Man... I'd blame cheap machining processes for that rattle. The bar is set pretty low on a bunch of hardware out there. I'm glad you found a simple fix.
Exactly as you said: it took a while for me to find out where the rattle sound comes from. When I got it, I found this video! Thank you for sharing your solution.
I've always considered that rattle my "acoustic overdrive". My 5120 sounds better unplugged, lol. Your video has convinced me to finally upgrade the bridge after 14years👍
THANKS! The noise on my G string was driving me nuts. After seeing your video, I lifted the string off the saddle with my finger, and low and behold it was loose on the screw. I did not take off all the strings as you did, I just lifted each string, one at a time, and moved it to the side, letting it rest on the bridge to check each saddle. Fortunately, all were snug except the G. I am guessing if you use the Bixby a lot, it can cause the threads of the saddles to wallow out. Quick fix: Tune the string, then adjust the saddle till the intonation is perfect, move the string to the side of the saddle, back off the screw 2 or 3 turns, counting each half turn, put a tiny drop of Red Loctite on the screw, then screw the saddle back in place, to its intonated position.
This video is great! It helped me a lot with rattle on my brand new Fender Powercaster. I cut a spring from a ballpoint pen in half and I used both parts on the 2nd and 3rd string. Problem solved! :)
Sweet Gretsch! Every time I see one, I think of Brian seltzer & Eddie Cochran. Some good time rock n roll played on those guitars. Brilliance in the bridge repair, but...that is to be expected on this channel. That retaining nut seemed like an enormous pain in the ass. Good times, Good video
I have this same guitar, & I never noticed there were no saddle springs in the bridge. Not real fond of the "floating bridge" either, but haven't had any problems. Did have to replace the cheap tuners & the cheap plastic nut, as well as install a jackplate, because it didn't have one & there were stress cracks forming around the Jack. After some cosmetic upgrades now it's awesome. Except for some chinsy hardware, these Korean made Gretsches are great guitars
This guitar has so many points for buzzing lol, but I love it...Mine was the pickup screws being loose. Had to pull off the pickguard and just tighten some screws around the pickups.
I think that is what they call a "Rocking Bar Bridge" I believe it is supposed to permit slight movement. The rattle is a bad by product. "Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge The Adjusto-Matic bridge offers great tone and precise intonation with its six individually adjustable string saddles. When used with a Bigsby vibrato, the bridge slightly "rocks" with the movement of the strings- reducing friction and adding tuning stability."
Hey Nelson - I remembered this video earlier today when I had exactly the same issue on an old LP copy bridge. I needed to flip the E, B & G saddles anyway but broke the circlip/retainer on a couple of them. I ended up fixing all six of the saddles per your method and it's much better than it was before, no rattles whatsoever and perfect intonation. The spring tension is enough to be able to get rid of the retaining clips anyway. Cheers man, I hope you're feeling better!
Mine had this issue. I did the intonation and then I put one drop of glue on each of the screws, problem solved and I can get the glue off with ease if need be. I had a hell of a time figuring out it was the saddles until I saw the saddle move. Def want to get a different bridge, but for now the problem is solved.
Oh yeah I had a question about the bridge placement. I see you use tape to mark where it was, but what happens if you hadnt ? How to you make sure the bridge is back exactly where it was ?
What I use is small diam. silicon tube and no springs. You can cut it nicely on any lenght with a Stanley knife or razor blade and and there is no more rattling problem at all. Good luck. This wil work on any Rocker style bridge.
Great video ! I was getting a similar rattle from my G5622t but the culprit turned out to be vibrations from a misaligned pick guard LOL what do you recommend for removing swirl marks from a black gretcsh g5622t ?
Now, these saddles are always being pressed down pretty hard by the strings. If the strings are not keeping the saddles immobilized, should the equivalent of the spring out of a ballpoint pen do the trick? It should seem suspicious to anybody that, in order to diagnose the rattle, he removes the bridge from the guitar, which removes the pressure exerted by the strings on the saddles and then discovers that, with the pressure of the strings removed, the saddles will rattle in the bridge (uh, DUH!). It just seems suspicious to me. Now, look to the next comment for a more likely possibility.
I just bought my first Gretsch and I don't understand the whole rocking bar bridge thing. Why not just fasten the bridge to the body like every other guitar and be done with it?
