NGD: '96 Gretsch Sparkle Jet '57RI --Bigsby brilliance

[preservation]

found it yesterday via local CL. made in May '96 -i'm guessing from the Terada factory ? no idea. it was absolutely
an impulse buy and i'll have to move a few things to justify it, but i have no regrets.

the Dynasonics are sparkly clear - i've read Gretsch forums wherein 60yr old guys with 10 Gretsches will immediately buy TV Jones-whatever to replace the PUs... some seem to only approve of the real vintage dynasonics; or they're pro/anti pre-FMIC era.
i call bollocks on all that. these pickups sound phenomenal. i'm getting a very wide range of sounds like you might
imagine with some high-end tele pickups. really bassy and warm to very nasal treble. some of the most articulate PUs i've used in some time.
i think the build quality kills almost anything Gibson i've ever picked up (70s onward). this is my first Gretsch. lots of LP-style sustain in this body, an amazing neck that hasn't seemed to age one bit in 20yrs (whereas the body hardware has "relic'd" itself quite nicely). it's strange to own a guitar with a sparkle finish, but it feels and sounds so good i wouldn't care (if it even bothered me). i like the fact that it's not sparkle-paint, but sparkles trapped under a veneer or something. sparkles.

"mods" done: straplocks, tune-o-matic bridge instead of the stock roller, and a replaced toggle PU switch.

as far as the Bigsby goes, this is also my first "real" Bigsby aside from one cheap version that i once had on an Epiphone archtop years ago. this is smooth and a joy to play. after some heavy vibrato use the G and B strings are prone to going flat, so i'm considering a roller bridge if this BigBends Nutsauce doesn't do the trick on the nut and saddles. it's hard researching guitar parts for a guitar you just bought bc it's hard to put this down and surf the webz.

i am open to suggestions on tune-o-matic VS roller bridges however. i can't ever imagine changing the PU's though.

[cestlamort]

Congratulations. That model always makes me think of Billy Zoom. (A good thing). Now work on your rock stance...

Dynasonics sound great and there are some resources out there (various Gretsch forums) with tips on adjusting the pole pieces if to make them sound more balanced.

[jakeisjake]

^ + 1

congrats!

[bluenote23]

I think most tuning problems with a Bigsby are at the nut and not the bridge. If you have the stock roller bridge in a rectangular casing then it is just as well you swapped that out. It is about the only piece of Gretsch gear that I have ever had that has not been really good.

A lot of Gretsch players will switch out the bridge for a bar. Gretsch makes bars and there are aftermarket Tru-Arcs and Comptons available. A bar is just that. It's a bar with slots and no moving parts (the no moving parts is the selling point). A good quality ABM is a good as anything though, if you ask me.

Lots of players switch out preFMIC Filtertrons (they have ceramic magnets and dirty up better than HS Filtertrons which is not so good if you want to play Chet Atkins) but I have never heard anything negative about the Dynasonics (except from those who don't like modern era Dynasonics anyway).

The top is Nitron, the same plastic covering that Gretsch uses on their drums.

Nice guitar. That model has the period correct small headstock which was unusual for preFMIC Jets (only the 57 model was like that. Others, like my Red Sparkle Jet had a larger headstock with a horseshoe logo, the same as the hollowbody models).

[Maggieo]

Nice!!!

[preservation]

thanks Maggie ! if you and your exquisite tastes approve then i'm elated !

this guitar is setup beautifully with what feel like .10s, but .10s feel so light.
i don't suppose the Bigsby would struggle to deal with my usual D'addario XL .11s, but
could that have any negative consequences ? i'm sure the nut would be fine w/ .11s...

[Mclean]

Sweet sparkle jet! I'm lucky enough to own a duo jet of the same era, the build quality on these really is top notch. While I do love the filtertons, I totally agree that the dynasonics are totally underrated, such good pickups. I also wish mine had a bigsby....

[starflower]

Way to go, gorgeous acquisition at a killer price!

as far as the Bigsby goes, this is also my first "real" Bigsby aside from one cheap version that i once had on an Epiphone archtop years ago. this is smooth and a joy to play. after some heavy vibrato use the G and B strings are prone to going flat, so i'm considering a roller bridge if this BigBends Nutsauce doesn't do the trick on the nut and saddles. it's hard researching guitar parts for a guitar you just bought bc it's hard to put this down and surf the webz.

i am open to suggestions on tune-o-matic VS roller bridges however. i can't ever imagine changing the PU's though.

Indeed, Dynasonics are entirely different beasts from the old DeArmond 2Ks, but they can certainly deliver the goods!

All in all, greasing up the nut and making sure the gauge can jive with the nut slots is key to a properly functioning Bigsby unit. And 11s and up are generally a good idea for B3/B6 equipped archtops for a number of reasons, the primary one being that the additional downforce with such a shallow break angle is helpful in keeping the wound strings locked into the bridge saddles, allowing the entire bridge ass'y to rock back and forth, as designed. If there is insufficient downforce, then the wounds strings will jump on the saddle grooves and that will obviously mean trouble. Some people file down the bottom of the bridge (not the wooden base) on the "north and south" to encourage this kind of movement, but from experience, it's not necessarily needed if the nut is doing its thing and one isn't overly abusive with the Bigsby

I've played and/or owned Gretsches with every factory bridge under the sun, and would personally recommend against roller saddles. The oddball Gretsch G6122-S my wife and I had years ago was case in point, and out of all the Proline MIJ Gretsches we had, it had the worst sustain by a long shot that even heavier gauge strings could remedy. B7s and B5s can be much less affected by the dissemination of resonance thanks to what the tension bar can add, but for the shallow bunch, I'd caution against one for the most part.

[Unicorn Warrior]

Dude yes. Gretsch power!

[preservation]

awesome, i'll nut sauce the nut & saddles and slap some XL .11-.52s on there.

i'm curious though - do flatwounds ever cause problems with Bigsby units ?
i've been wanting to try Pyramids for years.

[Sid Nitzerglobin]

Wow! Grats! Looks great.

[starflower]

awesome, i'll nut sauce the nut & saddles and slap some XL .11-.52s on there.

i'm curious though - do flatwounds ever cause problems with Bigsby units ?
i've been wanting to try Pyramids for years.

Great, if anything I reckon you're certain to get that much closer to late '50s Duo-Jet tones!

As far as foreseeable Bigsby problems are concerned, I can only speak from experience of having a G6120 w/Dynasonics & Space Control bridge, and any noted change in Bigsby movement was likely the least of my "problems". All in all, it essentially turned the sparkling chimer of a guitar into a very warm and full-sounding jazz box (not really a bad thing) that hated overdrive of all kinds, but truth be told, it had the most glorious thump and henceforth simply refused to go out of tune on its own.

Keep in mind that stated gauge on tapewound strings means most of that girth on the wound strings is the core, so with a lovely set of 11-52 Pyramid flats you might want to kiss double stops and bends goodbye, and expect a huge amount of downward force on the bridge to keep things in place...In turn which should give you better bridge rocking and more intonation stability, as long as you don't go bananas with it.

All the best, and have fun

[preservation]

well i have giant massive monkey hands. i'm a massage therapist so bends and stuff aren't usually problematic even w/.12s and .13s- but of course it
depends on the guitar.

the only reason i haven't swapped strings yet is b/c it's so perfectly setup atm

[awfurby]

Nice guitar! I had a Tunomatic installed to replace the space control bridge. Works very well with the Bigsby.

[preservation]

after i "nutsauced" the nut and bridge saddles i'm having a lot more tuning stability w/ Bigsby use.
i wonder if it'll get even better once i move from .10s to .11s