Gretsch Junior Jet 2 Setup tips

[The Southsea Setup]

Hi Guys!

First time poster here. 

Do any other Gretsch Junior Jet 2 owners have issues with the action on their bass?

Since the warm weather has descended I thought it best to do some set up on the Gretsch to get it back to how I had it in Winter, but for the life of me I can't get the strings to stop buzzing on the frets when I totally straighten the neck out. 

I'm inclined to replace the nut and the bridge, just to give the strings a little more clearance but before I start doing any noob stuff I would like some advice!

 

I've always taken my guitars/basses to a luthier for setup, but I think it's about time I learned how to do it myself.

Please be kind

Chris

[Doctor J]

A bit more information would help.

 

First, where is the fret buzz, everywhere across the neck or specific areas, towards the nut, towards the neck etc?

 

When you say "totally straighten the neck out" - how much of a gap is there between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th and 9th frets if you hold down the string at the first and last fret at the same time? Ideally, the neck would not be set totally straight but there'd be a little bit of a gap, the witdth of a business card, less than 1mm in this area.

 

Are the strings buzzing on the first fret when you play an open string? This is the only reason you'd think about replacing the nut - provided the neck relief has been set correctly and is not bowed back. 

 

Don't replace anything for now. Until you confirm this is not a setup issue, you'll only waste money by replacing parts which don't need to be replaced.

 

First things first, get the neck relief right, as described above. Then report back.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 19:49 by Doctor J

[The Southsea Setup]

Hi Doctor J!

Thanks for the speedy reply!

So I took your advice on board and gave the neck some slight relief to the point that the strings weren't rattling any more (no rattles anywhere up or down the fret-board, open string or otherwise).

I then intonated the bridge again and did the test of pressing down on the first and last fret and checked the 8th and 9th fret and can confirm I've got the gap to just less than the width of a business card.

So far so good!

However, the action still seems utterly rubbish.

 

I've attached a photo for reference.

For background, this is the first and only bass I've ever owned. Perhaps I'm being overly finicky about action height based on coming from guitar!
 

[Stub Mandrel]

That doesn't look unreasonable about 2mm? Dont orget action can be progressively lower from the E to G strings.

 

Bear in mind bass strings are longer and heavier so need more space to vibrate in than feeble guitar strings.

[shoulderpet]

On 16/07/2025 at 22:33, The Southsea Setup said:

Hi Doctor J!

Thanks for the speedy reply!

So I took your advice on board and gave the neck some slight relief to the point that the strings weren't rattling any more (no rattles anywhere up or down the fret-board, open string or otherwise).

I then intonated the bridge again and did the test of pressing down on the first and last fret and checked the 8th and 9th fret and can confirm I've got the gap to just less than the width of a business card.

So far so good!

However, the action still seems utterly rubbish.

 

I've attached a photo for reference.

For background, this is the first and only bass I've ever owned. Perhaps I'm being overly finicky about action height based on coming from guitar!
 

Look ok to me but I can understand wanting to get lower action. 

When it say the action is rubbish, what is stopping it from going lower? Is it fret buzz or are the saddles as low as they will go?

[RichT]

On 16/07/2025 at 22:33, The Southsea Setup said:

Hi Doctor J!

Thanks for the speedy reply!

So I took your advice on board and gave the neck some slight relief to the point that the strings weren't rattling any more (no rattles anywhere up or down the fret-board, open string or otherwise).

I then intonated the bridge again and did the test of pressing down on the first and last fret and checked the 8th and 9th fret and can confirm I've got the gap to just less than the width of a business card.

So far so good!

However, the action still seems utterly rubbish.

 

I've attached a photo for reference.

For background, this is the first and only bass I've ever owned. Perhaps I'm being overly finicky about action height based on coming from guitar!
 

 

That actually looks pretty low to me! I generally set my basses up at 7/64 (2.77 mm) on the E string to 5/64 (2 mm) on the G. Others like it lower, but any lower than that for me and I'm liable to start getting buzzing and rattling on the frets. You'll experience this effect more so on a 30" short scale bass like the Junior Jet, because the same string gauge will give you lower tension, and hence 'looser' feeling strings than at 34", so they'll vibrate in a wider arc and be more prone to hitting the frets.

 

There are a few options to compensate: 1) Use heavier gauge strings to get higher tension. 2) Play more gently. 3) Set your action higher. I play mostly short scale basses, I'll never be a gentle player and I don't like heavier gauge strings, so I use slightly higher action and problem sorted. 

 

Regarding weather related neck changes, once I've settled on a set of strings, then I find I really only have to set height and intonation once, because after that, all the heat/cold/humidity changes are subsequently doing is either making the neck bow a bit forward or a bit back. Effectively this means the truss rod just needs to be tweaked a touch to compensate and put the neck back to where it started, then the action and intonation sorts itself out again. 

 

You shouldn't usually need to go through the full rigmarole of setting saddle height and intonation every time unless you change to different strings with different gauge and/or tension. Otherwise, if it's just neck movement from changing weather then probably about a 1/4 turn truss rod tweak should be all you need to rectify it. 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by RichT
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