When somebody complains about buzzing on a Gretsch hollowbody guitar, the first question should be, "Have you changed the strings?" These guitars come from the factory with a set of medium gauge strings (.011 - .049), but when a novice or inexperienced player goes to install the first change of strings, they are likely to come back with a set 1046 (i.e. standard gauge)strings or (heaven forbid) even a set of 0942 strings. The problem with that is the neck is set up at the factory to balance the tension of a set of 1149 strings. When the player substitutes a lighter gauge set of strings, the strings won't balance the tension of the neck and the neck will develop a slight backbow. In that case, when the guitar is fretted on the low frets, the strings will buzz against the higher frets. The solution is to loosen the tension on the neck adjustment rod, but, in some cases, there won't be enough adjustment available to readjust to the reduced string tension. If the buzz cannot be adjusted out by loosening the neck adjustment, the solution is to put a heavier set of strings on the guitar.
thanks Maxx for your comment. I got a 2020 g5422t and if I'm not mistaken it comes with 12 so and I play nines and even when it came I had to adjust the truss rod to get some relief out of it it was actually backbone and the soldado I'm wondering what's going to happen when I put lines on it but the truth is I got it from Guitar Center and I told me that they will get it playing with whatever gauge I want on ityeah the problem is with the coronavirus that's going on now the store was closed until further notice so I'm going to have to do some work on it myself and it's the first time I ever did any work on an electric guitar and I'm blind wasn't always blind but I am now but I got to playing OK which amazed me to be honest with you anyway thanks again and I know you are Rex but I'm using speech to text and it just does what it wants to so keep safe and thanks again sincerely yours, Bob the blind bedroom guitarist
These bridges should've been made with springs. I have three gretsch's with these crappy bridges and they all rattled. My solution was to drop a couple drops of medium C/a (super glue) on the threads. Now no rattle at all on any of them. Yours is a Good fix tho
I wax potted my Electromatic bridge to fix the rattle. I just heated up some paraffin, dipped it in and the wiped the extra off. Works great, until i can upgrade the bridge.
Right, these G5120s have a floating bridge that is not secured to the body. Some people like to have them "pinned" to the body once they find the right position, but they are not secured as they come from the factory.
I own one of these about 6years now. I upgraded the Tuners and the Bridge with Roller Saddles ...My high E jumps out of the saddles with any pressure.... any one else having these issues
1. А new roller bridge with .12 gage strings - killer tone 2. Old bridge, cut little pieces off of a pen spring, put screws thru them. Enjoy, thank me later 8-)
Good eyes:-) Yes, it allowed me to bring that saddle forward a bit in the final setup. Part of the problem was that the screw wasn't at all engaged in to the threads on the saddle, so I flipped it around and it allowed me to bring it forward enough to engage and intonate properly:-)
Gretsch Electromatic Adjust o matic bridge is crap. You can fix them with Wax on the screws but heck with that just change it out for some kind of Rocking bar bridge and be done with it.
Throw that bridge in the bin I'm getting a different one.use your bigsby and watch your whole bridge.goes out of tune for fun .nut needs cutting I think .work in progress.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Mamushi (Remix) [feat. TWICE] [Official Audio]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5c0_u9PsrsQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Man... I'd blame cheap machining processes for that rattle. The bar is set pretty low on a bunch of hardware out there. I'm glad you found a simple fix.
Exactly as you said: it took a while for me to find out where the rattle sound comes from. When I got it, I found this video! Thank you for sharing your solution.
I've always considered that rattle my "acoustic overdrive". My 5120 sounds better unplugged, lol. Your video has convinced me to finally upgrade the bridge after 14years👍
THANKS! The noise on my G string was driving me nuts. After seeing your video, I lifted the string off the saddle with my finger, and low and behold it was loose on the screw. I did not take off all the strings as you did, I just lifted each string, one at a time, and moved it to the side, letting it rest on the bridge to check each saddle. Fortunately, all were snug except the G. I am guessing if you use the Bixby a lot, it can cause the threads of the saddles to wallow out. Quick fix: Tune the string, then adjust the saddle till the intonation is perfect, move the string to the side of the saddle, back off the screw 2 or 3 turns, counting each half turn, put a tiny drop of Red Loctite on the screw, then screw the saddle back in place, to its intonated position.
Took the guitar back to where I bought it and they installed springs on the bridge. They knew it was an issue.
Interesting... I just bought one.. same issue.. thinking I should take it back and see what they say ..
This video is great! It helped me a lot with rattle on my brand new Fender Powercaster. I cut a spring from a ballpoint pen in half and I used both parts on the 2nd and 3rd string. Problem solved! :)
Nice fix. Good idea to search the net for common problems.
