Guild pickup anyone?

[Denis]

Wasn't someone looking for one of these recently?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ORIG-1970s-GUILD-BASS-NECK-PICKUP-JS-II-JETSTAR-M-85-/290449592794?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43a02511da#ht_834wt_1070

[Droombolus]

Nope, that's GoldTone........ Elsewhere on evilBay there's a bunch of four of those babies for sale. I'm looking for a BiSonic it's predesessor or rather a Dark Star DS-1, a BiSonic replica .....

[jumbodbassman]

this one is the original so batter than the dearmong/guild ones on ebay but still not a bisonic.....

[chromium]

Those 70s Guild pickups are fun, in a massively over-wound sort of way!  They're the antibisonic.

I had 'em in this js2 for a while (cans were removed).  They measured around 33K(!)

[Pilgrim]

Those 70s Guild pickups are fun, in a massively over-wound sort of way!  They're the antibisonic.

I had 'em in this js2 for a while (cans were removed).  They measured around 33K(!)

That thar is mudbucker territory, podner!

[hieronymous]

Sludge-bucker anyone?

[Dave W]

IMHO they don't sound sludgy, and no matter what the resistance reading, they're nowhere near as loud as mudbuckers.

[gearHed289]

My JSII is WAY over the top in the low end department. Fun with flats and a pick! Boom boom boom.....

[chromium]

I gotta try taking mine out again.  I had put DS-1s in it and pretty much stopped playing it at that point, having been permanently distracted by a Triumph

My original plan was to get hold of a 70s or 90s RI Starfire, move the DSs over to that, and put the 70s Guild pickups back in this.  Not sure I'm going to follow through on that, however, since I've really latched onto a couple basses that tend to get all the play time.

[Dave W]

The boominess of a JS II isn't due to the pickups, it's that gawdawful tin can bridge with the rosewood saddles. I put a Schaller 2000 bridge on mine and suddenly all the boominess was gone. The pickups were nothing special but they were clear, reasonably well balanced and not bottom heavy or "sludgy".

I sold the bass shortly after that and the buyer wanted the original bridge.    The Schaller 2000 now resides in Ken's shed.

[chromium]

I ditched the rosewood bridge on mine too.  This one is all brass (the base is plated to resemble the original) with a big sustain block, made by Marko/MPU back at the old place.




I still want to grind down/reshape the tops of the saddles a bit.  I had to notch them pretty deep to get the action to sit comfortably.  The action was really high with the original bridge laid flat.  I think this bass could benefit from a neck reset!  The new bridge just conceals the need for that since it sits lower and I was able to cut the slots so deep...

The swap also helped resolve an intonation issue with the G, as that saddle was at its extremity and required additional travel to intonate correctly.  When I routed it for the new bridge's sustain block, I repositioned it slightly to allow for the adjustment.

[Dave W]

I remember Marko from Finland. That looks nice, and whatever problem you have with the saddles, it's got to be a better bridge than the original.