Fender & Gretsch caught LYING to you! - Uncovering the Gretsch G2220 Deception - LEL Investigates
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ต.ค. 2024
- SUPREME FINAL UPDATE: • We Were Right About th...
MEGA UPDATE- Gretsch has updated their website and now lists these pickups as having "Gretsch Single Coils". www.gretschgui... The pajama clad lobster man was correct!
UPDATE - Here's a closer look at the pickup: • A Closer Look at the G...
Correction: The inner bit is just two bits of steel mushed together, not magnetized. The only magnetic bits are the two bar ceramic magnets underneath. Thank you!
EDIT: I incorrectly stated that Gretsch was purchased by Fender in 2019. Sorry about that! Bigsby was purchased by Fender from Gretsch. Gretsch is still maintains ownership of their brand, though production was handed over to FMIC in 2002. These instruments have been made under the Fender umbrella their entire lifespan. Thank you for the correction!
Hey everyone! This is a different type of video. We have stumbled upon some really troubling information in regarding the Gretsch G2220 Junior Jet II bass. This instrument is being marketed as having "Gretsch Dual Coil Mini Humbuckers" and has been produced for nearly a decade. However, it appears that these "Dual Coil Mini Humbuckers" are actually single coil pickups in a mini hum housing. I was shocked to discover this, as the Junior Jet II has been highly regarded among bass players as an excellent short scale value. Why would they lie and deceive customers like this for a $300 bass? How have they not become aware of this after making these basses for nearly a decade? Fender has been responsible for manufacturing these instruments since their inception, and we as consumers deserve answers!
I am awaiting Fender's response.
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This genuinely makes me curious where the disconnect or miscommunication between teams happened where it got labeled as "humbucker"; or maybe they genuinely just said "screw it, tell em it's a humbucker who cares".
Either way, I'm happy you're bringing this up, Detective Lobster
Thank you Patrick!
It will be interesting to see how Fender responds.
If you’re making guitars, bass or otherwise, your teams should all know the difference. Or they shouldn’t be part of making guitars.
@@LowEndLobster did you check the resistance, that should also give you some indication.
There is NO excuse. If they knew it is wrong. If they did not know is wrong too. If at this point Fender is not hiring bass and guitar nerds like Lobster and pretty much everyone here, then they are not taking things seriously. Period
And, then... the BIG QUESTION pops in my head: "I wonder if Fender would be lying about something else in any other of their basses specs (or guitars)?"
Yeah. When they say they're better than a Stingray or Ibanez lmao
Their website is 100% onboard with the "tonewood matters in electric guitars" marketing b.s., so there's that.
Well, let's dwelve into the wonders of CITES law, shall we?? Back before the ruling that made it very hard to import/export instruments using woods from endangered species, everything was labeled as having "Rosewood" fretboards when it used a dark wood. Yeah, sure. Owning several instruments with Indian Rosewood boards, I can definitely tell my low-end Squier SE, a model from circa 2006, has a much darker and uniform appearance than any of the others. Moreover, under some small chips in the nut slot, it appears to be a much lighter colored wood underneath. While some in the forums have stated this could've been a lower grade Rosewood board with lighter blotches that had been stained for aesthetic reasons, one gotta wonder.
Well! It didn't took long for CITES law to be altered in order to exclude musical instruments, making the matter a non-issue (after all, I wonder how a small piece for a musical instrument compares to entire furniture made out of Indian Rosewood or Ebony). It appears this change wasn't as widely spoken, given Fender (and most other brands, in all fairness) have taken advantage to not only keep using the now accepted by the market, cheaper alternates, but also promote Indian Rosewood as a premium feature to differentiate more expensive models.
hey, true. A lier would probably do it again and did it before, especially when it's business related lies, and lying to customers. I really don't understand this attitude, sure a company is here to make money, but at all expense? It's supposed to be about selling quality stuff, and take pride about it. It takes a very special kind of person to do crap like this
Probably a lot😂
omg literal LOL here- "That's right Fender, you are being scolded by a guy wearing a lobster claw in his basement in his pajamas."
Great catch, hope they respond to this soon!
Yeah, I laughed at that too!
@@sd3falco I think we all did. 😄
Busting the big guys...love it! But wtf is up with the claw?
@@thebuck1152 well.. well.. he's a lobster.
"Basement Dwellers" get a bad rap. I often find them to be some of the more intelligent, insightful, earnest and apathetic members of our communities. Often simply disillusioned by the predatory, disingenuous, profligate, licentious and exponentially unsavory nature of the modern condition.
