Bracing
Parallel Bracing
Parallel Bracing is the original bracing used by Gretsch in the early to mid ‘50s, and therefore can be found in our Vintage Select guitars and signature models based on that era. The arched top of the guitar is simply supported by two struts that run the length of the guitar, leaving the body of the guitar entirely hollow. The large amount of air moving, and the independently vibrating top and back of the guitar body, produce a huge, complex and resonant tonality that is unique to fully Hollow Body guitars.
Trestle Bracing
Originally introduced in 1958, then refined in 1959, Trestle Bracing can be found in many of our Hollow Body guitars in the Vintage Select series, as well as the Brian Setzer and Duane Eddy Signature models. This bracing system utilises two bridge-shaped struts that spans the length of the top of the guitar and connects to the back of the guitar via the four ‘feet’, resulting in a solid structure that improves sustain and reduces feedback, whilst retaining the fundamental hollow nature of the instrument.
"ML" Bracing
Co-developed by legends of the modern Gretsch legacy, Masao Terada and Mike Lewis, “ML” Bracing is essentially half of our Trestle Bracing – with the two ‘feet’ under the bridge area but not by the neck block. This results in a ‘best of both worlds’ scenario, give the huge, open tone of Parallel Bracing, combined with the feedback-busting, sustain inducing properties of Trestle Bracing.
Sound Post
In conjunction with a parallel bracing setup, the Sound Post is a simple wood post that connects the top to the back of the guitar, allowing more synchronicity between them, as well as providing extra strength and support beneath the bridge.
Center-Block
A solid piece of tonewood running down the center of the guitar from neck butt to end block, the center block focuses the tone, while the hollow “wings” maintain an element of Hollow Body complexity. In Gretsch guitars, the center-block is strategically chambered, allowing for even more of that full Hollow Body sound to shine through, whilst effectively eliminating feedback in all but the highest of gain scenarios.