Re: NDGD: New Dream Guitar Day
I was not looking at buying another guitar, but this came up used locally at a price that I couldn't pass up. My grandfather used to play a vintage White Falcon and I've always liked the sound of Gretsch guitars, but it never seemed like I could find one with the right options.
This has virtually everything I wanted in a guitar. I hate trems (no Bigsbys here), I like bigger guitar bodies (this carries a full 17'' body), I like longer scale lengths (this has a traditional Fender 25.5''), it's got normal controls (3 way, master volume and tone and individual volume pots for the pickups) and it's got a really unique tone that's all it's own (and "my thing" is single coils with some twang, bite and lots of clarity).
I'd be lying if I said the look didn't have something to do with it. I lusted over classic Gibson Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" guitars as a kid and the White Falcon was always one of the coolest guitars I had seen. Running searches online for local inventory brought this one up and being able to play it in person and make sure it was built right, played right and sounded great made the difference. If it's anything I've stuck to in terms of advice, it's to always play stuff before you buy it to make sure it's a good one.
I think this is about as stunning of an instrument there is. I actually tried it out Saturday for a few minutes and put it down because it was so pretty I was afraid to rock out with it. Several days later on my 30th birthday, I walked in, played it through a cranked Vibrolux and bought in on the spot.
The body is maple and the fretboard is ebony, so you'd think it would be a really bright guitar, but the fact that it's a true hollowbody means it gets some warmth and some interesting timbre to the notes.
The Dynasonics are definitely not for everyone and that's the appeal for me. The bridge gets some twang, the middle position almost sounds like an acoustic which I love for strumming plugged into my Fenders and the neck is really clear and great for jazz. The neck stock was way too boomy on the low E string, so I adjusted the polepiece all the way down and now it balances perfectly. The biggest surprise was throwing some gain through it. While the bridge clean sounds a bit on the weaker, lower wind end of the spectrum, it actually has a lot of punch and cut with some gain. While hard rock bands could never get away with one because of feedback issues, with the levels I use I can coax some reasonably controlled feedback which adds another fun element to the mix.
I read online where someone posted that Dynasonics fit between P90s and tele pickups and I kinda agree. They're like a twangier, less mid centric P90. I had previous experience with DeArmond 2ks with a Fender Tele-Sonic that I owned for about a year, but that guitars woods just didn't vibe with the pickups well, so the sound was too muddy. I think if I could only have one set of pickups to use it would be my telecaster pickups, but these sound great and will be adding a really nice contrast.
All in all, I'm thrilled with it. It's built better than anything I think I've seen before. The attention to detail is staggering throughout and everything works as it should. Every once in a while something is made to be and this one is going to be a keeper!
Hopefully the wait didn't disappoint
I'll reveal the good stuff when someone guesses it right.
I'm going by song name only and has vague similarities to the model by the respective famous, classic American/Japanese guitar manufacturer.