It doesn't make any difference how big a company is or what kind of past reputation they have. When they're caught deceiving their customers they need to be called on it. Thank you for this service to the customers of Gretsch and Fender and to the general public at large.
My friend Ricochet at Gretsch Talk says, "no one ever cared enough about Gretsch mini-buckers to crack one open." You say at 6:08 "This is a big deal and we as consumers deserve answers." Thank you for exposing another first world corporate conspiracy to defraud and shaft consumers. LOL 😉 That being said, I looked at your channel and am now your newest crustacean. Rock on Lobster!!!!!
Welcome aboard! :) Thank you
It makes me happy to finally get an answer to this... I actually returned 2 different ones because I thought they had electrical issues. I bought it specifically for the humbuckers on a bass, as I loved the other bass i had with them. This ultimately resulted in me buying a complete other product.
Whether they will admit it, they will ultimately lose some product confidence... But they make so much every where else, they may sweep it under the rug and move on.
I'm glad you found this helpful and gave you a little closure.
In a time where trustworthy journalists are hard to find, I wanted you to know that I'm extremely proud of you for coming forth with the truth. It's times like this that let us know that you are genuine, aren't paid for a positive review, and that you respect us enough to prevent us from getting taken advantage of. Plus, your expert analysis on the topic and showing us how you came about your results prevents any doubt that this is staged for views. You deserve a reward. But, the best I can give you is my thanks. God bless and keep up the amazing work.
My goodness! Thank you so much Inspector Lobster Gadget. Check this out: I actually had the same issue with this bass. A lot of noise. I actually returned my first buy of this bass because of it. But I wanted an affordable Les Paul bass. Then, I had the same issue with the second one. I spent A LOT of time trying to figure it out! Changing amps, checking the grounding, turning off all electronics in my studio, etc. (time wasted!). Then I went to a luthier to see if it was the wiring what was wrong, etc. (Money wasted!!). This is a VERY important video for accountability of companies that think that can get away with lying and making customers lose their minds over issues that are supposed not to be there. Thanks for your service Lob!
If you didn't get a cheap les Paul bass the hofner ignition club bass is amazing but not as loud.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I literally just purchased one and noticed the way the pickups behaved.
Anyone watching your channel for any period of time knows you're fairly humble. So when I saw a video with a slightly "click-bait" title I knew something was up. Lobster, thank you for not looking for trouble, but rather investigating why things don't sound all too good. People watching this will immediately poo-poo Gretsch when in reality the fault lies on Fender wholly, Gretsch always have been a great company - and I am a fender guy at heart. I think more than likely this wasn't malicious but shows once again Fender's standards are really slipping... Jeez... no one escape the long arm of the (c)law!!
Thank you! I really appreciate your comment Zahir
Lol, Lobster Holms…😄
May the company Fender respond to this.
Thank you LEL for bringing this up.
I bought one exactly one year ago, thinking it had humbuckers. I didn’t question it because this bass is louder and more responsive than my other 2 short scale basses of different brands. I didn’t even notice any hum or noise… until I added effects pedals, at which point the noise was so obnoxious. I eventually bought a noise gate pedal which works wonderfully. I have no regrets about buying the Gretsch. It’s so playable, feels just right in my hands and over my shoulder. It has a nasty bite and punch when pushed, is loud AF, flush frets, and the knobs are so well made and smooth-turning. It’s the best short scale bass of the 4 I own.
WOW! That certainly is something! I've never had any interest in that particular bass guitar anyway but it does make me wonder what else Fender and/or Gretsch could be lying about in other products.
Exactly, this is really terrible PR, no matter what the cause or intentions were. On the face of it, customers are being short changed! They need to come out and explain this, and somehow make it right.
I know a lot of people on the baritone forums who were excited about buying the Jet Baritone 30" Bass VI style baritone, who are scared to buy one because they don't know if it's got the same problem.
Trogly regurlarly gets Fender guitars thet have the wrong pickups in the guitar than was stated in specs, he emails them and they send him the correct pickups out, I think he has also had a few Gibsons with the same issue
@minibikemafia Nah! Squiers have thinner bodies
This is interesting. I've got a G2220 and I'm going to get hold of some of that magnetic paper and have a look at the pick ups in mine. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you! Please let us know what you find
You were absolutely right with this one. My bass has single coils as well (I've just watched your follow up video as well)...
Nice work bringing this one to light!
Gretsch will say, "Well, when you run the bridge and neck at a 50/50 split, they are technically humbucking....".
Except when they install two bridge pickups 💀🤡
Only if they're RWRP, which they are not.
@@12cmf hello. They can be wound in the same direction to achieve hum canceling if one pickup has the magnetic polarity flipped and the wiring flipped. It achieves the same result. Original PAFs were done this same way.
