Ok, I've got the Sperzel Locking Tuners on my 5120, as for some reason the Guitar Center in my area had them priced for about $20 less than the websites (including their own), and they are regular chrome, and not the matte-chrome that everyone else seems to have. These are every bit as great as I had hoped on this guitar, especially with the Bigsby trem on there. The Dunlop Straplocks are working great on there too. They don't look too big on the larger body like they do on "Super-Strat" style guitars. Note of caution when installing these: be careful when installing them, as the holes for the shafts are narrow, and the wood on the back of the headstock likes to chip!
Now on to the next phase. I've been doing all kinds of research on mods, and have become very familiar with the GDP (Gretsch Discussion Pages). On the GDP, I was looking for thoughts on the GFS pickups I was interested in, when I kept reading a lot of talk about HS Filtertrons. Come to find out these are the stock pickups in most higher-end Gretsch guitars, or at least the ones that don't have TV Jones in them. Some Falcons actually have these in fact. From what I was reading however, the mod for these seemed like a royal pain, as they don't use English-mount like most humbuckers, and 5120's don't have the bracing to mount them. The mods I was seeing involved gluing wood, or even Popsicle sticks into the pickup cavity. This seemed like a nightmare! I had pretty much figured I'd just go with GFS.
In looking at GFS, I was going to try the Surf 90's, as these are Dynasonic style single coils that have alnico magnets, where as the GFS Nashvilles were a Filtertron style pickup that had ceramic magnets, and from what I read, this was not a good aspect for a Filtertron style pickup. Dynasonic style pickups were on Gretsches in the 50's, and are still available on some Gretsch models today. What my theory was followed along the lines of "I'll put Dynas on this, and later I can get a 6120 with Filtertrons".
I had a chance to stop into Cream City Music, over in Brookfield, WI, which has one of the best Gretsch selections in this part of the country. In trying different Gretsch models, I figured out Dynasonics are great, but not what I'm looking for. The guy working had mentioned putting in Gretsch Filtertrons, and I started thinking again. The price on these is spectacular compared to the TV Jones Classics, and upon trying a 6120 with HS Filtertrons, then a Setzer model with TV Classics, I couldn't hear a major difference when played through the same amp with the same settings. I was sold, and was thinking "how the hell am I gonna get those in my 5120". I was figuring I'd have to glue wood into my guitar, until I came across this poat: http://gretschpages.com/forum/electromatics/diy-english-mounts/11144/page1/
Now THAT'S more like it. Also, upon trying some Gretsches with mud switches (the 3-way tone switch next to the pickup switch on most Filtertron equipped Gretsch, but not Dyna equipped ones), I found these are the only passive tone modifiers I like! So I may end up putting one in my 5120.
So here's what I'm thinking will be the next phase. It only makes sense to do all the electronic work in one shot, as all that has to be pulled through the pickup hole anyway. I'll replace all the volume pots (pickup 1, pickup 2, and master volume) with CTS audio pots, replace the tone pot with a Fender No-Load knob (I use these on my P-Basses as it bypasses the tone pot all together when in the 10 spot), replace the jack with a Switchcraft, add a mud switch (Gretsch switch with the current caps Gretsch uses on 6120's), and replace the Gretschbuckers with Gretsch HS Filtertrons. The reasoning behind this, is to make sure all the electronics are top-notch, as there have been issues reported with pots in Korean made guitars, and it makes more sense to replace them while it's apart. The biggest plus is these mods should cost less than a single TV Jones pickup!
Damn, this is gonna be a great 6120 in 5120's clothing when I'm done!
