Bridge Of Sighs...No I have Not Been To Venice

This is an update to my bridge replacement for my new Gretsch.

Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God.
Can you tell I am excited?

Claims of tonal improvement struck me as snake oil. Palm muting would be more comfortable? I'd get more twang and tone (Twone in Gretsh-speak). Also the Bigsby is supposed to be smoother and easier to use with this bridge.

I can't tell what is the reason for the improvement, but improvement there has been!
There is a distinct change in the bridge pickups sound. Overall sound has much more twang to it.

It may be the much better fit the base achieves to the body of the guitar than the OEM bridge. And that may be due to the smaller foot of the new base. The OEM base seems to have a twist in it, which may be a function of having such a long foot.
The new base piece "snapped" to the body of the guitar with no tweaking necessary to make it flush with the guitar. (This would affect transmission of vibrations to the guitar body)

It may also be the nature of the bar bridge as opposed to one with many moving parts that accounts for the improvement in tone. (This would primarily affect sustain)

The thumb wheels on the bridge itself came lowered all the way to the base. I had to raise them a bit to get the guitar playable. But once done, intonation was simple and very fast. I suspect it is not spot on as there are no little adjustments that can be made. It didn't seem to make a difference. Not to my ears nor my tuner.

The base looks like ebony although I have been told they dye rosewood to make it look darker. It feels like ebony, more solid and heavier. But what do I know?

I ordered it on June 30th from Darren Riley.
 Darren Riley's Guitar and Amp Shop
And received it in todays mail.
That's fast!
(He also sent three emails, one confirming the order, one to thank me for the order and one to announce it had shipped - good work)

Tomorrow - well, actually later today I have a huge gig with an expected turnout of one hundred people or so and perhaps twenty musicians. So I will give it the shakedown it deserves.