Guitar Reviews 4U Gretsch Bigsby B6C Tailpiece Vibrato unit review and as an upgrade on Gretsch 5420T Electromatic guitars

 

Guitar Reviews 4U Gretsch Bigsby B6C unit 

a great upgrade for Gretsch 5420T guitars

The Bigsby B6C - here I'll review the unit

Then I'll show you how I'll upgrade a 5420T Electromatic to a B6C -

here shown as supplied with the original type B60 Bigsby

The Bigsby B6C vibrato unit is often referred to as the 'V' type Vibrato as it has the V shaped cutout, some Gretsch guitars have the 'Cadillac V type' non-vibrato tailpiece which is different altogether.

I've installed a few of these B6C units on guitars as upgrades over the years as I prefer the design of them to the B60. 

The B6C unit used was purchased on-line from Thomann UK at £149 including shipping.

The B6C is a superior alloy to that used on the B6 unit fitted to the Korean and Chinese made Electromatics, although that unit works well, the B6C looks visually nicer and I think is a tonal improvement too.

The hinged mounting plate on the original B6 Korean version Bigsby is 4 screw and a different shape than the one used on the US made B6C - the B6C has a triangular shape plate with the strap button screw fitting through a central hole on the plate.

Fitting the new B6C is very easy with only a few basic tools required, which we'll cover in detail below. 

Tonally the new B6C unit I found improved the tone on the Fairlane blue 5420T I fitted it to and looks great.

You may find on installation that the spring is too tall and makes the lever arm sit higher than is comfortable. Shorter tension springs are available for you to set the arm height, avoid bending the arm as the arm should be swung back over the name on the Bigsby when putting in a case and if bent can scratch the top plate and mark it if it sits on the plate surface.

In all the B6C is a great unit and not massively expensive, visually it looks stylish and I much prefer it in appearance over the Bigsby B70 type that has the extra roller over the strings that puts more load on the bridge.

So lets move onto fitting a B6C as an upgrade part:

The upgrade work is quite simple, for tools you'll need a cordless drill, drill bits, dowel rod, screwdrivers, hex key for the strap button, masking tape, wood glue and touch in paint. Fit new strings to the guitar once the new B6C is installed.

If required you can colour match any repair dowel ends - acrylic car touch-in paints or Tamiya model paints I find work as they do not tend to react to the guitar finish and are easy to blend and apply. If colour matching, note that on drying or clear coating over, that this may darken the final colour shade. 

However, most of any repair areas are small and hard to see. The Tamiya series paints have many colour shades available including clear colours and tinted clear colours which you can see I have used on other projects like this Brian Setzer 6120 Hot Rod Truss Rod plate.

The Vanson Roller Tunamatic is a direct fit -

I use these on most of my Gretsch guitars.

I would advise fitting a roller tunamatic type bridge in the upgrade process as the roller saddles aid tuning stability, I use the Vanson type roller bridge but other makes are available. 

The Vanson is inexpensive and I have found them to perform well, look good and basically do the job nicely and I have used them on 6120 Hot Rods, 6120 TM and the 5420 Electromatics.

The standard blade saddle type Tunamatic tends to 'rock' or hang up on the strings when you use the Bigsby, the roller type unit prevents this. 

For extra sustain, once the guitar is adjusted and settled, you could turn some solid metal spacers to sit under the bridge thumbwheel adjusters so you have solid contacts between the bridge and the Tunamatic unit for better tone transfer.

Trial fit of the B6C rested on top of the original B60 unit -

note I have painted in the B6C recesses to the Fairlane Blue colour

  

If you are upgrading from the original type you will probably have to fill the holes left from the original unit that are not covered by the plate, this can be done with wooden cocktail sticks, round BBQ Skewer or wood dowel cut to length - the dowel can be matched to the old screw hole taper for a nicer fitting job.

The 5420T Silver Sparkle - Limited edition of 500 Guitars -

Also updated with a B6C and Vanson Bridge - in process here

On the Fairlane Blue 5420T guitar I blended some MGTF Trophy Blue with Platinum silver to make a touch in paint colour which I used on the wood dowels ends and also in the Bigsby plate recesses to colour match to the Fairlane blue for a classy finishing touch.

