THE AGEING PROCESS
Relicing or refinishing might be a step too far for most of us, but here are some simple ways to make your brand-new cheapie look older – quickly
Aside from what it’s actually made of, the big difference between our Gretsch and any evocative old instrument is its finish and condition. Keen modders might consider stripping the polyester finish and getting a nice respray in the sort of nitro that’ll crack and craze. All good. Personally, I chose to just knock off the high-gloss sheen that shouts, ‘Hey! I’m a new mass-produced guitar.’ After stripping and removing all the parts, I simply cut back the finish to a matt look with 600-grit wet and dry paper (see top right) lightly dampened with a little water and a small squirt of washing-up liquid. It doesn’t take long, but you need to make sure there are no glossy areas left after wiping dry with a clean cloth. Repeat this process with 800grit and finally 1000- or 1200-grit. The finish should now feel super smooth. You can then hand-polish it with a burnishing cream or scratch remover (see middle right) – add lots of elbow grease – and finally a rub with a good guitar polish. Now, that oh-so-new sheen is replaced not with a relic, but a slightly dulled gloss that looks classier to me, like it’s been used and is altogether less mass-produced. Achieving the same results with the hardware is something you may or may not want to do. Again, I’m not looking for wear, just to knock off the nickel-plate’s box-fresh gloss. There are plenty of ways to age hardware, but, personally, I use ferric chloride (etching fluid) diluted one-to-one with water. Just mix up a little in a small jam jar – the ones you get at a hotel breakfast with your jam in are perfect. Then, using a cotton bud, dab on the fluid and work it over the hardware; you’ll see it go dull after a few seconds. Dip it immediately into a larger jar of water, then let dry (see bottom right). That’s it, really. If you want a little more ageing, or you’ve missed a bit, just repeat the process. Remember: nickel-plating isn’t all the same. Some age more quickly. Personally, I don’t like to drop the whole part of a tuner, for example, into the fluid. Doing it in the described fashion takes a little longer but is more controllable and, I think, more realistic to the wear you see on naturally aged nickel-plating. Obviously, safety first: wear plastic gloves and protective eyewear, and when you’re done flush all your jam jars with lots of water, rinse those cotton-buds and dispose.
taken back to a rather generic hot ’bucker sound, when I’m imagining something with a more clarity and character. But it’s worth spending time with what you have – and inspired by Cream T’s Original Banger [6], co-designed with Billy F Gibbons, I experiment with removing the screw poles – the lower three of the top coil, and the top three on the lower coil nearest the bridge [7]. For Gretsch tweakers, this is a common mod, and it certainly gives the Broad’Tron a little more ‘single coil’ and Gretsch-y bite and seems to pull back the output a little. To lessen the effect, instead of removing the poles you can screw them down into the pickup. It’s close, but then I make a couple of mistakes…
First, I plug in the loaned ’72 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe (see review page 22) with its vibey bridge humbucker voicing and realise I have a way to go. Second, I inherited a Gibson Patent Number stickered T-top some years ago that I often use as a reference. Again, like those mini-humbuckers it has a low output (mine measures 7.25kohms; the Deluxe’s bridge is 6.72k) and is unpotted.
I go through The Mod Squad’s bits box, measuring various ’buckers, and find a ’bucker with a DCR of 7.5kohms and a chrome cover. While this is T-top in style, it looks strange on our aged Gretsch. Plus chrome, unlike nickel, is harder to age. Removing the cover, the pickup is potted. But on this platform, we’re in the right ballpark. No, it’s not a T-top – it sounds brighter than my (covered) reference with less midrange character – but it’s a start, particularly with the old-style circuit, which gives a lot of variation so long as you’re happy to use your volume and tone. But with deadlines to meet, it’ll have to do! An old-school Gretsch Junior in progress? Definitely.
“Instead of removing the poles you can screw them down into the pickup. It’s close, but then I make a couple of mistakes…”
That should give you something to think about till our next issue.
In the meantime, if you have any modding questions, or suggestions, drop us a line – The Mod Squad.