Gretsch truss rod adjusts from the side?

[harrison phipps]

I am selling some old but unused parts, mostly Gretsch, for a client.  Included in the lot are 2 truss rods that adjust via a geared box accessed by a key inserted into the heal of the neck.  I remember seeing one like this on a guitar but cannot remember what the guitar was. Wiring harnesses that came with the lot have pots that date to 1979 so I suspect the rod dates from at least that old.  Does anyone know what brand & model used this type of rod?  See pictures.  Thanks

[David Baas]

These are from the era when Gretsch was owned by the Baldwin piano company.  (If my camera worked, I'd attach pics of the key and detail of a Gretsch guitar from that time, but I just discovered it has a "lens error".  Back to the factory again...)  Not sure of the precise dates, but they are associated with most of the 70's, at any rate.  They may have been used in the Burns/Baldwin guitars from that time, also. 

[Greg Mirken]

These rods do date to the Baldwin era. They were used in the Ode banjos in the late 70s, and worked very well. It's a 2-way rod that works opposite of what you'd expect (turn left to pull neck back).
Access was through a hole in the heelcap, and a long tool included had a rod with a slot in the end to mate with the gearing of the truss rod. The hole in the heel was covered by the resonator.