Switching current flow will reverse the electromagnetic field, but the physical magnet must also be flipped. I just had a lengthy discussion about this with a pickup builder about this.
There is debate as to whether it sounds the same but thats a different matter. Check out the instructions for stewmac humbucker kits. They mention winding the coil the same direction, counter-clockwise. Then making sure the wires are soldered properly and magnets installed correctly.
@@sunn_bassDidn't you just describe RWRP? Regardless, Gretsch isn't doing any of that. They are using two bridge single-coils, identical pickups AFAIK..
@@12cmf In a true RWRP pickup set, one coil is physically wrapped clockwise and the second coil is wrapped counter-clockwise. The same can be accomplished with both wound the same direction as long as the leads on one are flipped. The effect is the same.
And yea, Gretsch sounds like they are pulling a fast one on people.
I bought one of these recently and have had no noise or hum issues. I bought it so I could carry it on a plane. The sound crew at the gig said it sounded good. It's weird that Gretsch or Fender would lie it's only a $299 bass. It's still great value for the money they didn't need to lie.
@@SO-ym3zs I'm amazed for $299
I smell a class-action lawsuit
@@RH-xs8gz I'll take some money.
Was this a mistake in one bass (builder installed the wrong pups) or did they mislead everyone?
@@jackjdolan 🤘🏼
I think selling a product with naming a component it should have, but in reality it doesn’t, qualifies as fraud. And I think everyone who have purchased this bass and finds out it doesn’t contain a humbucker should be compensated. To prevent lawsuits and further name-damage for the companies. ‘Cause this is verrry bad! Good investigation Lobster!
Thanks for the "heads up", great job on checking this. I am from Canada and some "large scale" music stores in this country now have made the correction on their website and list the pickups as single coil. (as you said) Nothing wrong with the bass or the single coils, just call them what they are.
Interesting and great job. Not defending Fender or Gretsch, but when companies outsource production, things like this can and will happen. I've seen some imports spec'd with wood like ash that clearly ain't ash. Other industries have had incorrect alloys in metal products. Remember the Chinese company putting melamine in baby formula back in 2008?
Fender and Gretsch might have specified humbuckers and not even know they were/are being equipped with single coils. I actually think thats a bigger issue. If a company merely slaps its name on something without knowing what the hell it is, that's a complete failure in product integrity and a complete lack of caring about the consumer.
I actually think the problem is bigger than mentioned in the video. I understand how this can happen without the company knowing, but it never should happen.
Please keep us posted if Fender or Gretsch responds.
If that's the case, then their QA department is absolutely at fault. That's something that should have been checked in both the prototype and in the line models.
I had a business that dealt with manufacturers of products in China, and it seemed common practice to order samples and have them try to pull the wool when a production run was done as they try to swap certain parts for cheaper substitutes outside of what was specified.
I feel like it's more a supply and QC issue, followed by lack of follow up and poor supply chain management on their behalf than a blatant lie.
It may have also been they changed the spec and failed to inform their marketing department.
I could be wrong, but that's my take.
@@spaceghostandy Doubt that. If the russian invasion happened ealier, the sanctions were in place longer and these were alnico magnets then that might be possible. Since Gretsch doesn't advertise these "humbuckers" as alnico, I assume they are ceramic. Russia is the leading exporter of nickel which would affect alnico magnets. Some people say that cobalt would be an issue too since russia is the second largest exporter of cobalt, but since the Congo exports 70% of worlds needs and Russia only 4% many countries could cover that shortage.
@@spaceghostandy This has likely been going on for over 10 years. When these basses came out, Russian hadn't even invaded the Crimean Peninsula yet.
I adore this bass. It’s constructed really well, the neck feels great, and the fretwork is awesome! I’ve always HATED the pickups though.
Thank you Mr. Lobster for bringing this to our attention. I own this bass; purchased earlier this year after seeing many great reviews. Even "the guy from Royal Blood" uses this bass is what everyone is saying. I'm sure he has some mods done because I do not love the stock model. Yes, for the money it is a decent bass. However, I have buyers remorse and hearing this news about false advertising only makes me regret my purchase more.
This is how the emergency PR meeting at Fender is going to go Monday morning;
"Hey so, did we actually KNOW that we were selling single coils as humbuckers or...?"
"What's Humbuckers?"
Love your directness!
Stumbled on this channel randomly after seeing the gold foil jazz bass review, great content! The instrument world needs more of this kind of investigative journalism.
It would be easier for you to write it off as an error and continue to review Gretsch basses. However, you chose to stick to your morals and not review more instruments from Gretsch going forward and even made it a thing for all your viewers to know and I have to say I really appreciate it.
