LeftyBassist.com

Hey guys, no surprise, it was me. More than I wanted to pay for sure, but I’ve always been a big Guild fan, I had a righty JS II for years and I loved it, so a lefty JS II has always been kind of a dream bass on my list. If you’re not aware, this bass was listed by the original owner on Craigslist Denver for $850, and had it not been for one other guy bidding over $1000 the Ebay auction would have come in at a little over that. But unfortunately I didn’t see the Craigslist entry until it was already closed, and Gravity is in Denver as well-- so not too hard to connect those dots.

I can comment on a couple observations. I think it was PJ that suggested that the bridge and tuners were non- original, but they are in fact original to the bass. The serial # dates this bass as a 1977. This was the year when Guild bass models were transitioning from the JSII to the B301/302, and (not unlike a lot of builders), there were some “hybrid” units coming off the line that featured overlapping components. I don’t know whether this one was a special ordered, or just an attempt to finish out a lefty JSII, but the Schaller tuners and bridge were features from the new B301/ 302 model that got incorporated into this JSII at the factory (note there are no screw holes or evidence of filled holes where the older style bridge would have been mounted). This one is not alone, I’ve seen a few righty 1977 JS IIs equipped the same way-- and in fact, I once owned an even rarer transitional model, designated JSB2 LS on the trussrod cover (see first pic below). This bass was also 100% completely factory original (weird pickguard and all) and the only one of this model I've ever seen. It combined the body, passive controls and switching of a JSII LS with the single coil pickups, bridge and tuners from the newer B302 / SB202 models. What a thing of beauty it was, I got a small fortune when I sold it but God knows I would never have let it go if it had been left handed! What it also did was lead to several emails and conversations with a bunch of Guild-ophiles including Hans Moust, thus a significant increase in my knowledge on these transitional Guilds. The one thing on the lefty that I'm pretty sure is non-original is the knobs, but that's not a problem. Anyway, looking forward to this one joining my lefty B301 and SB602, both of which I love... say what you will about vintage, one thing for sure-- they ain't making em any more!

What's the phrase?: "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing?" LOL. Didn't know about the transition parts, but I'd say that bridge would be an improvement over the originals anyway. Perhaps had I known I would have bid...and then been outbid 'cause I wouldn't be able to go that high anyway.

Congrats, Carmine.

True... on the other hand, too much knowledge can be hazardous to the wallet. Seems like the more I know , the more I spend ...I can't afford to know anything else for awhile .... LOL... Thanks PJ!