Post by grayn on Dec 8, 2020 20:15:02 GMT
This is a guitar I never thought I would buy. I've had 3 Gretsches before, 2 Electromatics and a Brian Setzer Hot Rod. I'm a bit of a
fan of rockabiily, vintage rock"n" roll and jump blues, on the quiet and probably the best guitar I've bought, for this style, was a
Duesenberg Fullerton Elite. But I traded it and so, was on the look out again. I spent most of the last, short lockdown, scanning
the 'net, for any guitar I thought would be suitable. It kind of drives you nuts in the end, so I had to go and try some real guitars, in
a real shop. I started by playing a load of guitars, acoustically, just to get a feel. These included an Eastman T486B, a Yamaha
SG 1802 and Revstar 720B and 3 Gretsches. All were splendid guitars, I'd very much like to own but by now I'd decided I did want a
Gretsch and so sat down with 3 preowned models, to put through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, set to very mild crunch, with a good
splash of reverb.
The first was a G6659TG Players Edition Broadkaster Jr. A great guitar, that felt more solid than semi, with a
lovely neck and a great set up. Unfortunately I wasn't so keen on the Full'Tron Pickups. Sounded great with both pickups on but I
didn't like the bridge pickup on it's own, at all. Shame. Second was a G6196TSP-2G Country Club Semi-Hollowbody in Two Tone
Grey/Violet Metallic. Wow, what a beauty. It was badly set up, with really light strings and a very low, buzzy action. But despite that
it was a great guitar, with a resonant feel/tone and smooth trem, with very tasty, DynaSonic pickups. The only thing that put me off
was the Synchro-Sonic Bridge. It really sticks out and I found it uncomfortable to play with. It has sticky out knobs (technical jargon)
and I do a lot of palm muting. Double shame.
Now I should explain that for almost as long as I've been married, my wife has decllared that her absolute favourite guitar is a
Gretsch White Falcon and in particular, the single cutaway model. I've spent the vast majority of that time saying, it was far too
gaudy and "Rhinestone Cowboy", for me. But here was an almost mint, preowned model, so I thought, why not? And just my luck,
it had everything I was looking for. Even with 10s on it, it sounded and played spot on. Really vibrant and responsive. The pickups
sang and the trem was almost as smooth as a Duesenberg's. It was the best guitar (for me) I'd played. But could I cope with the
accordian like, pearly/gold binding, truss cover and lettering? Of course I could.
I couldn't wait to show it to the Mrs and she obliged me with a ton of praise, for this white and gold beastie. OK it looks a bit more
billy than rock and the black, side dot markers, on the neck's gold binding, are tricky to see but it plays beautifully and my vintage
styled compositions sound just how I want, with this Falcon. Cool.
fan of rockabiily, vintage rock"n" roll and jump blues, on the quiet and probably the best guitar I've bought, for this style, was a
Duesenberg Fullerton Elite. But I traded it and so, was on the look out again. I spent most of the last, short lockdown, scanning
the 'net, for any guitar I thought would be suitable. It kind of drives you nuts in the end, so I had to go and try some real guitars, in
a real shop. I started by playing a load of guitars, acoustically, just to get a feel. These included an Eastman T486B, a Yamaha
SG 1802 and Revstar 720B and 3 Gretsches. All were splendid guitars, I'd very much like to own but by now I'd decided I did want a
Gretsch and so sat down with 3 preowned models, to put through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, set to very mild crunch, with a good
splash of reverb.
The first was a G6659TG Players Edition Broadkaster Jr. A great guitar, that felt more solid than semi, with a
lovely neck and a great set up. Unfortunately I wasn't so keen on the Full'Tron Pickups. Sounded great with both pickups on but I
didn't like the bridge pickup on it's own, at all. Shame. Second was a G6196TSP-2G Country Club Semi-Hollowbody in Two Tone
Grey/Violet Metallic. Wow, what a beauty. It was badly set up, with really light strings and a very low, buzzy action. But despite that
it was a great guitar, with a resonant feel/tone and smooth trem, with very tasty, DynaSonic pickups. The only thing that put me off
was the Synchro-Sonic Bridge. It really sticks out and I found it uncomfortable to play with. It has sticky out knobs (technical jargon)
and I do a lot of palm muting. Double shame.
Now I should explain that for almost as long as I've been married, my wife has decllared that her absolute favourite guitar is a
Gretsch White Falcon and in particular, the single cutaway model. I've spent the vast majority of that time saying, it was far too
gaudy and "Rhinestone Cowboy", for me. But here was an almost mint, preowned model, so I thought, why not? And just my luck,
it had everything I was looking for. Even with 10s on it, it sounded and played spot on. Really vibrant and responsive. The pickups
sang and the trem was almost as smooth as a Duesenberg's. It was the best guitar (for me) I'd played. But could I cope with the
accordian like, pearly/gold binding, truss cover and lettering? Of course I could.
I couldn't wait to show it to the Mrs and she obliged me with a ton of praise, for this white and gold beastie. OK it looks a bit more
billy than rock and the black, side dot markers, on the neck's gold binding, are tricky to see but it plays beautifully and my vintage
styled compositions sound just how I want, with this Falcon. Cool.
after seeing one played by K T Tunstall.
Jo whoever he is.