One of the many things that make you my favourite Bass TH-camr 💪🏻
1. Did you purchase new or used?
2. Were you able to try another copy and verify if it is identical?
3. Did you have a luthier/builder confirm the design of the pickup?
I would be very curious to hear what Fender / Gretsch have to say.
Bought the same guitar Lobster has in the video as a first bass. Not going to lie, I really do like playing it, but this has soured me a bit, especially as someone new to the instrument who is not fully educated on the topic. I have always been suspicious of fender for some reason (seems like you can get better bang for your buck) and this cements that fact. Thank you Lobster for your no nonsense honest reviews, I am learning so much from your videos. Looks like a Serling ray4 HH next, real humbuckers here I come!
I just started playing Bass 18 months ago. I play Keys in my band but we needed another bass player. I got this Bass because I wanted an affordable short scale (I'm a short round girl). It sounded great, comfortable, good price range, not knowing anything about basses. Bragging to the guitar guys and other bassist in my band about the humbucking pick ups. They all love the sound of it but called it an "old school" sound. This is upsetting but I still like it. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
I have this bass too as well as 2 high end basses. Its still a great value imo
Good work my friend. I considered getting one of these awhile back. I didn't because I heard they have considerable neck dive. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't. Thanks!
Thank you for exposing this fraud. I've truly had it with Fender and this is the icing on the cake. My Sire V7 kicks the hell out of every Fender I own and it's a substantial number. Fender has not improved the value of their instruments proportionally to the shameless way they increase their prices regularly. That's enough.
There's been no need for "improving the value" of their instruments since they perfected the solid body guitar with the Stratocaster in 1962.
@@patrickfoster4586 Really? So stainless frets, AlNico pickups, roller nuts, improved neck profiles, humbucking pickups, adjustable pole pieces, improved audio sweep potentiometers, and improved bridge designs all belie the "perfection" from 1962? Guitars have improved dramatically in 60 years. A new eart is a more playable guitar out of the box than a 1962 strat. They were far from objectively perfect, granted they could be set up brilliantly, but perfect... that's a bold assertion.
@@patrickfoster4586 Why the 62? Just curious what would’ve been on the 62 compared to the 54 (first year).
I replaced my bridge pickup with a TV Jones Thunder'Mag because I was disassatisfied with the weak and muddy output of the mini hum, but I don't remember any noise issues with the old conformation. Having kept the old pup, I'm now on the lookout for some of that magnetic viewing paper to see if it too is a single coil.
Thank you so much for your detective work!
Thank you Pete! Please post on the TB thread or reach out to me directly via email (channel name at gmail), TB, or instagram with your findings. The magnetic viewing paper is linked in the description. Thank you again!
@@LowEndLobster Will do! I've just ordered some paper from the UK Amazon store.
@@LowEndLobster This is nearly 18 months later and I have to apologise for not getting back to you - but my pups were definitely single-coil. I did post on TB at the time, but then got a new job and - well, you know... Thanksa gain for yoru work on this - proves sticking to your guns (rather than pulling them out) works in the end!
Thank you Lobster. It’s appalling that Fender and Gretsch, two iconic musical instrument manufacturers, are lying to their loyal customers. I am thankful for your research, videos, and musicianship Lobster.
I just bought this bass, 4 days ago 😉. I already knew about the humbuckergate, thanks to Lobster. Great job! But even with SS, I loooooove this little piece of wood and metal. Great playability and, in my case, no hum
Thank you! I have been very unhappy with Fender business practices for some time. Please keep your viewers posted with updates. Don’t let Fender silence you, we deserve better.
Fender NEEDS to respond to this.
Who knows, did they start to use the single coil for the last year? The five years? All of the past ten?
If they do not have an answer, it is fair to assume that it HAS been for the last ten, even if that is not the case. The company is responsible, even if this is the action of only a few within the company. That is why they need to respond and THAT is how they can start to make things right with their customers.
A lawsuit could happen
@@ghostrider2ification Well, we'll see. It could be an honest mistake, but either way the company that produces these is still responsible....and if that is the case, Fender needs to do a full investigation🔎🎸 and make a statement and respond publicly to any concerns. How they handle things after that will reflect on how they are viewed publicly. 🤷♂️
I don't think it is the end of the world, and from all the rave reviews I have seen about this short scale bass, it shounds like it is still a great value and quality instrument.
But something needs to be fixed, either the basses sold or the website,...or both.
Fender's response will be interesting and the most important thing to come out of this.
Just bought this bass, the description on Musicians Friend says Single Coil now.
