]

[Alanko]

I did watch the whole video, and his short followup video. What makes you think I didn't?
https://youtube.com/shorts/2CMPRfDDWsU?feature=share

As I said, it looks like a single coil. Somewhat like a P90 but with steel blades instead of steel polepieces. But I'll wait for an official explanation from FMIC.

The explanation might simply be that FMIC don't carry out destructive testing on their import range of instruments. The spec given to the big anymore guitar plant says humbuckers. Anonymous guitar plant buys pole-less mini humbucker pickups by the barrel from Artec, G&B, Roswell or another vast OEM pickup winder. These pickups likely aren't built to a Gretsch/FMIC spec and almost certainly appear in other guitars and basses. Said pickup looks like a humbucker and the "fraud" would only be revealed if you did destructive testing on a pickup. They are likely built using a degree of cargo cult engineering predicated on the notion that all pickups with separate metal baseplates and metal covers are "humbuckers" because that is what we were told to call them.

The guitar plant isn't going to do that, and FMIC probably don't care either way. These basses sell!

Crab Claw's thinking that humbuckers ought to have four wires shows his limited comprehension of the subject. If I saw a humbucker-like pickup with two hookup wires (or one hookup wire and a braided shield), I wouldn't automatically assume foul play.

To suspect fraud or malice is a bit like kicking up a fuss in your local family-run restaurant: "hey I can get the same wine for half the price at Costco!"

[gearHed289]

I just don't make videos about these things, using ridiculously insincere vocal fry while wearing pyjamas and a prosthetic crustacean claw. Maybe this is where I'm going wrong...

YouTube "stars" are generally annoying.

You wonder what percentage of guys on Talkbass etc, getting this upset about a blip in the reported spec of a budget bass, can actually play their way out of a paper bag?

Or actually play gigs rather than obsessing over details and trying to not scratch their basses.

Crab Claw's thinking that humbuckers ought to have four wires shows his limited comprehension of the subject. If I saw a humbucker-like pickup with two hookup wires (or one hookup wire and a braided shield), I wouldn't automatically assume foul play.

Such as a TB+ humbucker!