Wire handle adjustment

[Tom Workman]

Hi, all...
This subject has no doubt been discussed before but, here is my question; No matter how I adjust my wire bigsby handle on my Gretsch Nashville Classic, I can't get it up high enough to suit me without the bend in it hitting the pick-guard. I noticed when I changed strings that there is a white plastic washer/spacer in the base of it. Would adding one of those to the top of the coil spring do the trick or is simply bending the handle the way to go? I would think that would weaken it and possibly crack the gold plating. I'm a little reluctant to do that but, for those of you who have dealt with this, please chime in. Thanks, Tom W.

[Norm]

The gretschpages guys usually suggest putting a penny in the socket to see if that changes the angle enough.

Paul on bending the handle:

"...
Speaking of those handles, if you get one for yourself you might need to bend it to suit your own hand and style because for some reason they aren’t bending the handles far enough . What happened was when Gretsch bought Bigsby some of the operations were moved to Korea and they started bending them wrong right from the start. I wasn’t connected with Gretsch at that time and I guess no one else no-ticed the error. The handle is bent the same as the old ones except the knob end. It’s not parallel to the first string. I’ve worked to get that changed since the Nashville Classic came into being. They finally got it right in early 2005.
One thing about the new handles I like better than the old ones is that the knob unscrews so I could bend the end up a little which is the way I preferred. What I use is an old ratchet wrench I have that has a hole in the end of the handle. The hole just fits that quarter-inch rod to allow some leverage so I could bend the metal. If you have to bend the handle at the knobbed tip remember that the knob unscrews. Take the tip off so’s not to break it at the threads. Bend the end around straight and bend it up a little… then bend the handle back where the first bend is. You can make it higher or lower according to your needs.
Another thing you can use is a piece of oak plank cut about 2” wide and 7 or 8” long. It needs to be about one inch thick. Drill a hole in one end a little bigger than the handle and you can bend it with that. Bend in small increments. A little goes a long way. You might want to warm the handle up some by holding it under your arm so it’s easier on the gold plating. If the metal is too cold the plating could flake. Of course you have to take the handle off the guitar to do all this.
.."
Paul Yandell, cgp

[Tom Workman]

Thanks, Norm. I think I'll try the penny/spacer thing first and see what happens. -Tom W.

[Norm]

rotating the rod in the holder should give you a lot of leeway but I suppose you've been there, done that