On the Fairlane 5420T I upgraded, the new B6C unit plate almost entirely covered the screw holes so there was minimal sight of any repairs.

The new B6C as fitted to the 5420T guitar -

Once installed the tip of the Bigsby should be about 1" 

high off the scratchplate - here the standard spring is installed - 

I replaced it with a shorter aftermarket spring to lower the arm

Once you are set with the new Bigsby and the tools to hand, the job is quite straightforward - and within around an hour's work you should be back into playing. 

In this view, I have used masking tape to give me a centre line

down the guitar body and also on the end of the body side panel -

centreing the line of the guitar on the strap button position.

Always measure, test fit and check before doing any drilling!!!

Once you have removed the old B60 unit you can fill the old holes with the dowel or BBQ skewer. On my job I put the dowels in just under the surface of the existing finish so it allowed me to put a few coats of the repair colour match on so it would fill to the surface of the existing finish and not stand out proud over the surface.

To mount the Bigsby I aligned and centred the unit off the fixed bridge centre line to the strap button hole as in the pictures  above.  

In this view of a 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod you can see the c. 6mm gap 

between the body top edge and the underside of the B6C plate clearly

at the binding edge of the guitar body

I placed the new unit on the guitar and adjusted the height of the top plate off the body at the end of the body - typically the height here from the underside of new B6C top plate surface to the top edge of the guitar body at the binding edge is around 5-6mm, as taken from a 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod guitar.** You can make a spacer of 5-6mm out of thin card to use to gauge the height at the body binding edge. The B6C can sit on here for test height and marking purposes.

**You may find this measurement may vary depending on the contour of the guitar top**

A simple block of postcard card laminated to around 6mm or 1/4" in Imperial can be placed at the top binding edge of the guitar to give you the space height the Bigsby top plate to the body at the strap button end as a guide.

The B6C in-filled detail with my colour match to the Fairlane Blue

Turn the guitar side on and the Bigsby top plate as you look down, should then be about straight or with a slight angle down towards the strap button. The 5-6mm height stated above seems to work I find. Check at the body binding edge. Measure and check before drilling.

The B6C in-filled detail with my Green colour match on my 

5420T 2 tone Green Anniversary Gretsch I upgraded from the B60 to B6C

Mark the new holes onto the masking tape and drill the new holes according to the mounting screws and fit the new B6C and you're about ready to reassemble.

I did a B6C upgrade on this Gretsch 6118 Anniversary guitar -

this was originally a G Tailpiece equipped 6118 guitar

If you do find that the top panel is somewhat lower at the body end all is not necessarily lost, in this case you may need to use a longer spring in the holder, or a 'jacking up washer' under the tension spring to raise the height of the lever a fraction - but test the arm height with new strings first. This saves re-drilling holes.

The 5420T Silver Sparkle and Fairlane Blue guitars -

both upgraded with B6C units and Vanson Roller Bridges

The washer inserted under the tension spring will raise the height of the lever at the lever end if you find the lever arm too low in operational use.

So that's the upgrade process for fitting the B6C. I hope you have found this useful.

The modern Electromatic and Streamliner guitars are nice quality instruments that can be easily improved with new parts including pickups, bridge units and machine heads. 

 

Gretsch 5420T Silver Sparkle Bigsby B6C and Roller Bridge upgrade

Upgrading the Gretsch 5420T Silver Sparkle guitar with a USA Bigsby B6C and Vanson Roller Tunamatic style Bridge

The Gretsch Silver Sparkle 5420T with the modified 5420T in Fairlane Blue

Recently, I purchased a near new Silver Sparkle 5420T and it had the same old Bigsby issue as I have had from my old 5120, the lack of screws in the base plate and that the plate doesn't sit flat to the body. So I decided to improve matters as I had done on my Fairlane Blue one.

The upgrade is quite simple to do, the only proviso is to measure carefully. Here's how I did it stage by stage.

I marked up the position of the original Bigsby with masking tape and a thinline Pentel marker pen to show the centreline of the string path, so you can line up the new unit to this.

I prepared the Vanson Roller bridge to go on to the Rosewood bridge base. Note that on these Electromatics, the base is secured TO the top by the Hex bridge post pins that go through the bridge and into the body bracing -  the Tunamatic lifts off.