Pickup configuration: SS
Neck: Single-coil bass pickups
Bridge: Single-coil bass pickups
Control layout: Master volume, Master tone
Pickup switch: 3-way
Thanks Aaron
Class action lawsuit. Lawyers who do that work will salivate-- violations of state and federal consumer protection laws.
@@jonbongjovi1869 No one is talking about arresting anyone.
Unbelievable that it took this long for someone to figure this out. Thanks, Lob...
Mind blown! 🤯 I have one and it is fantastic with no noise, but still upset about being deceived! I think Gretsch needs to send me some replacement humbuckers!
They won't do it. They will lie to you and gaslight you. That's what they did to me.
They will tell you that they are supposed to come with single coil pickups, and that they are in "humbucking mode" when they are in the middle position (untrue, since the middle position of two pickups with the same polarity is just a louder bridge pickup).
They will tell you that they are stacked humbuckers.
They will tell you that they are humbuckers that just aren't humbucking.
They will never send you replacement pickups, they will force you to surrender your bass, cut the headstock off, and then drag their feet on cutting you a refund check until you threaten to sue.
That's what they did to me.
We should start a class action lawsuit.
This totally answers my question about this bass. I bought mine in 2020. Never had the noise issue until I moved. Now I get the hum. Checked the grounding and it was good. Good to know it really doesn't have humbuckers.
Greetings Lobster today I received my reparation gear from Gretsch today.
Many thanks to you for your effort ,ability and sense of fair play toward Musicans ,the consumer relations manager at Gretsch was in communication all the way to shipping.keep up the great work 🎶
Just curious what is reparation gear? I ask because I have G2220 and have never noticed any hum.
@@konjunto2477 watch the videos on the subject by lobster for information about the Gretsch 2220.
Information is given in one video on how to connect with the company if you have issues with your Bass along the lines of which the video explains.
If you’re happy with your Bass ,why bother but watch the videos on the subject and then decide if it’s worth your time to pursue.
I'm am so pissed that Fender would lie, This is outrageous, those dirty bastards!!!!!!!They knew all along that humbuckers are more expensive, and lied in their marketing! They just put single coils in humbucker containers!!!Special thanks to Lobster for uncovering a scandal!!!!!!!
Thats the smoking gun, they put single coils in humbucker casings!
@@AndrewAHayes if they make these pick ups themselves then they would know but if these pick ups are out sourced then they may have been played themselves. In saying that from reading other comments it seems these basses are quite noisy and surely someone at Fender would have asked questions at some stage.
Very balanced criticism.
I really appreciate how you stuck with the facts, & weren’t necessarily trying to attack Fender/Gretsch. Can’t wait to see if they respond.
Musical instruments (even budget ones) means so much to the people that buy them.
If this ‘legendary’ company can’t figure that out, there are a lot of new kids on the block, that are kicking ass.
❤️😷🎸
PS: This was my first Lobster video, but it certainly won’t be the last. Great job!
Thank you! There's an update linked in the description talking about their response and what folks can do moving forwards. Welcome!
I have one of these and honestly, I love the tone. So I don't really consider this a big deal. It plays well (after a proper setup and installed a set of LaBella flats) and it sounds awesome. Ain't gonna fuss about it.
An excellent piece of investigative reporting! Well done, Lobster!
A friend got a Gibson Thunderbird 5-strings bass with non-humbucking humbuckers. A Gibson! A much more expensive instrument. Noisy as hell and would also squeal.
To make things more fun... Finding replacement 5-string Thunderbird pickups is a lot harder than you'd think it would be.
A friend of the channel had one of the Epi Pro V's, like the one I reviewed. It turns out they used the same 4 string pickups on the 5 string which made for terrible B coverage. He ended up routing out the pickup cavities and putting in some larger bart soapbars or something.
@@LowEndLobster interesting. His Gibson's stock pickups actually sounded really good, if you ignored the hum and squeals. The only replacement he found turned out to be 4 string pickups in a 5 string cover like that, but the coil was centered so both the B and G strings were weak.
@@yessitsme6884 Squeal is usually bad, or no wax or epoxy potting causing microphonics…
Hum could be a complete lack of cavity shielding, or badly mismatched coils in the humbuckers meaning they don’t cancel the hum completely. Or they actually used single coil soap bars and messed their spec sheet up.
@@Jonathan_Doe_ shielding in the cavities was good, we double checked everything. What made things worse is that not only were they not humbucking pickups, but they were also the same phase and coil direction so turning both pickups on made the hum worse (e.g. on a Jazz Bass the pickups are reverse wound and reverse coil so the noise cancels out when combined). He managed to get a set from a custom winder, took a few months and cost twice the price of off the shelves pickup.
