10/02/2025
It took many deliberations, overcoming a few obstacles, but here it is! In all of its glory! My treasure-trove, a Collings 470JL by with a vintage Gretsch tailpiece! I bought this guitar on the 20th of June 2023 and tho I found it near perfect from the start I have never been a fan of Bigsbys and I can’t say much have changed since then 🙈The practicality of this solution is…arguable… Keeping it in tune, cumbersome string changes, fitting it in soft cases etc. the list piles up pretty quickly and then there is „THE advantage” of it! You can wiggle the sh*t out of that handle for a vibrato effect! I did that.. like 5 times, or was it 3? It had to go one way or another.
But considering the price tag on these things these days, I really didn’t want to drill any extra holes into this porsche of a guitar so I had to find a workaround. I decided to ask to make me a custom tailpiece based on the one that was made for the precursor of this guitar (a Gretsch Duo Jet). I ordered a Gretsch tailpiece from the USA, it took them a whooping 2 months to deliver! (And they say ordering stuff from China sucks ;p) Sometime near January I finally had the tailpiece in my hands! Then I was out of luck and every time I tried to meet with Michał he was sick or busy. Nothing like universe telling you to abandon the project, right? But tis! was the point of no return! Come February, We met and instead of copying the tailpiece. We simply decided to make new holes in the existing gretsch tailpiece and fix it right onto the guitar! The effect is stunning; both visually and sonically. I had my doubts about the resonance and the tone changing. Don’t get me wrong, it DID change! But at least to my taste; for the better! Although I would describe it as less spunky, it grew rich in overtones information. It is tight and shimmery and I love the strength with which it resonates. You could quite literally, feel it with your whole body. It’s to die for! Period! Not coming back. No regrets. Big thanks to my mate for showing me the path! You were the first to do it, but dare I say I was not the last!
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