After waiting, watching, hearing about the Gretsch Resos available to the USA, I finally got mine here in Canada mid-Nov/12. What a great sound and a comfortable v-neck! I decided to make mine a little different and copper plated the cover plate and tail piece. Hand-shaped the truss rod cover and the output jack plate from flattened pieces of pipe. Everyone who sees/hears this guitar is mighty impressed. I have had 9 - 10 National resos over the last few years and I have to say that the Boxcar (at the bargain price) rates right up there with a National for sound. I added a thin humbucker, vol pot and output jack for the added versatility of plugging in.

WOW! That copper plating is FLAT OUT GORGEOUS!

Another shot...

One more; what a vintage look - maybe Gretsch could offer diff finish cover plates?

that looks amazing! great job

I love it! That antique copper look really fits the style. Nice work.

WOW! That copper plating is FLAT OUT GORGEOUS!

+100

Absolutely beautiful.

FUG that looks spectacular!

Joe C. amd Mike Lewis need to see this. Maybe add a little engraving to the cover as well... WOW!

I already want one. Now if they came stock copper....

bluesdj, could you entertain us impressed folk with a quick run-down of how you went about plating your boxcar?

Just perfect. Another WOW! here. And, if I may add, I like the Steampunk flavour I see in your work.

I had some previous experience plating a cover plate on an old Regal reso. Cost $30 five years ago...this plating cost $50! Simply took the strings off, unscrewed the tail piece and cover plate then took a trip to the nearest bumper/chrome plater in town. There are MANY finishes available these days. The cover/TP came back black...you have to rub off a certain amount of black to leave behind the 'antique copper' look. I used the synthetic nylon? pot scrubber, steel wool takes it off too fast. Go too far and you end up with a shiny copper look (not mirror, mind you); but then you can't get the black back. I sprayed it with a satin clear coat after deciding it was 'antique' enough. If you don't spray the finish, it will show finger prints; any kind of oil residue shows up and it looks plain messy after a while.

That's looks down right sexy! Very well done, very tasteful!

Wow! That is the best. A little imagination and a few dollars go a long way in creating something unique. (FMIC take note.)

Oh man oh man!

How does the humbucker sound different on a resonator vs. a regular steel string acoustic? Is there that much a difference in the electrified sound?

I think that whenever you amplify a reso with a neck pickup you lose some of the cone sound and get a deeper sound out of the guitar. The highs lose some of the edge, a bit mellower. Tuned down to 'D' becomes more powerful with the bucker.

That is absolutely beautiful.

Love the creative mods. Fandamtastic!

Looks great.

Will the finish turn green after a while, or does the satin finish keep it from oxidizing?

Maybe if this guitar lived on the West Coast...it might turn green, but should stay copper with the clear coat.

Thanks for the pos comments everyone!

I should buy a couple of dozen cover plates and do a bulk order...

The clear coat should keep it from turning green. When I was younger (way younger), I used to work in a plating shop. We used to copper and brass plate a lot of stuff. I still have one of those 5 gal milk cans that I copper plated (and clear coated) and I brass plated one of those railroad type oil lanterns.

That cover plate looks fantastic! It fits the aesthetic of the reso perfectly. Good to hear the Gretsch compares favorably to your Nationals. Is that a stock tailpiece?

Stock tail piece with a Delta Airlines pin added for detail.