VERY interesting Lob! We already shot my review of this bass (vid hasn’t released yet) and had no idea of any of this; the one we shot didn’t seem to be noisy! maybe if there’s time I can add a note to that vid. Good investigation! Cheers - Dave from The Bass Channel
Wow that’s some great investigative work there my friend thanks for the Video.👍🏼
Thank you!
Thanks for the time & effort investigating this whole affair........very sad to hear this....
.
Customer: "It's not a humbucker?"
Fender: "Well, if you put both pickups together it is."
this is the response that I am expecting, too...
Magnetic viewing paper sounds like a Doctor Who prop
You're the man Lobster. The truth always comes out even if it takes years!
I came here courtesy of 60 Cycle Hum. Decided to leave a like and a comment to help the analytics after reading the thread on the Gretsch forum.
Thank you and welcome! It was quite the surprise to wake up to their vid this morning. What great dudes!
FYI, there is minimal cost difference between making a humbucking pickup and a single coil pickup. The bobbins probably cost about a dime each in quality. You only need one bar magnet between the pickup coils in either case. The pole piece or pole pieces through each pickup coil can be made from cheap steel. The most expensive part of the pickup is the copper wire, and that is the same whether you wind all of the wire onto one pickup coil bobbin or split the wire between two pickup coil bobbins. You have the ends of two extra wires to solder together. So you need to make one extra solder joint. You have to screw one more pickup coil in place. You probably increase the pickup making cost by no more than 10% at the highest. The material cost to make good quality humbucking pickup is typically under $5.00.
Your considerations seem to be based on individual costs and pricing to you as an end purchaser not as a supply chain middle purchaser, with no scaling.
It costs a company much more to acquire parts than the cost of the part. Please consider the scale, just in your amounts what is $.10 cents times 10,000, what is $5.00 dollars times 10,000? Now times that by every part.
@@internetselling The larger the scale the cheaper the cost per part, not only in material cost, but also in the cost of production. There is also very little development cost to recoup. The biggest development expense is the tooling costs for the bobbin molds, and the stamping dies for the frame and covers. It's a no brainer part for a manufacturer.
I wouldn't get one in the first place and thanks for pointing this out. This makes me rethink purchasing anything from them from now on.
Another reason this is so concerning is that this may just be an intentional trial run. If a company finds they can get away with giving less than what they promise, they’ll do it over and over again in the name of maximizing profits. Really disappointing to see things like this in the bass world
Good for you, Lobster. I have to admit tho I do find it funny and perfect that you would be the person to uncover this. I wonder if all lobsters hate single coil hum as much as this one does....
Great video, makes me wonder if Fender/Squire is also lying about the newer 32” Jaguar Affinity H humbucker as well ?
I came for the title, received a free biology lesson. I had no idea a lobster had such HUGE balls! 😂
Was looking at fenders and squiers for my second bass.i have a stingray and wanted a more jazz or even pbass vibe. Now looking at getting a sire u5. I heard great things and it looks fantastic. Thanks to lobster for giving it a review. I knew fender was overated
Get a Musicman Cutlass passive if you can, you won’t regret it.
Blows the fender P out of the water for quality, sound and will still feel familiar as you play a stingray.
@@fauhdemcdoo9090 not in my budget. But the cutlass is so cool. I'm looking at the site U5. It has flamed maple top. Rolled edge fretboard. PJ pickups. And a great price and sound. Also a short scale which I want. I love music man basses thought. The cutlass and big al are my favs but they are so pricey
Thank You. I am new to bass and this was informative. I will hold off on purchasing anything Gretsch.
Great investigating!
I couldn't help but take a look at their website and they indeed advertise 'Gretsch mini dual-coil bass humbucking pickups'.
They also claim that the instrument is '... easily capable of filling a room with massive subsonic tones'. Do they know what 'subsonic' means?
They will fill the room with tones slower than the speed of sound!
I was not fooled. I bought and returned three of these. In the end, I went back and got one because I loved everything else about the bass. It was the right bass at the right size. I loved the intonation and I could slap with it. I don't mind spending another hundred dollars or so to reduce or eliminate the hum. My eyes were wide open.
I'm curious if they've been doing this all along, or at some point changed to single coils to keep costs down, and older models do in fact have humbuckers. At what point did they go off the rails, and on what other models are they also lying? Cause I doubt this is an isolated thing
See there are 2 versions of this bass, the one shown in the video is the Jr Jet 2. The original Jr Jet only had 1 pickup and came out in the early 2000's. My guess is that the original version had humbuckers but overtime got replaced by a cheaper single coil to keep costs down. If we can put the test on that og model then we can see if its true or not.
