Gretsch space control bridge: tone

[MarshallHeart]

I have a Gretsch 5420T with a TOM style bridge. I compared (dry/unplugged) it with the Baldwin era 1968 Gretsch of a friend, which has a brass (?) space control bridge. Both guitars sound pretty similar (dry), basically...

but my impression was, the SCB rounds up the hi-end,makes it warmer/fatter and I liked that alot...

So, I think about installing a SCB in my Gretsch...

Is that bridge known for stealing some sparkle and adding some fatness?

 

[CalebAaron666]

Both my 2004 White Falcon and my 1995 6120 came with space control bridges. I think they look cool, especially on the Falcon, but I replaced both.
I’ve heard people describe them as “tone suckers” but they aren’t all that bad. They do seem to cut what little sustain you can get from a Gretsch hollowbody.
I like bar bridges more for sustain, feeling, and tone.
I put the SCB that was on my Falcon on my 5420T for a while. I thought it was better than the stock adjustomatic.

 

[MarshallHeart]

Both my 2004 White Falcon and my 1995 6120 came with space control bridges. I think they look cool, especially on the Falcon, but I replaced both.
I’ve heard people describe them as “tone suckers” but they aren’t all that bad. They do seem to cut what little sustain you can get from a Gretsch hollowbody.
I like bar bridges more for sustain, feeling, and tone.
I put the SCB that was on my Falcon on my 5420T for a while. I thought it was better than the stock adjustomatic.

thanks...what was better with the SCB compared to the stock bridge (tone)?

 

[knavel]

Many Gretsch forum hangers dislike the Space Control Bridge. I would first point out that there are two kinds: (1) Vintage and (2) Modern. They look quite different so it's easy to tell one from the other. As your friend's guitar is a 68, his bridge probably is vintage, which never really changed much as far as I know (save for I think some very secret patent info on the base maybe) from the time introduced in circa 1958 till the end of the original era.

I have every sort of vintage Gretsch bridge and I like them all. The only one that I had to modify is the Melita because its adjuster screws make it impossible to hand mute. Billy Zoom sells a set of screws to replace those adjusters and it's easier to pay him 5 bucks than to spend an hour at Home Depot trying to figure out the right match.

With vintage Space Control the only problem I've had is they can rattle. This was fixed by wrapping teflon tape around the shaft.

There is a big hoopla about Compton and Tru-Arc bridges at the Gretsch sites which are radiused to match etc. I've never tried one--my thing is if Eddie Cochran didn't have one then I don't need it.

 

[CalebAaron666]

thanks...what was better with the SCB compared to the stock bridge (tone)?

It’s hard to say what difference they’d make with the stock pickups because I replaced those, but for the T-armonds I have in there now it added a little more warmth that’s for sure. Really, I liked it more than the stock adjustomatic mostly for feel against my palm.

I’m one of those guys who hangs out on the gretsch forums and I was turned on to many bridges. Like @knavel, I’ve tried all of them (except a melita. Still haven’t gone there, but I’d love to try).
For my purposes I prefer either a Tru-arc serpentune bar bridge or a dBridge made in the UK.

The serpentune bar is better than a regular bar bridge because it matches the neck radius, the intonation is better, and I don’t knock the strings out of their grooves like I do with a regular Gretsch bar (that was problem for me).
Here’s a pic of the aluminum Tru-Arc serpentune on my 6120

I have the same style bridge on my 5420 now, but in stainless steel. It went on the secured bridge post without any trouble.

Here’s a pic of the brass dBridge on my Falcon. This has great intonation, and looks ALMOST vintage.

 

[CalebAaron666]

OH! And I can’t believe I didn’t mention this, but TUNING!
I am a heavy bigsby user and abuser so having a bridge that either a) rocks back and forth like a rocking bar or b) lets the strings move over the saddle grooves freely is extremely important.
I don’t like roller bridges much because they don’t work that well, and I don’t like all the seperate moving parts.
A SCB works better for tuning stability with a bigsby than the stock adjustomatic because, in theory, in rolls a little bit when using the bigsby.

