(This thread is related to this other thread, which starts with the full story of these aftermarket bar bridges.)
troy6120 was the first to receive a Tru-Arc aluminum bridge (and many others, whose patience I appreciate, are waiting) – and he did a great demo of the aluminum vs the stock brass. I'll let him post that.
In the meantime, I'd been working on sound clips of my own. Ultimately, I'd like to post clips of all three basic Gretschpups with the bridges, meaning Dynasonics, Filtertrons, and Hilotrons.
To start with, I worked with the guitar which inspired the whole Tru-Arc thing, the 6120GA with its 9.45" radius fingerboard and 12"-or-greater radius bridge (and TV Classics).
The original problem was that with the mismatch in radius between fingerboard and bridge, strings were consistent in height off the fingerboard. I couldn't adjust for the action I preferred, because inner strings would buzz while outer strings would be higher than I like.
This is, of course, an oft-reported problem.
I FINALLY got the chance to try the 9.5" radius Tru-Arc bridges on the guitar over the weekend. First, I'm pleased to say that the radius-mismatch problem is just gone in a flash. The strings obviously lay over the neck more evenly, feel is consistent across all the strings, and action can go where I want it with predictable results. If I bring it down too far, the outer strings are as likely to buzz as the inner strings, and if I raise it, all the strings remain the same height above the 'board.
The problem goes away so completely that I immediately forgot about it and focused on the tone of the three different metals – brass, stainless, and aluminum.
But first, a pic of the guitar with the stock Gretsch RBB. You're looking for the relative height of all strings off the neck. I'm apparently not enough of a photographer to get everything in focus, but I think it does show the outside strings riding higher than the inside.
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The Sound Clips
First I played a "control" bit with the stock Gretsch rocking bar. Next came the Tru-Arc BR-95 in brass, then the stainless ST-95, and finally the aluminum AL-95. Each was done back-to-back, with no more time between than it took to detune, swap bridges, and retune.
As usual, within my limited range of technique, I've tried to cover a variety of styles and approaches in each of the sound files. And, since the different metals respond with subtle differences to dynamics and attack, I played soft and hard and long enough for my natural slop to exhibit a range of behaviors.
Since there are at least six different "sections" of each demo, that makes each one pretty long – 5 to 6 minutes each. I realize that may make it more difficult to keep track of the sonic differences among the metals, but on the other hand, I think a general impression of each bridge's personality does emerge over the length of each sample.
It's my experience (and that of everyone who has heard these bridges LIVE) that the differences are quite noticeable. I'm not sure they come through as clearly in recordings – though I do hear them, particularly when listening with headphones.
Part of the story may be that somehow the guitar seems to feel different. I can't explain that; it doesn't seem it should. I also think each bridge encourages slightly different physical approaches to the guitar, and may make for different phrasing and even note choices as you interact with the bridge's behavior.
One might lend itself to particular styles of music more than another.
In ANY case, I did find myself addressing and responding to the guitar differently as I played through the three bridges.
I won't characterize my impressions yet; I'd rather wait to see what any of you hear without prejudicing your responses.
Recording protocol: Peavey Classic 30 amp, both clean and dirty channel. (Clean channel around 3, likewise post volume on dirt channel.) No pedals or other signal processing. No settings changed during recording session. Edirol R-09 recorder set upright on floor about 8" from speaker. Files processed through Audacity, each section separately normalized to put maximum volume on peaks at -1.5 dB.
We know I'm a sloppy, inconsistent player, so I'll dispense with excuses and pleas for mercy. A special apology to Duane for what might appear to be butchery of one of his tunes as I tried to demo something like twang. It's not really intended to be a Duane song, but it did drift in that direction, and the closer it gets, the more it demonstrates how fiendishly difficult it is (for me) to play "clean and simple."
The outer strings are now lower, and thus closer to the pickups, and I did not lower polepieces to compensate. I think that's responsible for the somewhat "hotter" sound occasionally apparent with the Tru-Arcs, as the pickup overloads the front end of the amp. When I decide on a bridge and height, I'll adjust accordingly.
So OK, enough preamble.
Stock Gretsch Rocking Bar Bridge (plated brass, we think)
Tru-Arc BR-95 Brass
Tru-Arc ST-95 Stainless
Tru-Arc AL-95 Aluminum
And since I had extra fun with the stainless and aluminum...
More on the Tru-Arc Stainless
More on the Tru-Arc Aluminum
So see what you think. (Hear?)
More pics.
BR-95 Brass
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ST-95 Stainless
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AL-95 Aluminum
