Well, it's not really from the 1800s, but the technology is. This is a Gretsch New Yorker I've had for the past 12 years. It's a true archtop with a carved top of solid spruce with no center trestle like most hollow Gretsches have. The tops on these are pretty thick, so they're not known for being light and airy sounding. This one does not have much volume even with big fat bronze strings on it. So over the past few years I've been contemplating sticking a pickup in this to electrificate it. Today was the day.
I have a bunch of derelict pickups in my parts bins so I found a nice medium-power Gibson P90 for it. I marked and cut for the base of the pickup to fit under the strings because it would be just a little too close to the strings without inletting it into the top. The tone bars under the top were spaced perfectly to accommodate the pickup (dumb luck). I drilled three holes for volume, tone, and output jack. The jack is on the top rather than the side because I've lost count of the number of times I've had to repair other players' Gretsches that have the side jacks busted out of 'em.
I drilled through the tail block for the string ground wire, soldered up a wiring harness, and dropped it all in through the pickup hole. If you've ever worked inside a hollowbody before, you'll know it's not a pleasant experience unless you know a few tricks. This one went extremely well because I planned all the moves, and the harness allowed all the parts to slip right into place. I tested the circuit and everything works, with ground continuity to the tailpiece.
It's not strung up yet because the fret ends are a little sharp in places, so tomorrow I'll hit 'em with the file and smooth 'em all out. I also need to notch out the pickguard to accommodate the end of the pickup and reinstall it.
This guitar will be open-tuned for slide stuff. It's got the right pickup and the right vibe for it. Sort of a poor-man's ES125.
I have a bunch of derelict pickups in my parts bins so I found a nice medium-power Gibson P90 for it. I marked and cut for the base of the pickup to fit under the strings because it would be just a little too close to the strings without inletting it into the top. The tone bars under the top were spaced perfectly to accommodate the pickup (dumb luck). I drilled three holes for volume, tone, and output jack. The jack is on the top rather than the side because I've lost count of the number of times I've had to repair other players' Gretsches that have the side jacks busted out of 'em.
I drilled through the tail block for the string ground wire, soldered up a wiring harness, and dropped it all in through the pickup hole. If you've ever worked inside a hollowbody before, you'll know it's not a pleasant experience unless you know a few tricks. This one went extremely well because I planned all the moves, and the harness allowed all the parts to slip right into place. I tested the circuit and everything works, with ground continuity to the tailpiece.
It's not strung up yet because the fret ends are a little sharp in places, so tomorrow I'll hit 'em with the file and smooth 'em all out. I also need to notch out the pickguard to accommodate the end of the pickup and reinstall it.
This guitar will be open-tuned for slide stuff. It's got the right pickup and the right vibe for it. Sort of a poor-man's ES125.
and I like how you marked the corners of the floating bridge… then found that the tan lines would have told you where it sat anyway!