 

[hotraman]

I own a 2009 Falcon with the SCB.
I bought this Gretsch because I wanted an old school look, feel and sound.
The bridge is not pinned. And I was lead to believe that a pinned bridge would change the tone.
But... my bridge was moving ever slightly and throwing off the intonation. I had my guitar tech, pin the bridge.
To this day, I've haven't noticed any difference in tone.
The space control bridge is not the easiest bridge to deal with, but I love the old school look and it works well with my Bigsby.
YMMV

 

[hotraman]

OH! And I can’t believe I didn’t mention this, but TUNING!
I am a heavy bigsby user and abuser so having a bridge that either a) rocks back and forth like a rocking bar or b) lets the strings move over the saddle grooves freely is extremely important.
I don’t like roller bridges much because they don’t work that well, and I don’t like all the seperate moving parts.
A SCB works better for tuning stability with a bigsby than the stock adjustomatic because, in theory, in rolls a little bit when using the bigsby.

Yes, agree.
Pin the bridge. For me, it made the roller bridge a lot easier to use.

 

[CalebAaron666]

I own a 2009 Falcon with the SCB.
I bought this Gretsch because I wanted an old school look, feel and sound.
The bridge is not pinned. And I was lead to believe that a pinned bridge would change the tone.
But... my bridge was moving ever slightly and throwing off the intonation. I had my guitar tech, pin the bridge.
To this day, I've haven't noticed any difference in tone.
The space control bridge is not the easiest bridge to deal with, but I love the old school look and it works well with my Bigsby.
YMMV

The OP’s 5420 probably has a secured bridge, meaning the posts are drilled straight through the base and into the bracing on the guitar. That’s what modern Electromatic hollowbodies have these days.
I need to get my bridges pinned in my two pro-lines but I don’t trust my local tech to do it.
I use fiddle bow rosin under the bridge and that works okay to keep it in place for now.

 

[MarshallHeart]

It’s hard to say what difference they’d make with the stock pickups because I replaced those, but for the T-armonds I have in there now it added a little more warmth that’s for sure. Really, I liked it more than the stock adjustomatic mostly for feel against my palm.

I’m one of those guys who hangs out on the gretsch forums and I was turned on to many bridges. Like @knavel, I’ve tried all of them (except a melita. Still haven’t gone there, but I’d love to try).
For my purposes I prefer either a Tru-arc serpentune bar bridge or a dBridge made in the UK.

The serpentune bar is better than a regular bar bridge because it matches the neck radius, the intonation is better, and I don’t knock the strings out of their grooves like I do with a regular Gretsch bar (that was problem for me).
Here’s a pic of the aluminum Tru-Arc serpentune on my 6120
View attachment 770608
I have the same style bridge on my 5420 now, but in stainless steel. It went on the secured bridge post without any trouble.

Here’s a pic of the brass dBridge on my Falcon. This has great intonation, and looks ALMOST vintage.
View attachment 770609

Why did you change the Blacktops on your 5420T? I love them.
Usually,I'm a notorious stock pickup terminator, but those Baldwin era BT Filtertron replicas sound amazing, especially break up/overdriven.
But they're missing that single coily flavour the original 50s Filtertrons are known for.
I think about replacing the neck pickup for a FT or TV Jones ...

The serpentune bar looks really cool/stylish, reminds me of the liquid metal effect in Terminator 2. How does it sound and what brand is that?

 

[CalebAaron666]

Why did you change the Blacktops on your 5420T? I love them.
Usually,I'm a notorious stock pickup terminator, but those Baldwin era BT Filtertrons replicas sound amazing, especially break up/overdriven.
But they're missing that single coily flavour the original 50s Filtertrons are known for.
I think about replacing the neck pickup for a FT or TV Jones ...

The serpentune bar looks really cool/stylish, reminds me of the liquid metal effect in Terminator 2. How does it sound and what brand is that?

I wanted to like the black tops, but after only one gig with them they had to go. I felt like they had a ceiling or something. Like I got the tone ALMOST where I wanted it, but it wouldn’t. 75% there I guess.
I replaced them with a TV Jones Classic plus in the bridge and a single coil TVJ T-Armond in the neck. That was a fun combo. Now it just has two T-armonds cuz I wanted at least one Gretsch with single coils.

The Tru-Arc Serpentunes are made by a dude in Indiana. The aluminum is real bright, twangy and snappy. The Brass is smoother, and the stainless steel is a fatter sound with serious sustain. Like way more sustain than a Gretsch hollowbody would ever have. The SS sounds amazing with the T-armonds.