Sweet Gretsch! Every time I see one, I think of Brian seltzer & Eddie Cochran. Some good time rock n roll played on those guitars. Brilliance in the bridge repair, but...that is to be expected on this channel. That retaining nut seemed like an enormous pain in the ass. Good times, Good video
yep i had the exact same issue on my lp. fixed it with a lil clear nail varnish. sorted!
I have this same guitar, & I never noticed there were no saddle springs in the bridge. Not real fond of the "floating bridge" either, but haven't had any problems. Did have to replace the cheap tuners & the cheap plastic nut, as well as install a jackplate, because it didn't have one & there were stress cracks forming around the Jack. After some cosmetic upgrades now it's awesome. Except for some chinsy hardware, these Korean made Gretsches are great guitars
This guitar has so many points for buzzing lol, but I love it...Mine was the pickup screws being loose. Had to pull off the pickguard and just tighten some screws around the pickups.
I think that is what they call a "Rocking Bar Bridge" I believe it is supposed to permit slight movement. The rattle is a bad by product. "Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge
The Adjusto-Matic bridge offers great tone and precise intonation with its six individually adjustable string saddles. When used with a Bigsby vibrato, the bridge slightly "rocks" with the movement of the strings- reducing friction and adding tuning stability."
Hey Nelson - I remembered this video earlier today when I had exactly the same issue on an old LP copy bridge. I needed to flip the E, B & G saddles anyway but broke the circlip/retainer on a couple of them. I ended up fixing all six of the saddles per your method and it's much better than it was before, no rattles whatsoever and perfect intonation. The spring tension is enough to be able to get rid of the retaining clips anyway. Cheers man, I hope you're feeling better!
I have the same problem. Hopeing to fix it tomorrow!
Where the hell are all the spring clips?
How do you mean? This is honestly my first attempt at a repair like this. I think I got lucky;-)
Mine had this issue. I did the intonation and then I put one drop of glue on each of the screws, problem solved and I can get the glue off with ease if need be. I had a hell of a time figuring out it was the saddles until I saw the saddle move. Def want to get a different bridge, but for now the problem is solved.
Oh yeah I had a question about the bridge placement. I see you use tape to mark where it was, but what happens if you hadnt ? How to you make sure the bridge is back exactly where it was ?
What I use is small diam. silicon tube and no springs. You can cut it nicely on any lenght with a Stanley knife or razor blade and and there is no more rattling problem at all. Good luck. This wil work on any Rocker style bridge.
Great video ! I was getting a similar rattle from my G5622t but the culprit turned out to be vibrations from a misaligned pick guard LOL
what do you recommend for removing swirl marks from a black gretcsh g5622t ?
You can use thread lock what we use for models
Tearing my new Gretsch apart today to find the rattle. I'll start with the pick guard and go from there.
I put a roller bridge on mine for like $30. Fixed the rattle and stays in tune better
Mine came new with that rattle. I did the same thing you did. Worked great.
Now, these saddles are always being pressed down pretty hard by the strings. If the strings are not keeping the saddles immobilized, should the equivalent of the spring out of a ballpoint pen do the trick? It should seem suspicious to anybody that, in order to diagnose the rattle, he removes the bridge from the guitar, which removes the pressure exerted by the strings on the saddles and then discovers that, with the pressure of the strings removed, the saddles will rattle in the bridge (uh, DUH!). It just seems suspicious to me. Now, look to the next comment for a more likely possibility.
Good analysis and fix.
Thanks, I just my first Gretsch and it has that rattle
I just bought my first Gretsch and I don't understand the whole rocking bar bridge thing. Why not just fasten the bridge to the body like every other guitar and be done with it?
Hmm, I just got a brandy new Gretsch G5420T and it has that problem. I ordered a rolling bridge today. I might try that spring trick.
Did the rolling bridge fix it ? Seems like an easy fix then fluffing around with each screw.
@@mcquoidd6917 ....Yeah, mostly it did. Tunings are more stable too.
