New member, new '73 JS II husk

Hello all. I'm glad to join the ranks of Guild bass owners. I'd been keeping my eye out for a mahogany short scale set neck bass, and a beat up '73 JS II came up on Talkbass. I didn't make up my mind to go for it until the seller decided to part it out. So I don't have the humbuckers (maybe not so much of a loss), tuners, or the Badass bridge (harp was long gone), but at least I've got a body I like, a neck shape I love, and a good bit of mojo in the beat-up, checked finish. Neck issues were disclosed, and now that I have it I'm happy to report that the truss rod is working fine, and without too much effort I was able to get a slight back-bow in the neck (no strings) with the truss rod alone. I think I'm good there.

I plan to mod it to my taste, but not cut it up. The original pickup routes are huge, so I think I can fit about anything I want in there. Harp bridges are scarce, so I don't mind using a Fender style with a low profile.

What I'd like to ask you about is my pickup choice. I want a classic passive tone with good definition that will sound great overdriving on the neck pickup and with a good treble bark on the bridge pickup. Like a Ric but with a little more wool. I'm considering TV Jones Gretsch-style pickups as I think they'll have that bite, maybe the ThunderTron in the neck and one of the others at the bridge. Has anyone any experience with these, or recommendations on alternative pickups for this bass? I'm aware of the Novaks, trying to keep the spend around $120ish per pickup!

Thanks in advance, and glad to be here!

Dennis

Welcome to LTG!
Too bad the bass was parted out, we all love the original parts on Guilds...

The good thing is that often original parts are available on ebay or from members here or from a few persons like Jay Pilzer, Ken Nash or Hans Moust who have and sell original Guild parts.

Don't know about the pickup question but bass players for sure will come back to you soon here.

By the way, I assume you bought the body of this bass: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f126/fs-73-guild-javascript-ii-bass-1053579/
Hope you got the case as well!
The Badass tailpiece/bridge was not original anyway.



Ralf

Welcome.

One other possibility might be to see if you can convince a local Guild dealer to get you parts from the Newark Street line, specifically the bridge, saddles and pickup(s). But all my basses have factory pickups so I'm not much help, otherwise.

Ralf, that's the one. I did get the case with it.

" I want a classic passive tone with good definition that will sound great overdriving on the neck pickup and with a good treble bark on the bridge pickup. Like a Ric but with a little more wool."

Hello grisezd, Welcome to LTG. The sound you described above is very close to the sound of the De`Armond Humbuckers, which are based on the Guild Humbuckers, same size and looks, but
a different beast inside, much more well defined. Full and clear sounding with a good amount of bottom end and warmth.

There are some for sale on ebay, and the pickup rings, screws and springs are included.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-DEARM...sique_AccessoiresGuitares&hash=item1c3c85f4a2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-GUILD...sique_AccessoiresGuitares&hash=item1c38013b29

Good luck. Cheers.

grisezd said:

I'd been keeping my eye out for a mahogany short scale set neck bass, and a beat up '73 JS II came up on Talkbass...I'm aware of the Novaks, trying to keep the spend around $120ish per pickup!

Click to expand...

Hi 73 is a good year and your bass and case is appears to be "all there" other than the hardware. I would try to find a way to justify the extra cash for either the Novacks, Nusonics, Dark Stars, or maybe consider a set of the original Guild Humbuckers. If you decide to consider Novack, you could possibly have a traditional reissue/bisonic in the neck, and tweak the bridge pickup as u want to. I don't know anything about the Dearmonds Hagmeat suggested, but either way i'd consider a pickup that is designed for a short scale Guild, in one regard or another. Especially if you are buying all that other new hardware and all. just a suggestion.

Thanks all for the advise so far. I wasn't aware of the DeArmond humbucker being available. I'll still give some thought to the Novaks and others.
I've made some progress on cleaning this thing up. There was old, hardened tape residue all over the back which came up with some baby oil and some light scraping with a pick. Handy things, picks. The original finish had worn through in spots and some past owner sprayed another coat of clear over the whole thing. Some of that newer clear is loose and brittle and scrapes off with a thumbnail. I'm going over it slowly trying to remove and feather the loose stuff, want to avoid a refinish as I love the checking it's developed.

Great score! I've been looking for something like this as a home for my Dark Star pickups that are lying around here. My experience with the Guild Humbuckers is that they aren't all that special, so given that this bass is no longer collector bait, you can do with it what you will. Curtis Novak would be a great place to start.

If the Badass puts the strings where they need to be, I'd try it out for a while. They are perfectly functional bridges and an improvement on the original, in my opinion. I know other feel differently, but at least you have the option of trying it out for a while.

Edwin, I didn't get the Badass which is just as well. I've got a few Fender type bridges around, will put one of them into service.

I may have a wiring harness to go. Please stay tuned.

hagmeat said:

" . The sound you described above is very close to the sound of the De`Armond Humbuckers, which are based on the Guild Humbuckers, same size and looks, but
a different beast inside, much more well defined. Full and clear sounding with a good amount of bottom end and warmth.

There are some for sale on ebay, and the pickup rings, screws and springs are included.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-DEARM...sique_AccessoiresGuitares&hash=item1c3c85f4a2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-GUILD...sique_AccessoiresGuitares&hash=item1c38013b29

Good luck. Cheers.

Click to expand...

This looks like a really good option for my project. I think the TV Jones would be as well but just won't have that great goofy Guild look! Does anyone else have experience with the "modern" Humbuckers?

Oh and what tuners were original? My first thought was to put Hipshot Ultralites on, but if dive isn't much of a problem I'd like to use something with the original look. That's a lot of headstock up there!

grisezd said:

Oh and what tuners were original?

Click to expand...

I am not sure as they had no manufacturer name printed on them. (EDIT: See Hans post below)

Ralf

SFIV1967 said:

I am not sure as they had no manufacturer name printed on them. Maybe those were Japanese no-name at that time.

Click to expand...

Those are the original Kluson tuners!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

hansmoust said:

Those are the original Kluson tuners!

Click to expand...

Ah! I see. Thanks Hans!
I even found the pictures of the original tuners that were on that parted out JSII bass, and I guess Kluson 538 "Elephant Ear" would be the name.





Ralf

I was asked, by a member who is on the road and can read but not post to LTG, to tell that poor guy with the JS II husk that there are a pair of Guild humbuckers for sale on Talkbass for $200. My work here is done.

fronobulax said:

...that there are a pair of Guild humbuckers for sale on Talkbass for $200.

Click to expand...

Here's the link: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f129/70s-guild-humbuckers-1062432/
Ralf

I have a pair of DeArmond Humbuckers that I`m probably never going to have any use for. Cheap. PM me if you have any interest.

Jeff

Jeff, that sounds interesting. PM sent.

Hey, all. Question now about the bridge. I have no bridge but the original holes plus 3 Fender spaced ones from the previous Badass. Looking at an original-shaped bridge on guitar-parts.com I noticed the string spacing listed as 2 1/16in. I measured some of the other basses in the house and found them all spaced at 2 1/4in. And the Guild neck is narrower at the octave.

So is 2 1/16 the original spacing? Are the strings too close to the edge of the board with a Fender-spaced bridge?

Thanks for all your help so far!

I can take measurements on a vintage instrument if you need them, but not for a couple of days. Let me know. In the mean time we established that the bridge used on the 1990's reissue is not a "drop in" replacement on a vintage bass. So it may be that the specs you are looking at apply to the 90's bass and bridge? mavuser?