Pickup Adjustment; Floating Bridge Adjustment - Gretsch Guitar User Manual

Depending on your technique or style of
play, high action can sometimes be difficult to
play, and low action may result in string buzz.
Most electric guitars have height adjustable
bridges with adjustable saddles that allow
you to easily tailor the action to your needs.
On a flat-top or classical guitar, adjustment
is a little more involved. To lower the action,
the bridge saddle must be removed, cut
down to the appropriate height and then re-
installed. To raise the action, the saddle must
be removed and replaced by a new, higher
saddle.
Please note: These types of action
adjustments on acoustic guitars, should
be performed only by an experienced and
qualified repairman.
A comprehensive guitar setup guide, with
detailed setup specifications, is available on
the F.M.I.C. Customer Service website at
www.mrgearhead.com.

Pickup Adjustment

Each Hilo'Tron
TM
of 6 adjustable screw pole-pieces. Each
Filter'Tron head has two sets of
TM
6 adjustable screw pole-pieces. Each
DynaSonic head has 6 alnico pole-pieces
TM
with separate height adjustment screws. The
purpose of these adjusting screws is to enable
the player to adjust the tonal balance of their
guitar to their own personal taste. (Note: The
factory has preset the adjustment screws to
give the best over-all performance for the
majority of guitarists.) However, there are
players who require a specific type of balance
to fit their individual style of playing. By
raising or lowering the pole-pieces with a
small screwdriver, the volume of each string
can be increased or decreased to suit your
particular needs.
CAUTION: When raising the pole-pieces,
make sure that you leave enough clearance
for the string to vibrate freely. Do not let the
screw or pole-piece touch the string.
head has one set

Floating Bridge Adjustment

Gretsch guitars use a variety of "floating"
®
bridges including, the compensated
Synchromatic bridge, the fully adjustable
bridge, the original straight bar-bridge, the
space control bridge, the original roller bridge
and the compensated Bigsby
with both fixed and vibrato tailpieces.
A floating bridge typically has an arched
wooden or aluminum base that is held in
its proper position on the instrument by
the downward pressure of the strings. If
the bridge is bumped or moved during re-
stringing, the intonation will no longer be
true.
To reset the intonation adjustment, check
both the 12 fret harmonic and the stopped
th
12 fret tuning of both the high and low E-
th
strings, and adjust as follows:
If the pitch of the note at the 12
sharp, relative to the pitch of the harmonic,
lightly tap the foot of the bridge to move
it back toward the tailpiece until the two
pitches agree.
If the pitch of the note at the 12
flat relative to the pitch of harmonic, lightly
tap the foot of the bridge to move it forward
toward the neck until the two pitches agree.
When the harmonic and 12
agree on both the E-strings of a non-
adjustable floating bridge, the instrument is
properly intonated.
To fine-tune the fully adjustable bridges,
adjust each saddle forward or back with the
individual intonation screws while checking
the tuning of the harmonic against the 12
fret pitch, per the normal intonation process.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When re-stringing
a guitar with a floating bridge, change the
strings one at a time. Do not remove all of
the strings at the same time, as the bridge
is held into its proper position by the
downward pressure of the strings.
bridge, coupled
®
fret is
th
fret is
th
fret pitches
th
th
9