Gretsch.....what do you think??

[54stratlover]

One of my local guitar stores has a gretsch roundup for sale at a pretty good price from what i can tell. I notice that the guitars are made in japan. The guitar plays well, and has a good overdriven tone. here are the specs on the guitar. http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/index.php?a=3&product=G6121W
here is a closer pic http://www.gretschguitars.com/repository/gretsch/images/G6121W_xl.jpg

I am looking at trading off my ibanez, and the 77 strat. I am wondering if this guitar, being a MIJ guitar will hold long term value. I like the tone of it. I was thinking of bringing it into the lineup as a slide/blues guitar.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

Never got on well with Gretch guitars. The pickups just aren't powerful enough to give me the Clapton/Cream or Bluesy tones I love....and I don't want to sound like George Harrison or Chet Atkins. Gretch guitars are a perfect choice for some guys...not me though. Lew

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

i LOOOOVE gretsches

the japanese factories are just as good as american ones, infact, since they got moved to japan the quality has improved a lot

the only thing i would change on them is the pickups, reason being they're not wax potted, which would be a problem for me. Tv jones has a lot of options

www.tvjones.com

power trons are more my thing, but tv classics are basically wax potted filtertrons, output on them is about 4k

 

[wixomwhat]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

You cant go wrong with a Gretsch.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

You cant go wrong with a Gretsch.

You could go plenty wrong if you're looking for a guitar for heavy overdriven tones...the Gretch's won't do that. Lew

 

[wixomwhat]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

You could go plenty wrong if you're looking for a guitar for heavy overdriven tones...the Gretch's won't do that. Lew

I dont know anybody that uses a Gretsch for heavey overdrive other then Dan Hawkins from the Darkness and he uses an Eliot Easton model with some type of Hotter the stock pups Duncans in it.

Besides 54Stratlover even says the Gretsch he's talking about has a good overdrive tone, in his first post.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

Besides 54Stratlover even says the Gretsch he's talking about has a good overdrive tone, in his first post.

OKEY DOKEY...enjoy your Gretch. (Don't say I didn't warn you though... :laugh2: )

 

[mongrollo]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

OKEY DOKEY...enjoy your Gretch. (Don't say I didn't warn you though... :laugh2: )

I don't have a Gretch but I do have a homemade guitar with TvJones pickups - The same most Gretch have stock. The pickups are impresively clear and low output, not as a true single coil... but they are pretty close!! They are also very trebly but not earsplitting. This characteristics make them amazing if you like a clean touch responsiviness but they won't get to this warm overdrive. They will allways retain the clearness.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

I don't have a Gretch but I do have a homemade guitar with TvJones pickups - The same most Gretch have stock. The pickups are impresively clear and low output, not as a true single coil... but they are pretty close!! They are also very trebly but not earsplitting. This characteristics make them amazing if you like a clean touch responsiviness but they won't get to this warm overdrive. They will allways retain the clearness.

I agree. They are wonderful guitars for the use that was intended: playing cowboy music in Brooklyn. :smack: JUST KIDDING! :laugh2: But the originals were made in Brooklyn...for cowboys in Nashville. :laugh2:

 

[Stratsky]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

Gretsch's are great guitars for clean and slightly overdriven tones (Chet, Brian Setzer, Neil Young), but as Lewguitar stated if you are looking for something for high gain a Gretsch might not be your best choice.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

not to say they can't be used with distortion

setzer uses distortion
rev horton heat uses distortion
social distortion uses distortion
nekromantix use it

list goes on

the power trons are more of a rock-type pickup but they still have that gretsch sound to them, I think the output on them is around 8k

and pickup boosters DO exist, you'd think this would be the last forum where people would forget that

 

[54stratlover]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

I am always looking for something different. I played it through a fender HRD tweed. I ran it through the clean channell and then the dirty channel. It was very articulate. It sounds like it may have a good tone for overdriven slide. I am also looking at the "investment" quality of the guitar. I have the '77 strat that I may send down the road. It is mostly original. If I were to keep it and make it a "player" I would replace all the electronics (cts and orange drops) and refret it (frets are to small) the pups are the unoriginal part. I have had fender fat '50s in it and SD antiquities II in it also. The guitar is pretty good, but I have a '72 strat that is a great and plays awesome. I figure if I wanna start messing with that guitar I may as well trade it. I will decrease value of the guitar if I mess with it. Oh well decisions, decisions, decisions. I was looking at a PRS McCarty also.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

That is a killer guitar!!! I use my Gretsch with a reasonable amount of gain though I have a Filtertron not Dynasonics. Warm overdriven sounds are not really the Gretsch thing but you can coax some fantastic sounds out of them. I go more for crunchy AC/DC-ish sounds with it, though I do run more gainthan Malcolm with my MYI.

They are very well made and seem to hold their value pretty well. I ended up buying new since there was not a big difference price wise and I was able to get a real good deal from Guitar Asylum.

The tone, playability, fit and finish on my guitar was excellent. I did have to open up the nut a bit to use .11's but that has been with most guitars I buy. The only issue I have with mine is the zero fret. The alloy that the frets are made of is a bit too soft to use on a zero fret and the tension of the strings has worn grooves into it fairly quickly. I did a fret file and polish but it did it again just as quickly. I am going to be replacing the zero fret in a week or two which should take care of it, I guess it could be a warranty issue if I needed to but luckily that isn't a problem. Obviously the zero fret won't be an issue on the Roundup but I am expecting higher than normal fret wear.

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

Nice looking guitar. It depends on your definition of high gain, but Billy Duffy used a G on "Electric" which is a pretty heavy album. IMHO, of course.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

I really dig the Japanese Elliot Easton model, in forest green/gold hardware.
I could never make a Gretsch my main guitar, but I've always wanted one, but never got serious about any. My main problem is that I'm a rock/blues player with a right hand style thats more countryfied like Knopfler or Beck. Everytime I've picked up a Duojet, I somehow pull the high E out of it's shallow saddle groove by playing it fingerstyle. I think the angle over the saddle isn't dramatic enough, which is why the strings pull out of the groove too easily. If that's not your experience, then I say go for it. Gretschs scream Rockabilly, but players from every style use them.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

I just saw that you mentioned possibly getting a McCarty. I'd definitely buy the McCarty over the Gretsch, but that's just because I feel they make a better 'main' guitar. I always want to consider myself a Strat/Paul guy, but everytime I play my McCarties, I start to wonder if they're not superior to both. Also, on mine, I cut the coiltap wire on the bridge pickup, so I can toggle between a full bridge and either a split or full neck.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

its strange how punk rockers and other genres are digging hollowbodies all of the sudden.

 

[Artie]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

. . . and pickup boosters DO exist, you'd think this would be the last forum where people would forget that

I was thinking along similar, but different lines. The concept of a pickup swap isn't too foreign to this forum.

How about a Country Gentleman, with a set of LiveWire Metal Humbuckers? :laugh2:

 

[wixomwhat]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

I was thinking along similar, but different lines. The concept of a pickup swap isn't too foreign to this forum.

How about a Country Gentleman, with a set of LiveWire Metal Humbuckers? :laugh2:

LOL. I dont think they'd fit though, Gretsch's have humbuckers but they are smaller in size then standard buckers.

But yeah I totally agree. Anybody wanting more output from they their Gretsch could send the pups to Duncan and have them rewound.

 

[boulder4112]

Re: Gretsch.....what do you think??

Robert Smith of the Cure gets a very unique sound with his gretsch, thinking of the bloodflowers album here. It certainly can sound a little muddy and undefined under high gain but he is able to control it quite well on this album, and the clean sound is to die for. Never played one though... sigh....