tbonesullivan Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 I really have heard nothing but good things about the MIJ Gretsch guitars. The "vintage" USA made ones can be good, but the frets are tiny, and the plastic by this point is pretty much rotted out, so most need major work to be usable. I would think about getting one, but I have tried a few, and I just can't get along with the frets. I'm also not quite sure what kind of sound I am supposed to be getting from them. Maybe I'm too used to guitars playing like a Hamer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santellavision Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 15 hours ago, cynic said: ^^ Double-cut hardtail with P90s!?!?! SIGN ME UP!! ^^ $6,380.80 Yikes!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadroller Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 The Malcom Young signature is pretty much the same shape, and an order of magnitude more affordable: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff R Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 14 hours ago, tbonesullivan said: The "vintage" USA made ones can be good, but the frets are tiny, and the plastic by this point is pretty much rotted out, so most need major work to be usable. You left out a big'un ... shifty neck angles. Kiz taught me the joke years ago that there are two types of vintage Gretsch guitars. Those that have had a neck reset and those that need one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polara Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 11 minutes ago, Jeff R said: You left out a big'un ... shifty neck angles. Kiz taught me the joke years ago that there are two types of vintage Gretsch guitars. Those that have had a neck reset and those that need one. Yeah, when I got my MIJ Gretsch Chet Atkins, there was also a 1965 hanging there. It felt nice but the neck had issues, and the new one was just a better guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthes Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 I had a '62 Tennessean for several years. Cool guitar, great sound, and it was full of all the vintage Gretsch quirkiness you could imagine. It really didn't like strings lighter than an 0.011 gauge, and bending? Forget it. The bridge would just slide across the top until I figured out the old sandpaper, and then double-stick tape trick. A friend had a '55 6128 and a '58 6120 that I thought were the total be-all/end-all, but neither was as good as my factory second '78 Les Paul Deluxe. I went through a vintage Gretsch phase in my early 20s, but that was very, very short lived. It was around the time that the original MIJ models were being introduced, and after ordering 2 Silver Jets that were both sent back, I spent my money elsewhere. They really got good under FMIC rule, believe it or not. Probably the one brand that did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonge Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 44 minutes ago, Jeff R said: You left out a big'un ... shifty neck angles. Kiz taught me the joke years ago that there are two types of vintage Gretsch guitars. Those that have had a neck reset and those that need one. I checked out an early MIJ Gretsch Setzer at a local GC a few years back; the action was good but the bridge was jacked so high to get it playable that you could have kept a sam'mich between the baseplate and bridge. KK told me that Japan had finally made an accurate vintage Gretsch reissue because it needed a neck reset right out of the box lol. I picked up a 2016 Setzer in highland green that is much better in terms of setup, tone, and quality. It is a bit of a brick though (feels like almost 9lbs which is surprising), so I'm not sure I would buy one without playing it first. Sounds great though into a clean DRRI with a little slapback and the Bigsby works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizanski Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 2 hours ago, Jeff R said: You left out a big'un ... shifty neck angles. Kiz taught me the joke years ago that there are two types of vintage Gretsch guitars. Those that have had a neck reset and those that need one. It may be funny, but it ain't no joke. My '63 6120 needed the neck reset, and I had it done by one of the best, the late Giuliano Balestra. Giuliano worked at the Gretsch factory in Brooklyn before opening his own shop in 1975. He knew vintage Gretsches inside and out intimately, but even with his expertise what I wound up with was a mediocre playing guitar with improved action. Only the unmistakable "Gretsch sound" saved the guitar from Flip Mode. The only way I can describe the "feel" of the guitar when I played it was that it was fighting me. String bends were a chore and that's even with low action and my reluctantly stringing it up with .009's. Eventually one has to cut and run. This guitar, on the other hand, my 2012 6120TM, is an absolute dream to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic1974 Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Does it sound as good as the older one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Well, technically I think the Gretsch family still owns the name, and they own the drum division completely? It's not a regular relationship. But yes, the guitars definitely got better coming out of Japan after the FMIC takeover of management. Seems like they did the smart thing, which was to say "make them like they should have been". Eventually I do need to pick one up with filter'trons. I just wish there were more iconic players/sounds made by the gretsch guitar that I can relate to. Brian Setzer, Malcolm young, and that's about it. Lots of rockabilly players, some early Beatles stuff, etc, but little that appeals to me as a player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizanski Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 1 hour ago, sonic1974 said: Does it sound as good as the older one? Frankly, no. But it's close enough for jazz, as it were. I have been fortunate enough to have a few guitars which were exemplary for their given models. I would put the '63 that I had in that category as well, even though it didn't play nearly as well as it sounded. It's not something I can describe, it's just something you know when you hear it, I definitely heard it in that guitar. The newer ones that I have played have 'the sound," but not "The Sound." Make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic1974 Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 34 minutes ago, kizanski said: Frankly, no. But it's close enough for jazz, as it were. I have been fortunate enough to have a few guitars which were exemplary for their given models. I would put the '63 that I had in that category as well, even though it didn't play nearly as well as it sounded. It's not something I can describe, it's just something you know when you hear it, I definitely heard it in that guitar. The newer ones that I have played have 'the sound," but not "The Sound." Make sense? I hear ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodermon Posted September 1, 2017 Author Share Posted September 1, 2017 thanks for all the feedback! part of the charm for me is indeed "The Sound" since the first "real" guitars I played and listened to were my Parrain's (godfather's) growing up. 6120 and Country Gentleman are the two I remember most, played thru a 60's big twin. His playin was pretty much Chet Atkin's style and he was really good at it. It was always a treat to watch him play way back. Wish he were still around. Believe "the sound" will work for whatever's incoming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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