Pretty sure the first couple runs of this had humbuckers, my evidence being that Royal blood uses these live with no noise gate and a ton of gain, but no hum
Well done! I have called Gretch support (Fender) about pickup in another guitar. I asked about the magnets when considering a mod, they informed me that they could not share this information since the construction of their pickup are a secret or proprietary. Come on, please, this is not high tech, anyone can reverse engineer the pickups to discover how they are made, if they are willing to destroy them in the process. False specs is a big NO NO !!! Great work!
I was actually considering getting a gretsch until I saw this. They might still be quality guitars, but if the information on their website is just outright wrong is very worrisome. Besides, I wouldn’t feel good buying from a company that lies about the specs. If they’re doing this willingly, they’d be committing a crime.
Good for U! I will stay tuned!
I have this bass as a 2018 model and it sounds great - no hum on my.
BUT I ordered another one recently and it had atrocious build quality. Seems Fender cut some quite big costs and I noticed the following differences:
On the headstock the vertical "Electromatic" writing was missing. Also the pickguard is different, much cheaper than the "older" one.
So they might also cut costs in the pickups. Will look at mine and report back what they look like.
Thank you Alex
Are you sure you bought an Electromatic? If the model number starts with G2 (which is the case with the bass reviewed in this video), it’s a Streamliner, a lower-grade range than the current Electromatic line. If the model number of the instrument you bought starts with G5, and the build quality is that much worse, that is really troubling.
I was about to buy a G2220, but after having tried it out I chose a Fender Mustang MIM. So now at least I know when it says "single-coils" it is NOT a Dual Coil Mini Humbucker... 😉
Great video, LEL! Keep up the good work!
Wow! That is dissapointing - I had one of these on my list, partially due to the dual mini-humbuckers as claimed. Thanks for revealing this!
Good on you. I applaud your courage. Truth is all !
I got one of those. Have heard other people have issues with hum, but mine is completely silent. Without shielding too. That said, pickups seem on the bright to harsh side so for a "ss humbucker" at least, so I wouldn't be surprised in that regard.
I wonder if it's a wiring fault with Lobster's that led to him spotting the lie about humbuckers...
FYI, a humbucking pickup can be made from just one magnet underneath between the pickup coils, with permeable (magnetically conductive) material, like steel, or ferrite, going through each pickup coil and contacting the magnet underneath. Or you can place a magnet or multiple magnets through each pickup coil with permeable material underneath connecting the bottom of the magnets together. Or you can use a magnet or magnets through each pickup coil with a magnet underneath connecting the bottom of the magnets together. Or you can use a single U shaped magnet with one pickup coil over each leg of the U shaped magnet.
But you can't make 2 coils out of only 1. It's a single coil.
@@audiomitch7881 What is your point? You can wind the wire from a single coil onto two separate bobbins and make a humbucker from it. You can make a humbucking pickup sound like a single coil, but without the noise.
Oh dang!!!! Whether it’s an error or a lie, it’s a bad look!
I have one, and I love it for studio work. It's quite heavy, so I don't like to stand up and wear it for long. I bought it used, and never asked or cared if they were humbuckers or not. I also have the matching 6 string guitar, and I was always sure it's single-coils. They can bite like a Tele!
Usually with less expensive import guitars there is fine print that says materials and components may change according to availability. Buy one new. If you decide it’s not worth what you paid then return it.
BRAVO for your honesty and truthfull information!
Lobster, perhaps you should take apart the humbucker you recently replaced on the Jaguar Affinity H and see if it’s also a fake humbucker,,, I’m definitely very curious about that. Thanks for all your great videos !!!
Cheers, Davyo
Not a bad idea
I have been playing this exact bass for over 3 years and the hum is extremely noticeable. I just chalked it up to the wiring in my band's practice space.
Go Lobster! I have one of these and love it, except for the hum and lack of truth in advertising.
My friend had this exact same bass and hired me to fix the hum issue. I discovered exactly what you discovered. popped off the cover and found basically a P90 style pickup floating in a pool of wax. the least the could have done is at least make one of them reverse would reverse polarity so it's quiet in the center position.
Oh hey Jason, lol
I always wondered why this thing had more noise coming from it then my J bass, now I know why…
Bought it as a cheap alternative to the Gibson LP Junior DC bass (still almost $2k in Australian dollarydoos) because I liked the pickup from the Gibson and wanted to find a bass like it for cheaper. Quite disappointing really to find this out
Lobster, U got balls based on honesty & transparency ! This is why U have a growing following. Lobster, "Big Thank-U" from the bass community.
