Anyone here play a Gretsch?

iblive said:
As well you should. Fairly decent list of some pretty big names have played that guitar over the years.
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The only player I ever admired that played a Gretsch was Malcolm Young. In the context of AC/DC, the slight difference in their respective tones worked.

Angus has a thicker, more mid-range tone and Malcolm has a cleaner, twangier sound.

On some studio recordings the pickup in Malcolm's Gretsch Jet Fire Bird sounds more like a Fender single coil pickup, which by itself, in an isolated track, is like nails on a chalkboard for me.
 
smitty_p said:
That’s interesting information, but it doesn’t change the fact that I enjoy playing them.
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I didn't expect it too. You are not alone. That's a incredibly popular Chinese model. I think they were building this model in Indonesia for a while.

Is your serial prefix 'CYGC?' Or, is your prefix "IS?"

I actually marvel at people who play them. I "play" them 8-10 hours a day and I cannot imagine trying to perform with one. Everything feels wrong and sounds wrong.

Everything for me (related to a guitar during a live or session performance) has to feel "right" or I get this almost anxious, uncomfortable feeling.

I'll tell you that I've faced some real internal struggles playing Broadcasters and other old "relics," that certain producers have brought in for a particular recording, in my work as a session player.
 
You know, you guy's responses got me to thinking about my own personal guitars...

I find the Gibson Les Paul to be the "Swiss Army Knife" of session work and it has got to be my favorite and most comfortable guitar.

For the most part, I always seem to grab YelloStrat. Not because it's particularly wonderful, but it sounds nearly identical to my Les Paul (custom made DiMarzio Neanderthal 16.5k AlNico9 44AWG in the bridge on YelloStrat vs. the Gibson's BB3) and it's the only guitar not continually cased, so it sees a lot of use for early morning songwriting, hotel jamming while traveling, etc.

The 12 string width (1.755") Warmoth neck makes open chords very, very easy to fret and the Deep V profile gives a lot of palm leverage for vibrato.

It's also the only guitar I will lay down on the table or stand up in a chair while I go get a cup of coffee. It's not at all "beat up" but it's just the "workhorse" of my studio. I tolerate the longer scale as nature of the beast, but I don't like it.

The 1.700" neck width on my 2021 Gibson Les Paul 50's Standard is almost as wide, but not quite as thick, so I don't notice a huge difference when switching between them.

Now, I have this feeling that my latest project - the neck-through-body Gibson SG - may knock the Les Paul out of its top spot.

The concept behind the SG was to give me a super-durable, 24.75 (628.55mm laser measured to be precise) scale guitar that was lighter than my YelloStrat (with brass sustain block and brass saddles, YelloStrat weighs 8.5 pounds and the 2021 Gibson Les Paul weighs 10.5 pounds) and give me 21 tone push-pull capability, with an "Olde World" style, hand-rubbed lacquer finish, full copper shielding, 100% USA Made Gibson hardware and USA made pickups.

I have a feeling that this guitar is really going to be something unique.

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Inspector #20 said:
I'd wager they are not playing a China or Indonesian model. I won't even get into the significant changes the artist models have compared to the production guitars.

Anyways, I don't find them asthetically or sonically pleasing, as a player, so thats quite likely why i never gave them a second look.

They are very "odd feeling" and bulky to me, like wearing a leather glove, 3 sizes too large, and trying to pick up a coin.
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Thanks for the comments because they really highlight the wondrous individuality in music, both in our musical tastes and how we do it.

The exact things which you do not like about Gretsch are the very things which I do like about them! I love the look, the sound, and the feel. They feel very natural to me and my hands just sort of naturally go where they should. The Gretsch is proving to be a guitar I reach for more and more often.
 
Said it in a different thread. You can’t just like a guitar…. Ya gotta love it or you won’t play it. And then what’s the point in having it.

Only American made guitar I have is my Ovation I bought in 1974. Got a couple Chinese made. One MIM. And I’m not sure where the Ibanez bass I bought in the 90s was made.

I don’t get paid to play. Bedroom player. Overall. The Viking, G400, bass and Strat are well made for how I play. Maybe if I gigged I’d have a different opinion. Depending on my mood is how I chose which one to play today. And I enjoy playing them all.
 
smitty_p said:
Mine isn’t Chinese. It’s Japanese.
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Then it must have a "JT" prefix. They have much better craftsmanship. But, do not drop them in the Gretsch case from a height of more than 1 foot. It will snap the headstock. It's a traditionally very weak design.

