Gretsch bigsbys - looking for advice.

[Despot]

Morning folks.

Quick question - does anyone know of a retailer or supplier who sells Gretsch branded bigsby units? I have a Silver Jet coming my way, but it's the older model with the trapeze as opposed to the bigsby. I'm between minds about whether to replace the trapeze with a standard B3 (non-branded) or else to shell out for a vintage bigsby unit. Any time I've used an old Bigsby I've always been struck by how smooth they seem compared to new ones. I guess I could just try to find an old spring.

What do the good people of OSG recommend?

[rexter]

I think this is the one you want:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bigsby-Gretsc ... 2548.l4275
Fitted B3s to my two sadly long gone Duo Jets!
I had a Tennessean more recently that was from the early 1960s but I didn't find that Bigsby that smooth - not compared to the reissue jets, but that was most likely other issues like neck angle at play...

[Despot]

Thanks for that rexter - for some reason when I did my usual reverb/ebay search the other day there didn't seem to be any with Gretsch branding - just standard Bigsby units.

[rexter]

Thanks for that rexter - for some reason when I did my usual reverb/ebay search the other day there didn't seem to be any with Gretsch branding - just standard Bigsby units.

No probs! My first thought was to look at Blackrider but they didn't seem to have and G brand ones either at the moment. Look forward to hearing about the Silver Jet! Is it a recent reissue or one of the older ones?

[pocaloc]

Reverend guitars sell a "soft spring" for bigsby's. I bought one and it does make by Gretsch bigsby smoother.

[rexter]

Reverend guitars sell a "soft spring" for bigsby's. I bought one and it does make by Gretsch bigsby smoother.

+1 worth getting, have one in the B5 on my tele thinline. I think I tried ed on with the Tennesseean though and it was too short? Don't know if they do two sizes or something...

[Despot]

Good shout on that soft spring - I think I'll order one and see how it works. I guess if it's too short I could always put something under the spring to raise it up a bit. The main thing is to have a less janky bigsby than tends to come with new units.

I'll be picking up the Gretsch tomorrow - it's a mid-2000s Silver Jet. I have a serious soft spot for Silver Jets ... but I rarely see them crop up on the second hand market here, so I had to jump on this one. Nothing really unusual about it - a little bit of honest wear is all. Like pretty much every Japanese made Gretsch (Terada made?) that I've tried, this one is perfect. I always seem to be able to set up a Gretsch to play with lower action than any other guitar.

This one is going to get the full treatment - a bar bridge to replace the Space control and a bigsby to replace the trapeze.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I never really got along with the Reverend Spring & stuck with a stiffer 1" Spring instead. I'm happy to sell you the Reverend one if you want. Trading outside the "For Sale" section's a bit naughty so shoot me a PM if you're interested.