LP Junior BJA + advice on pots/capacitors/bridge

[merkava]

ב"ה

Hi,
Is there anyone with experience with the Junior Billie Joe Armstrong? I was offered one for 1100 USD with a p90s Planet tone. Is it a good deal?
I opened it and the pots and the wiring are not looking good. I have some CTS in my studio, long shaft. Are they good for this project? What is the best capacitor for this guitar?
What is your experience with Faber wraprounds?

Thanks

Uri

 

[Wagster]

Ya gotta wonder.... why did they take out the H90, one of the very few things that set this guitar apart from the rest of the massive LP Jr. crowd, and put in a plain ol' P90? They shoulda bought a plain ol' Jr if thats what they wanted.....sheeesh

And I'm guessing that whatever wiring problems it has are the result of some guitar tech wanna-be's trying to figure out why the H90 had so many wires....lol.

If you do decide to buy this guitar, I would definitely ask for as much of the original hardware they may still have laying around, especially that H90 pickup. Even if you have no plans to reuse the stuff at least it will still be with the guitar.


Incidently.....back when I bought my BJA I only paid $900 for it....new.

 

[jeffy]

New, they were $1399, IIRC. You'll also want to know what year it's from. There was a slight update in 2009 and again in 2012. Slightly different case and 6x1 Kluson tuners instead of the 3x3 strip type in pre-'09. The color will also make a difference. The Classic White was discontinued early when the ebony dried up and the Burst and Ebony changed to Granadillo instead of Rosewood. Original pots should be CTS. The capacitor is a ceramic in modern wiring. Some people swap out the H-90 because they want a hot P90 sound. You can do this to the H90 by cutting the second coil winding wire. IIRC, Billie used SD Antiquities during that time period.

The BJA was sort of an intermediate guitar between the USA Junior and the Custom Shop. During most of the run, the USA Junior only came in satin finishes, IIRC. They also had the lightning stop bar tailpiece which is mounted straight across the body. The BJA, like the CS has a slanted uncompensated stop-bar tailpiece. The BJA also has the extra 1/4" lip on the body where the neck meets the body. This is how the CS is made. The main difference from a CS is that the BJA bodies are multi-piece and the necks are '60s Slim-taper.

I've watched the price of the BJA's go down but in recent years they have gone back up. Some like the White can go for a lot more than what they sold for new. They've all been going for more than MSRP for a few years now. For $1100, I'd expect to see everything the guitar came with, especially the case. Reverb has one that's $1977 that's got some mods.

 

[uncle mud]

As far as the wraparound bridge goes, I would suggest the Mojoaxe.

 

[merkava]

Thanks a lot!
I have a LP Classic with a slim neck and the BJA feels a little bigger.
I cannot find the specs on the Gibson web site.
Thanks