Note I have marked the string's centre path position on masking tape stuck to the body top, behind the Rosewood bridge to help with alignment.

If you need to remove the bridge base, these Hex top posts have to be unscrewed with a small Hex Allen wrench - the base does NOT just lift off as on the 2014 and earlier guitars!

A brand new USA made Bigsby B6C V type trem - I love this design!

My test offer up. Note that I have put on a masking tape strip to the body top, which I have marked the centre line of the string's path between D and G strings on. 

This is continued on the body end (covered by baseplate in this photo) as a guide.

Before drilling the new base plate mounting holes, ensure that on the body top, near the handle, that the felt pad located on the underside of the new Bigsby there, sits flat to the body.

Also check that the felt pad on the other side opposite is also flat to the body. At this stage, I also check the string alignment path before drilling the holes. Already this looks so much better than the old style unit.

Here's the end result, I think a great improvement, both visually and sonically too.

Looks very functional, this B6 is far better but that's because it costs a lot more!

It has a nicer action when operating the handle.

The 5420T Gretsches equipped with the B6C V type unit and Vanson Roller Bridges.

This simple upgrade really makes them more functional and visually more 'pro series' looking.

The B6C upgrade gives you a vibrato with a nicer action and feel than the one fitted to the guitar as standard. The Roller Tunamatic by Vanson also gives you intonation adjustment and also allows the strings to move on the rollers rather than 'hang up' on the wedge saddles of the standard Tunamatic, which can happen once strings get a bit old.

I have the B6C V type on most of my Japan Gretsch guitars except the Brian Setzer signature 59 style 6120's. I prefer the look visually.

The Vanson is a good bridge as it fits to the posts of the bridge unit and is smooth in operation. Wilkinson also do a version which is higher mass and would also fit. I found some Wilkinson 'Kluson' style 3+3 machine heads which would be a good replacement in time as they have finer gearing and can be greased to prolong their operating life.

I hope that this has been a useful guide.

Guitar reviews for you - Gretsch 5420T Electromatic Fairlane Blue upgrades project

                              The Gretsch Electromatic 5420T 2016 ready to upgrade

The Gretsch Electromatic 5420T 2016 is a great basic guitar but it needs a couple of upgrades to really improve it.

Firstly, the Bigsby B6 does not have enough screws, 2 only are fitted and they are too high up the plate to get the advantage that they should have, so that was going to be changed.

I colour matched this paint from MGTF Trophy Blue and Platinum Silver by eye

Prior to commencing the work, I purchased a Bigsby B6C trem, part no 60138100 from the US, suitable for archtop guitars. I thought it would be different to paint the indented part of the Bigsby casting with Fairlane colour blue, or as close to as I could get to it.

I cleaned the Bigsby to remove any traces of grease with a water and washing up liquid mix and rinsed it, let it thoroughly dry and mixed my paint by eye. I used a plastic mineral water bottle and cut the bottom off, it had convenient dimples in the bottom so I could use this as a palette to mix the paint.

I used MGTF Trophy Blue and mixed in MGF Platinum Silver. These are Acrylics and were in small nail varnish size bottles with a brush in the lid, shake well to mix and then add in paint to colour, I used a sable artist brush carefully to drop in the paint and flowed it out with the brush.

Don't worry about paint overspill when paint filling, it can be removed later. I did about 3 light coats and let it harden for a few hours, too thick and might chip out. I used my fingernails to remove any overpainting after the paint had hardened as the paint won't stick that well to the bare metal, but does to the black base coat already in the casting rebates.

To finish off, I applied a Hycote clear acrylic lacquer from a small touch up bottle again with an artists sable brush. I put on about 3 coats and let it settle for a couple of days to flow out and harden up. It looks like glass now and has sealed the paint in well. The metallic paints need this clear top coat to bring out the shine.

So first off, changing the bridge, which also needed the rosewood base sanding for a better fit to the body shape.

The Tunamatic is ok as a bridge but I prefer a roller type or Space Control bridge, but a Vanson roller bridge fits the tunamatic base fine, lastly a set of Wilkinson Kluson style tuners to replace the cheapo tuners in the future.

Using the curve of an optional saucepan to aid bridge base fit to guitar body

180 grit paper was taped with masking tape to the flat side.

