NGD: It's Gretsch and it's from Japan.
May 23, 2023 16:47:12 GMT
Martin, ocarolan, and 6 more like this
Post by grayn on May 23, 2023 16:47:12 GMT
Well I had one of those guitar shopping days, when you go out with the idea of one thing and come back with another. I was keen on trying a Gibson Les Paul '72 Deluxe. As I really fancied trying some mini-humbuckers. It was a tasty LP, with nice finishing and build quality. However, as it turned out, I wasn't that keen on the mini-humbuckers. Next I moved onto a gorgeous, yet simple Feline. A Lion Cub DC, which is their take on a doublecut Les Paul Junior. A beautifully made guitar, with a really great sounding Monty's P90. There were 2 problems however, I'd recently acquired a Gibson singlecut LP Junior, which I love and the frets on this Feline, felt a little tall for my tastes.
I rattled through a load of other guitars, all really good in their way but the one that I instantly took to, was a Baum Leaper Tone. A very cool, quirky looking, semi-hollow, with their own P90s and a Bigsby.
It had quite a Gretschy tone but very much it's own feel. It was really nice to play, sounded excellent and to my eyes, looked great. There was however one problem for me. This Danish designed guitar is relatively unknown and made in Korea and retails for around £1600. If I genuinely thought this would be mine for life, I probably would have bought it. But that's unlikely with my history and an unknown Korean made guitar for £1600 would prove very hard to sell and would de-value considerably, IMO.
I have owned a number of Gretsch's over the years. Including a White Falcon, that was a fantastic guitar but was just too Rhinestone Cowboy for me. And a Brian Setzer Hot Rod, that was a really "modernised" Gretsch but I took a dislike to the TV Jones pickups. To my ears they are too harsh and have lost much of the watery, plinky sound that IMO, Filtertrons should have. Anyway the shop had a Preowned Japanese made, G6119T Tennessee Rose. Not one of Gretsch's most glamourous models but for me, that's quite a good thing. It is hollow bodied but only 2 inches deep, it has proper Filtertrons, locking tuners and probably the most effective of Bigsby's trems, a Bigsby B6CP String-Thru. And that string thru is a big deal for me. I reckon this is as good as it gets, Bigsby wise. A very smooth and useable tremolo syatem. The Rose was set up just right for me and it played and sounded very nicely indeed. I've got it home now and am very impressed with how easily it plays and how good it sounds through my amp.
I rattled through a load of other guitars, all really good in their way but the one that I instantly took to, was a Baum Leaper Tone. A very cool, quirky looking, semi-hollow, with their own P90s and a Bigsby.
It had quite a Gretschy tone but very much it's own feel. It was really nice to play, sounded excellent and to my eyes, looked great. There was however one problem for me. This Danish designed guitar is relatively unknown and made in Korea and retails for around £1600. If I genuinely thought this would be mine for life, I probably would have bought it. But that's unlikely with my history and an unknown Korean made guitar for £1600 would prove very hard to sell and would de-value considerably, IMO.
I have owned a number of Gretsch's over the years. Including a White Falcon, that was a fantastic guitar but was just too Rhinestone Cowboy for me. And a Brian Setzer Hot Rod, that was a really "modernised" Gretsch but I took a dislike to the TV Jones pickups. To my ears they are too harsh and have lost much of the watery, plinky sound that IMO, Filtertrons should have. Anyway the shop had a Preowned Japanese made, G6119T Tennessee Rose. Not one of Gretsch's most glamourous models but for me, that's quite a good thing. It is hollow bodied but only 2 inches deep, it has proper Filtertrons, locking tuners and probably the most effective of Bigsby's trems, a Bigsby B6CP String-Thru. And that string thru is a big deal for me. I reckon this is as good as it gets, Bigsby wise. A very smooth and useable tremolo syatem. The Rose was set up just right for me and it played and sounded very nicely indeed. I've got it home now and am very impressed with how easily it plays and how good it sounds through my amp.
Jo whoever he is.
