Tru-Arc® vs. Roller Bridge

[jimk]

You have your choice between two bridges to replace you stock bridge on a Gretsch which came factory equipped with a Bigsby. Which one would you choose? Please discuss your choice.
JimK

[admin]

I have tried both and the true arc intonated best for me and worked as well with the vibrato as the roller bridge. Then again Duane Eddy I'm not.

[antipodean]

I'm still using the stock bridge on my 6119 (bought new in 1996) and I've never felt the need to change. Am I a loser or just lazy (or maybe a lazy loser)?

[power chord hack]

By "roller bridge" do you mean the Space Control bridge (on the right)?



At any rate a bar bridge is the way to go, and a Tru-Arc is the best of the bars. I have 3 Tru-Arcs. One on a Jet, one on a vintage Annie, and another on a Dano-Gretsch-Tele mashp I built. They do make a very noticeable difference.

There are many very good reviews of the different types of bridges on the Gretsch forum, BTW.

[jimk]

By "roller bridge" do you mean the Space Control bridge (on the right)?

Yes, that's exactly the one I had in mind.
JimK

[admin]

Also the space control does not have an arc that conforms to the radius of the fretboard as the "Tru-Arc" does. Jim, I will be very surprised if you don't like the Tru-Arc. I also tried the Compton Compensated Bridge. It did intonate well but was too heavy to my way of thinking and certainly did not look the part. It produced a harsher sound as well, at least to my ears. I think I still have it in my parts drawer if you want to take it for a test drive.

[sloop_john_b]

Tru-Arc, without question.

[paologregorio]

My `65 Tenny has a Rocking Bar Bridge. I think the Melitta is the worst of the bunch for sustain; I do like the Controller. I removed the Melitta from my Duo Jet and replaced it with a Space Controller so it would have the same sustain as my Silver Jet. I've never tried a TruArc. IIRC, Mike Snow swears by a TruArc for his Gretsch as well.

[admin]

Paul: Does the space controller bridge that you have allow for height adjustments.

[paologregorio]

Paul: Does the space controller bridge that you have allow for height adjustments.

Yes, the Space Controller bridges on my Gretsches are height adjustable.

[admin]

Thanks Paul. Perhaps it is time to explore this possibility.

[whojamfan]

My `65 Tenny has a Rocking Bar Bridge. I think the Melitta is the worst of the bunch for sustain; I do like the Controller. I removed the Melitta from my Duo Jet and replaced it with a Space Controller so it would have the same sustain as my Silver Jet. I've never tried a TruArc. IIRC, Mike Snow swears by a TruArc for his Gretsch as well.

OOPS!! Actually I have a Compton Compensated bridge, in aluminum, and it's both properly radiused to the fingerboard and the string spacing is right. I think it sounds 10 times better than the buzz-o-matic bridge that came with it. I didn't find any harshness to it, but have heard the stainless sieel ones can be. The aluminum matches the Bigsby and has given the guitar a very noticeable increase in sustain. I really like the way the whole guitar looks with this bridge on it, has a vintage look and intonates perfect. I also notice no squaking, hangin, scratching, or other noise when using the Bigsby.

There are big whoo haws over on the 2 main bridge replacements, the Tru Arc, and the Compton, on the 2 main Gretsch sites, but 1 doesn't really work better than the other according to the endless debates between the 2. It mainly just comes down to materials(both offer a variety of metal for different sounds), and looks-Compton is kinda like a bowtie and the Tru-arc looks like sort of like a lipstick pickup. Both are custom made in the USA, both are string space and radius specific to your measurements(apparantly there are major differences even in the same models so you have to measure it), and both are quality machined items. I'm not sure about the Tru-Arc, but the Compton was cut specifically for my string gauge.

As far as the Space Control goes, the consensus on those forums is to get a Compton or a TA. Just passing that along as I've only briefly played a Gretsch that had one on it.

Last but not least, and what did it for me, the Compton was less than half the price of the Tru-Arc!(well, I didn't really like the TAs look, but that's a preference thing.) I wasn't completely unhappy with my Tune-o-matic style that was on it, but did want to get more sustain. I'm sure glad I did!