If it's a G6136TG (the most common model) it has a retail price of $3,599.99
 
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iblive said:
Said it in a different thread. You can’t just like a guitar…. Ya gotta love it or you won’t play it. And then what’s the point in having it.

Only American made guitar I have is my Ovation I bought in 1974. Got a couple Chinese made. One MIM. And I’m not sure where the Ibanez bass I bought in the 90s was made.

I don’t get paid to play. Bedroom player. Overall. The Viking, G400, bass and Strat are well made for how I play. Maybe if I gigged I’d have a different opinion. Depending on my mood is how I chose which one to play today. And I enjoy playing them all.
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I'm playing a little bit less these days with my law study, and I'm really trying to find the time to do some more deep desert dirt bike trips. We own a lot of land in Black Mountain Wilderness and we continue to find Native American petroglyphs out there.

Fascinating stuff.

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I've been supporting a friend's tribute band while they search for a guitarist. It's insanely fun and we are still writing and recording for both Outfall and Radio AtÖlia.

But from here on out, I'm playing only USA Made or my own build from 100% USA parts. I've got an old Ibanez Indonesian bass that I've had for years, but I'm soon to replace it with a scratch build.

Had I not have gone to work for Fender, I might still be a Kool-aid drinker.
 
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iblive said:
Said it in a different thread. You can’t just like a guitar…. Ya gotta love it or you won’t play it. And then what’s the point in having it.

Only American made guitar I have is my Ovation I bought in 1974. Got a couple Chinese made. One MIM. And I’m not sure where the Ibanez bass I bought in the 90s was made.

I don’t get paid to play. Bedroom player. Overall. The Viking, G400, bass and Strat are well made for how I play. Maybe if I gigged I’d have a different opinion. Depending on my mood is how I chose which one to play today. And I enjoy playing them all.
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I'm not telling anyone what to like or play. My experience working for the big "F" totally changed my perspective on things, especially the "shell game" concealment of where a product is made.

I got rid of a Schecter and a Jackson, even though both were decent guitars, but compared to the build quality of the 2021 Gibson Les Paul 50's Standard, there were too many small details that just made me not like them.

I see things now that others just don't see and if you expect me to give you $3,000 for a guitar that's sub par, I'm not doing it.

Hard to explain it beyond that.
 
smitty_p said:
Thanks for the comments because they really highlight the wondrous individuality in music, both in our musical tastes and how we do it.

The exact things which you do not like about Gretsch are the very things which I do like about them! I love the look, the sound, and the feel. They feel very natural to me and my hands just sort of naturally go where they should. The Gretsch is proving to be a guitar I reach for more and more often.
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Some people drive Buicks, and that's OK!!!

Personally speaking,

I just didn't realize, going into this, that I would be - predominantly - working on Gretsch guitars. 10 hour shifts are not bad, doing something that you enjoy, but facing pallet after pallet of inordinately time consuming guitars, and constantly being in a time-deficit because of it...well, that just literally kills it for me.

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If I am to be a part of something, it will have to be USA Made.
 
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smitty_p said:
It does. Plus, to eliminate all confusion, both the label affixed to the interior of the guitar and the stamp on the back of the headstock indicate is was made in Japan.
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Pricey guitar indeed....

I really can't trust the decal or the stamp. All true JT builds have a Gibson style truss rod nut...

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Inspector #20 said:
But, do not drop them in the Gretsch case from a height of more than 1 foot. It will snap the headstock. It's a traditionally very weak design.
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Sounds like my 1974 Gibson SG. That one snapped in spite of the much-vaunted volute and the three piece neck. Of course, that one's fall was a little more than what you describe, but I am equally nervous for my Gibsons, as well.
 
smitty_p said:
Well, it is likely my last electric guitar purchase. I may assemble another if the fancy strikes me, but I have no intention of purchasing another electric guitar.
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Me neither. I do enjoy building them. Nothing I can buy seems an equal to one of my builds, but I tend to invest enormous amounts of time and I'm consciously trying to avoid that going forward.
 
smitty_p said:
Well, it is likely my last electric guitar purchase. I may assemble another if the fancy strikes me, but I have no intention of purchasing another electric guitar.
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One build that does have me curious would be a "Fat-Strat" with a 24.75 scale conversion neck, like Warmoth makes.
 
smitty_p said:
One build that does have me curious would be a "Fat-Strat" with a 24.75 scale conversion neck, like Warmoth makes.
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I almost did that with YelloStrat and wish that I would have now.

The main issue, for me anyways, is Warmoth doesn't offer the conversion neck I'm the 1-3/4" width.
 
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