I finally had some time to sit down and work on my first Gretsch modding project. I successfully routed the pickup cavity for the bridge pickup and almost finished routing the neck pickup (battery on the wireless router died). Once I have this wrapped up it will be decision time. I had been planning on installing a tone switch and wiring it like a 6120, but have been thinking about leaving that off and going with the tone knob. If anyone has any advice or opinions as to what is a better option I'd like to hear your opinions. I will also be putting a fresh coat of paint on it. I have been thinking about doing a pink & black color scheme, but am still weighing over a couple different options. I would also like some tips as far as adding faux binding to the F holes. I'll keep posting updates and pictures as this project progresses.

Unless you're going for the little girl's bicycle look I personally I would go more "salmon" than pink. Think ceramic tile in many 50's bathrooms, or a '55 Chevy. As for the faux binding, when I did mine I used oil based paint in an almond color. Apply it with an artist's paintbrush and a steady hand, and keep a rag dampened with thinner handy.

A tone knob vs. a switch? If you use the tone knob a lot, you may feel limited by the switch as you will only have 3 tone choices vs. the full sweep available with a tone knob.

If you are going to re-paint the guitar, why not try adding real binding to the F holes?

I'm planning on shell pink like a 50's strat. Something really light, give it a cool 50's vibe. I'm not big on adjusting the tone knob when playing, but I have a tone selector that came with the pick ups I bought so I was thinking about putting it on just to make it into more of a 6120. Most of the mods I've seen done have the fake binding. I wouldn't be opposed to doing an actual binding except for that I'm completely ignorant of how to go about doing it.

Finished routing for the pick ups. Now it's time to start painting.

and now ???