BigAlTheBird
Guest
I'll try to keep this short. This is going on my Green Buddy, in my quest to get all 50's parts (first the Bigsby, now this, then tuners, etc.).
Backstory:
I've always loved the Gretsch Melita Bridge. Designed in the early 50's by Johnny Melita. It was the first fully adjustable (intonable) bridge, the predecessor to the Tune-O-Matic Gibson started using a little later. Originals from the 50's are hard to come by, and expensive to boot. Back in the 80's, you could get them all day long for $50. Now, they can sell for as much as $500 for one in perfect shape, but the market value seems to hover around $350 for one in decent shape. The sticking point is that the base (which is often damaged) is plastic to form to the curvature of the body it's on. So it breaks, and many Melitas from the 50's no longer have the original base. Also, Gretsch decided to start writing "Gretsch" in the middle instead of "Melita."
So I found this one on eBay, in good shape but blackened from years of use. The woman had it listed at BIN $300, starting bid $250. I didn't want to pay that, so I sent her an e-mail saying "I'll send you $__ right now if you sell it to me" (I didn't include the amount, because it's ridiculously low). She replied no. 2 weeks later, on her third relist, I sent another one. Basically I said, "I'll pay your paypal fees, and you won't need to pay eBay fees. This is the last time I'll contact you, I don't want to bother you. If you want it, it's yours, if not, it's been a pleasure talking to you and good luck." 5 days later, I get an e-mail: "take the dam* thing, it's yours. I need to pay my insurance." So, I now owned a 1955 Melita bridge!
I threw in an extra $15 on what we agreed on, because I wanted to be fair(er).
So I got it in while I was in LA for Thanksgiving. Been cleaning it since I got home yesterday with a strict regimen of Distilled and Balsamic Vinegar, Clorox, toothbrushes, and 00 & 000 grade steel wool. Took about 5 hours of work I'd say. And I'm extremely proud of how it came out. Could be the best thing I've ever done. I could list this realistically for $450 on eBay, and it'd sell. I'm pretty stoked! Anyways, here's the pictures. My Green Buddy is one lucky ass guitar! :laughing:
eBay Pictures: - Notice how black the parts are? I didn't know if it was cleanable or not.
Before I cleaned it: - Picture quality is lower than it should have been, didn't use tripod and I used flash :smack:
While I was cleaning it: - Check out the grime and stuff reacting with the acid in the first few pics, created a nice sludgy/smoky/cloudy mixture at the top of the vinegar. Then with the steel wool, the black stuff came off instantly.
After cleaning it, here are all 22 parts drying off (beautiful picture, I think):
And here she is, all put together. This isn't gold, it's chrome. It just looks gold from the lighting. Again, just a beautiful piece of engineering:
Backstory:
I've always loved the Gretsch Melita Bridge. Designed in the early 50's by Johnny Melita. It was the first fully adjustable (intonable) bridge, the predecessor to the Tune-O-Matic Gibson started using a little later. Originals from the 50's are hard to come by, and expensive to boot. Back in the 80's, you could get them all day long for $50. Now, they can sell for as much as $500 for one in perfect shape, but the market value seems to hover around $350 for one in decent shape. The sticking point is that the base (which is often damaged) is plastic to form to the curvature of the body it's on. So it breaks, and many Melitas from the 50's no longer have the original base. Also, Gretsch decided to start writing "Gretsch" in the middle instead of "Melita."
So I found this one on eBay, in good shape but blackened from years of use. The woman had it listed at BIN $300, starting bid $250. I didn't want to pay that, so I sent her an e-mail saying "I'll send you $__ right now if you sell it to me" (I didn't include the amount, because it's ridiculously low). She replied no. 2 weeks later, on her third relist, I sent another one. Basically I said, "I'll pay your paypal fees, and you won't need to pay eBay fees. This is the last time I'll contact you, I don't want to bother you. If you want it, it's yours, if not, it's been a pleasure talking to you and good luck." 5 days later, I get an e-mail: "take the dam* thing, it's yours. I need to pay my insurance." So, I now owned a 1955 Melita bridge!
I threw in an extra $15 on what we agreed on, because I wanted to be fair(er).So I got it in while I was in LA for Thanksgiving. Been cleaning it since I got home yesterday with a strict regimen of Distilled and Balsamic Vinegar, Clorox, toothbrushes, and 00 & 000 grade steel wool. Took about 5 hours of work I'd say. And I'm extremely proud of how it came out. Could be the best thing I've ever done. I could list this realistically for $450 on eBay, and it'd sell. I'm pretty stoked! Anyways, here's the pictures. My Green Buddy is one lucky ass guitar! :laughing:
eBay Pictures: - Notice how black the parts are? I didn't know if it was cleanable or not.
Before I cleaned it: - Picture quality is lower than it should have been, didn't use tripod and I used flash :smack:
While I was cleaning it: - Check out the grime and stuff reacting with the acid in the first few pics, created a nice sludgy/smoky/cloudy mixture at the top of the vinegar. Then with the steel wool, the black stuff came off instantly.
After cleaning it, here are all 22 parts drying off (beautiful picture, I think):
And here she is, all put together. This isn't gold, it's chrome. It just looks gold from the lighting. Again, just a beautiful piece of engineering:
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