Gretsch Bar Bridge and Intonation

[admin]

For quite some time now I have wondered whether adequate intonation can be achieved with the Gretsch Bar Bridge. I would like to know what experience others have had with this bridge.

[jps]

I too, have wondered how it is possible with that and the Space Control bridge. I don't think it can be done, just an average setting for all strings and pray the audience is not really listening.

[drumbob]

I don't think it's really possible, Peter. I have a roller bridge on my Anniversary that works quite nicely.

[antipodean]

Hey, when you're playing rockabilly and the audience is throwing beer-bottles, intonation is the last thing on your mind!

[paologregorio]

Hey, when you're playing rockabilly and the audience is throwing beer-bottles, intonation is the last thing on your mind!

I have Gretsches with both type of bridges. I just put them in the right spot and play. I think they sound just fine. I even took a Melitta bridge off my early 50s RI Duo Jet and replaced it with a Space Controller so the guitar would have as much sustain as my Space Controller Bridge-equipped Silver Jet did-it worked!

I've never tried one of the Gretsch Roller Bridges; they look pretty sweet though.

[fabandgear]

I've never really had that much intonation problems out of the bar and space control bridges. Some Gretsches fitted with either bridge intonate fine with .011 to .052 with a wound third. I've used .010s with a plain third on a lot of my Gretsch axes with success.

[admin]

Paul and Forest: Thanks for your observations. I suppose the fact that the bar bridge has been around for some time and used by a number of discriminating guitarists should have been proof alone that it was satisfactory. I have seen this bridge critiqued on occasion but have never seen one first hand.

Matching the radius of the bar bridge with the fretboard must also be an important consideration and explain why some critics of this bridge may not have had the best of luck with intonation.

[fabandgear]

Peter, a lot of Gretsches I've come in contact with have their floating bridges placed incorrectly. Because it floats on the top, held in place by the tension of the strings, it's quite easy to move. More than one player has been horrified to see his bar bridge explode into four parts whe removing all the strings at once. Those not familiar with these bridges tend to replace them too close to and straight with the pickups, resulting in severe intonation problems. When I set a Gretsch bar or space control, I first measure from the nut (or zero fret) to the 12th fret, then place it the same distance from the 12th fret to where it sits on the body. I then check the harmonic to the fretted note at the 12th on both E-strings, usually resulting in the bridge base being canted on the body, bass end toward the endpin and treble end toward the neck. This looks a little cockeyed to a lot of folks, but it is the normal setting for a floating Gretsch bridge. Here's a closeup of my '61 6120 Chet Atkins Hollowbody. Note how the bridge is slightly canted. This guitar plays pretty well in tune.

[scott_s]

I'm so used to looking at guitars by this point that a straight-across bridge would catch my eye as being wrong!

Peter brings up a good point about the radii. Is the bar bridge radiused, or does a flat bridge work well enough with a 16" radius that no one notices?

- Scott

[fabandgear]

Scott, to tell you the truth, I've never really thought about that! The bridges do have a slight radius, but then the Neo-classic fingerboard on a Gretsch has a slight radius, too. Everything seems to equal out. Anyway, it's never been an issue for me.

[Ric12string1]

You would do well to look into the Tru-Arc™ bridge manufactured by Proteus over at the Gretsch Discussion Pages. The genesis of his bridge was to correct the mismatching radius on the stock Gretsch rocking bar bridges. Most Gretsch guitars have a 12" radius, and a few (including some Setzer models) have a 9.45" radius. However, some stock Gretsch bridges have been found to have a 14" or even a 16" radius. The mismatch of the radii has caused havoc when trying to decide whether to set the guitar up for the 1st and 6th strings (which can cause the interior strings to buzz), or whether to set the action for the 3rd and 4th strings (which can leave the action on the 1st and 6th strings, and to a certain degree the 2nd and 5th strings as well, unacceptably high). Many Gretsch players had complained about this mismatch of the radii, but Gretsch had never done anything to modify it. Thus, the "Tru-Arc™" was born.

The serendipity experience of the Tru-Arc™ bridge is that Proteus quickly found out that there were certain tonal properties that different metals lent to the guitar, depending upon which bridge was selected. He uses brass, stainless steel, aluminum, and copper, and each metal has its own characteristic voice.

Players like Duane Eddy and Paul Yandell use the Tru-Arc™ bridge, and even Brian Setzer wrote a favorable review of one that he had tried out.

The bridges are not cheap, but they are also not expensive. They cost what one would expect of a precision manufactured product made from high quality materials. Go to the Gretsch pages (http://www.gretschpages.com) and look for a member there named Proteus. Send him a PM and you will get lots of great information about his bridges. Regrettably, he doesn't have a website yet; you have to REALLY want to buy a bridge from him because you have to search him out. But, you won't regret it once you've done so.

And, yes, in answer to the original question raised in this thread, you can get excellent intonation with a rocking bar bridge. Again, pose that question to Proteus about whether his Tru-Arc™ bridges offer correct intonation, and you will learn more than you ever thought possible about that subject.

[billydlight]

Tru-Arc™ Rules!

[Ric12string1]

Tru-Arc™ Rules!

There you have it! From a knowledgeable Rickenbacker and Gretsch player.

[CurtW]

I have a couple videos showing how they intonate.

http://youtu.be/NW9_IVHgFwU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mrha86ZCi8

[CurtW]

I don't think it's really possible, Peter. I have a roller bridge on my Anniversary that works quite nicely.

Roller bridge Bob or a Space Control Bridge?