TV Classic pickups won't fit in my Gretsch Tennessean!!!

[audiodrome]

Here's the scenario: Back in 1995, I replaced the stock Hilotrons in my '66 Tennessean with Gretsch Filtertrons (pre-Fender). Back then, there was no neck and bridge pickup - they were both the same size, but my guitar guy still had to route out the body a little to make them fit. I assumed that the TV Classics would be a simple swap-out, but I just got a call from my guitar guy and he said that while the neck pickup will be a tight fit, the bridge pickup is 1/4" too deep and he would have route out part of the brace that runs the length of the guitar in order to make it fit.

What should I do? I tried calling TV Jones but he's out of the shop today. The woman I spoke to said that the bridge pickup is a different animal altogether (different pole-piece spacing, different layout inside compared to the the neck PU, more windings, etc.) so they're not really interchangeable. I would hate to route out the guitar if I didn't have to, but it doesn't look like two neck PUs is going to work either.

[jeff mercer]

Hey, Audiodrome..that's pretty frustrating ! It's also quite odd, as Gretsch themselves use TV Jones pickups in some hollowbody models..might be worth trying to get onto someone at Gretsch to see how they go about installing them ? Although the Setzer 6120 that they use them on are based on his original '58, which are known to be braced differently in that year. Good luck, & if you go ahead, at least the work won't be visible. Jeff