Nice find, I wonder what they'll have to say about it. Outright lie calling those humbuckers
I am reminded when I decided to replace the noisy single coil pickup on my old Fender Music Master bass with a Fender Lace Sensor. The original pickup as many of you may know is simply a covered six pole guitar pickup. It sounds great now.. in addition I changed the barrel saddles to swivel saddles for on the spot intonation. I was interested in this short scale bass, but nope, not anymore.
Your timing could not have been better, I was looking at purchasing a short scale bass a the gretsch was more than likely going to be my pick, looks like I'll be giving them a hard pass. Thanks for heads up
Bought a Sterling Stingray and it's phenomenal.
Thanks for this video ! I will follow the outcome closely .
My guess is that Fender/Gretsch had every intention of these basses having humbuckers, but at some point the overseas pickup maker decided to switch to single coil pickups , pocket the difference in cost and just pray they're not found out.
This is the most likely explanation and one more case of not getting what we're not paying for: in this case, a constant scrutiny of deliveries for matching against specifications.
Also... covid supply chain... The fact it had two neck pickups, made me immediately consider that as a factor. Maybe the pickup manufacturer was running low on parts and just slapped together a buncha single coil pickups to fulfill the order on time. I'm real curious if other folks with older versions of these, see similar results.
Maybe, but it’s a stretch that they never checked what they were contracting. I am guessing Fender/Gretsch knew this
Clicked on a random recommend and I cant believe I sat thru a video of a guy with a claw in his pyjamas. 👍
Gonna check out more...
Welcome :)
Good job calling Fender out on this Lobster, that’s extremely uncool.
Was thinking about getting one of these to fool around with but not now. Thanks Fender!
Just on the other side of coin, One thing to clarify is that Fender doesn't necessarily OWN the creative operation of Gretsch. I believe they're a seperate company and Fender is just the distributing/marketing power behind them so blaming Fender in my opinion may be bit misguided. :) Also, it could be the overseas FACTORY making the instrument that is deceiving Gretsch... Or the maker of the pickups lying to the factory! If Gretsch specified humbuckers and are told they're humbuckers, why would they think any different?
Just some random thoughts! There is no excuse for this but there are many possibilities other than us being purposely lied to by these companies.
If you are in the business of outsourcing, you simply have to verify the specification of the product you are marketing and selling. The dumb thing about this is, whoever in the supply chain knows about this, you have to question what thought process would you have to have to assume someone, somewhere wouldn't find this out, with all the brand reputational and costs damage this would cause ....
Thanks for pointing this out! I emailed the company and got an autoresponse that they would get back to me in 5 business days. It has been three business days.
Exactly why I subscribe to your channel. I have learned a lot! I wonder what sellers like Sweetwater and others will say and do about this? Continue to sell a problem? We'll see, I guess.
"Want to see a magic trick ? I will turn this square piece of green magnetic paper into an egg on your face, Gretsch."
Well, this sucks. I'm not a bassist, but I recently bought a gretsch guitar, which plays beautifully while being their lowest end hollow body. It sucks that Fender/Gretsch do horrid crap like this.
Those guitars are really nice, gretch produces pretty good quality guitars. But there definatly is something to say about the deceptive marketing
I work at the Federal Trade Commission and I am going to sieze this video as evidence. Thank you.
Makes you wonder if that was Wretch's orginal design or something Fender did to cut their costs and lie. The other question I have now is with the Gretch electric guitars that have the appearance of humbuckers in them. Thanks for sharing
The original version only has 1 pickup. I’ve not taken it apart to check but have recorded several tracks on Ableton with it and I’ve never had any noise after any sort definitely no 60 cycle hum. I’m thinking they most likely originally had legit humbuckers but when they came out with the new version they either cheeped out on the parts but didn’t update the marketing team , or it could be that the company selling them the pickups was scrupulously trying to cut corners and no one noticed… or they just decided to change them to cheeper ones and knowingly decided to point blank lie on the tech sheet …
If you can't hear the difference between a filtertron and a single coil, you should find a new hobby.
In my experience I have had issues with these basses live. I've had sound people bring it up a few times I own two and even though they are cheap I play them full time professionally cause I like the sounds and feel but I've had suspicions about these pickups and sheilding for awhile. I was going to have my tech shield it himself cause of the problem. I feel decieved. Thanks for bringing this issue out. As always love the videos.
I see the Gretsch webpage now calls them single coils, but at this moment, retailer websites still say mini humbuckers. Curious to see how they respond.
I was just coming to post similarly. 😋 You beat me to it.