When somebody complains about buzzing on a Gretsch hollowbody guitar, the first question should be, "Have you changed the strings?" These guitars come from the factory with a set of medium gauge strings (.011 - .049), but when a novice or inexperienced player goes to install the first change of strings, they are likely to come back with a set 1046 (i.e. standard gauge)strings or (heaven forbid) even a set of 0942 strings. The problem with that is the neck is set up at the factory to balance the tension of a set of 1149 strings. When the player substitutes a lighter gauge set of strings, the strings won't balance the tension of the neck and the neck will develop a slight backbow. In that case, when the guitar is fretted on the low frets, the strings will buzz against the higher frets. The solution is to loosen the tension on the neck adjustment rod, but, in some cases, there won't be enough adjustment available to readjust to the reduced string tension. If the buzz cannot be adjusted out by loosening the neck adjustment, the solution is to put a heavier set of strings on the guitar.
thanks Maxx for your comment. I got a 2020 g5422t and if I'm not mistaken it comes with 12 so and I play nines and even when it came I had to adjust the truss rod to get some relief out of it it was actually backbone and the soldado I'm wondering what's going to happen when I put lines on it but the truth is I got it from Guitar Center and I told me that they will get it playing with whatever gauge I want on ityeah the problem is with the coronavirus that's going on now the store was closed until further notice so I'm going to have to do some work on it myself and it's the first time I ever did any work on an electric guitar and I'm blind wasn't always blind but I am now but I got to playing OK which amazed me to be honest with you anyway thanks again and I know you are Rex but I'm using speech to text and it just does what it wants to so keep safe and thanks again sincerely yours, Bob the blind bedroom guitarist
@@bobtheblindbedroomguitaris8742 god bless you Bob, hope youre enjoying the guitar
These bridges should've been made with springs. I have three gretsch's with these crappy bridges and they all rattled. My solution was to drop a couple drops of medium C/a (super glue) on the threads. Now no rattle at all on any of them.
Yours is a Good fix tho
Good work!
I placed a ABM2400C bridge on my Gretsch G5420T and G5422T. Not very cheap, but very good quality!
Looks great!
I wax potted my Electromatic bridge to fix the rattle. I just heated up some paraffin, dipped it in and the wiped the extra off.
Works great, until i can upgrade the bridge.
How is the bridge secured to the body?
No glue? It just slides on and off?
Right, these G5120s have a floating bridge that is not secured to the body. Some people like to have them "pinned" to the body once they find the right position, but they are not secured as they come from the factory.
I had same problem with an SG. So i stuffed it with bluetak !
Nice fix 😎
I have same problem with my late 60's Guild Starfire IV
Was really hoping you'd plug her in and rip some Malcolm Young riffs. Good job though mate.
What did you do with the lighter fluid?
How did you get the screw out!!! I'm going nuts. :)
What's the lighter fluid for?
whats the thing he played at the end
I own one of these about 6years now. I upgraded the Tuners and the Bridge with Roller Saddles ...My high E jumps out of the saddles with any pressure.... any one else having these issues
no such problem with the Yamaha you gave Richard so much grief about!
I had an earlier one of these models from 2008. It sucked.
1. А new roller bridge with .12 gage strings - killer tone
2. Old bridge, cut little pieces off of a pen spring, put screws thru them.
Enjoy, thank me later 8-)
Well it's been 3 years ' did anybody thank you?
I also see nobody gave you a 👍.
Do you want to talk about that?
same problem i have on a new g5622t
I hate stringing up those bridges, people think that floyd roses are hard, huh
Hey that's good to know
Thanks 👍🇦🇺👍🇦🇺👍
is it my eyes, looks like the saddle was flipped 180 degree too,,,,,,,
Good eyes:-) Yes, it allowed me to bring that saddle forward a bit in the final setup. Part of the problem was that the screw wasn't at all engaged in to the threads on the saddle, so I flipped it around and it allowed me to bring it forward enough to engage and intonate properly:-)
Thats almost the exact same guitar i'm gonna get
5120 are Great Guitars. Look Great, most play real Nice, and you don't have to be afraid of a nick in the Body. Love mine.
Gretsch guitars have to be fitted with a roller bridge
Gretsch Electromatic Adjust o matic bridge is crap. You can fix them with Wax on the screws but heck with that just change it out for some kind of Rocking bar bridge and be done with it.
Throw that bridge in the bin I'm getting a different one.use your bigsby and watch your whole bridge.goes out of tune for fun .nut needs cutting I think .work in progress.
Guy sounds like Bukowski.
Use double sided tape to hold down he bridge.
Or you could just move the bridge and adjust the screws to compensate
the new bridges on the 5420 are pinned, though
il never buy another gretsch, absolute pain, u shouldn't be having to doanything like this to a new guitar
All you had to do was shift the bridge a little so that the saddle would be a little further up on the threads and the re-intonate the guitar 🤦🏻♂️.
Ink pen springs
Just put a couple drops of c/a glue on the threads. It will stop the screw from loosening.
My buddy had one of these and it was a piece of trash. looks cool but that's about it