Final sanding can be done on the body, but I did mine by hand and test fitted it until ok.

The first issue to overcome was the bridge base which required sanding to fit the body contour better. There were gaps under it which wasn't helping the tone transfer.

Slave Tunamatic in place, see holes in front of it,

these are where the bridge screws go into them through the bridge base,

they are not plain 'pins' as on the Setzer guitars

Warning Here!!!! The bridge is screwed onto the body, you need a Hex Allen key to undo the posts that the tunamatic locates on!!! These bridges are not 'pinned' as a Setzer guitar one is on plain round bar. So DON'T try and lever off the bridge base, unscrew the threaded stud 'pins' and it will come off ok.

Once the bridge is off I sanded that to profile and reinstalled the base carefully, it now fits a lot better. Then a Vanson Roller Tunamatic was installed onto the base, I did try the Gretsch Electromatic bridge to see if the Vanson saddles would fit into it but they were not compatible so I swapped over the complete unit. The strings line up perfectly so that works for me and the objective of the roller saddles achieved.

Now to the most tricky part, fitting the new B6C V type Bigsby. I did take my time with this as the mounting holes on the base plate would be different to what I had from the old B6.

I did a lot of measuring, checking and re-checking. I found it best to attach the strings to the new B6 and try it in place, using masking tape on the guitar body to which I had pierced the old string holes on the body side through as guides. I marked the place of the old holes to help with locating the new Bigsby which has a different end plate as an aid to where I thought it should go best.

My concern with the new B6C was that the silver Earth tape was going to be very close to the hole for the new strap button screw, so I took the new Bigsby off and drilled a new hole lower down for that strap button screw to go through, rather than risk going into wood with a hole next to it or damaging the Earth tape and causing screening problems.

Once that had been done, I put the strings back on the new Bigsby B6 and tried it in place, using the lines drawn on making tape as a guide, as you will see in the picture below.

I ensured a good 'fan spread' pattern of the strings when placing the new Bigsby in my test measuring so the new Bigsby would work properly in my calculations. I am glad I took the extra trouble, it paid off. I would rather measure it half a dozen times and get the best result than put up with a badly fitted unit!!

Much taping up and marking done, it pays off.

I  lined up the Bigsby so that the mounting pads on the underside of the casting were flat to the body, using my 6120 Hot Rod as a reference point. Essentially, if you do not have a guitar to hand with a B6C V type to hand, there are mounting pads under the casting and I ensured that they were both contacting with the top of the body and then adjusted the base height as I thought best.

I Having established a good angle for the Bigsby, I then drilled the bottom hole on the mounting plate first and screwed the new screw in, having lubricated it with a smear of Vaseline beforehand to ease fitting. I then checked the contact of the pads and then drilled partially the holes for the remaining 2 screws..

Once all looked ok, I removed the Bigsby B6 and removed all the masking tape and cleaned the body up of dust. I remounted the Bigsby B6 and then drilled the holes finally for the top screws on the rear plate and for the strap button and screwed that in.

I found that the standard height spring put the arm of the Bigsby a bit high, so I used the one from the original B6 which is about 5/8" of an inch as opposed to a 1" on the new B6. This brought the arm to the right level for me.

The superb sparkle finish in the Fairlane Blue

I tuned up and test played the guitar and it sounded a lot better, the roller bridge was a good improvement and the look is just so much better than the old style B6.

This just looks so good, like a 6120 Hot Rod! New strings fitted and sounds much better!!

Gretsch 5420T and mid 90's 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod

Last but not least, I also purchased a set of Wilkinson WJ45 EZLock tuners and may fit those in due course.

I tried them for size and they fit the bushes in the headstock ok, but the screw holes are in a different place and new ones will need drilling and the old holes filling with cocktail stick and touching in with the auto paint.

I think these will be better and I have greased them with Silicon Auto grease from a syringe

Anyway, that's the work about done on the guitar, the pickups are good sounding so I will keep those in and fit the Wilkinson tuners in time.

The 5420T is a great guitar and this new version for 2016 is well worth buying. My upgrades have improved mine a whole lot and it has better tone and look as a result. Side by side with the 6120 Hot Rod, it looks almost like a Regent Blue 6120.

A pity tht they did not do the upgrades as here to the base unit and fit Filtertrons to it!!