New to me Gretsch

[rob91bob]

Over the weekend I was scanning the local facebook ads and came across a Gretsch G5420T. It seemed like a good price so I did some research on it. The guy was asking about half of street price plus he was including a Gretsch hardshell case. I sent him a message and he told me it was only a few months old and had no damage or wear.

I looked it over and it is in perfect condition, I offered a bit less than he was asking now I am the owner of a Fairlane Blue Gretsch. My first hollow body electric. It plays really good for not being set up yet, sounds really good through my Fender Super Champ X2.

 

[TBurst Std]

Enjoy !
Nothing else quite does Gretsch.

 

[rgand]

Congratulations. They're fine instruments. A friend of mine has a Gretsch he loves. :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

Congratulations! Those are nice guitars. Gretsch has always made some nice instruments. Been a mystery why they didn't enjoy the same kind of widespread popularity Fender and Gibson did. They did alright, but still. Kind of an also-ran competitor when they should have been a major force.

 

[rob91bob]

While researching I was surprised by how many models they make. Lots of beautiful guitars. This guitar isn’t something I would normally be interested in but couldn’t pass up the deal.

 

[Zhaezzy]

    Nice Gretsch I still want another hollow body for my electric play unplugged half the time guitar. Gretsch guitars have a special section of the mix for them they have some upper midrange that most other guitars don't have.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I've always wanted a Gretsch; this is not helping my GAS.

 

[mayfly]

I've always wanted a Gretsch; this is not helping my GAS.

Same with me.  But I keep thinking that a mooncaster with a bigsby and TV jones pickups might do the trick instead...

... still not helping your GAS buddy 

 

[bagman67]

I have little to no interest in a bigsby, but a candy-colored Mooncaster with filtertrons or clones of same really does crank my motor. 

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Sweet plank, one of my guilty pleasure guitars.

I had fun on a recent re-wire of a Brian Setzer for a customer recently.  It had the older style trestle bracing, truly hollow, sang for days!

 

[BigSteve22]

I have little to no interest in a bigsby, but a candy-colored, trans-red  Mooncaster with filtertrons or clones of same really does crank my motor.

I like the way you think Ian, with a slight modification regarding color. There's definitely a trans red Mooncaster with TV Jones pups somewhere in my future. And as you say, no need for a Bigsby. Not that I'd throw a Tennessee Rose or an Anniversary out of bed, mind you, but $2K for a used one keeps them just out of reach for now.......  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[TBurst Std]

Bigsbys are a good thing though. Have one on my White Falcon and a more modern version on the Doozy.
Going to slap on one my future Tele Thinline build as well as potentionally on a PGK LP Spec DC build.

 

[Cagey]

They work ok for subtle things, as long as you pay attention to your tuning right after using one. Might need a little bump in one direction or the other to center it up again. Not much good for rock music, though. Too little range to them.

 

[BigSteve22]

Bigsbys are a good thing though. Have one on my White Falcon and a more modern version on the Doozy.
Going to slap on one my future Tele Thinline build as well as potentionally on a PGK LP Spec DC build.

I'm not anti-"Bigsby", I just don't generally have use for any trem! Only trem I have is on my Strat, and that's only because I built it as a 60th birthday present to myself 2014, which was also the Strat's 60th year. I wanted a traditional looking Strat, and I figured a traditional looking Strat had to have a traditional trem.  (Well almost traditional, I went with a 2 point instead of the 6, along with a host of other modern conveniences.....) :icon_thumright:

Correction: There's also a trem on my Hagstrom H2, but I don't use that one either!

 

[Cagey]

It's funny - for as much as I work at making vibrato bridges work reliably and as many as I have installed on my own guitars, I rarely use them myself.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I've always wanted a Gretsch; this is not helping my GAS.

Same with me.  But I keep thinking that a mooncaster with a bigsby and TV jones pickups might do the trick instead...

... still not helping your GAS buddy 

I'd prefer a hollowbody Tele or VIP to a Mooncaster. :laughing3:

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I recently installed a Deusenberg Les Trem III on a Washburn HB35, along with a Schaller Roller Bridge and replaced the stock Grover tuners with Grover Locking Tuners, and I'll be dadgummed if for the life of me that I couldn't get that thing to knock out of tune.

I think the Deusy returns to zero more consistently than many Bigbys or knockoffs, so I was rather impressed.

 

[rob91bob]

I haven't played with the Bigsby much yet. I need to get the nut a bit better, strings are sticking a bit in it. It feels very smooth but I can see where it might not go back to a neutral position every time.

 

[Cagey]

The nut's integrity is important, and locking tuners help a great deal, but in the case of Bigsby tailpieces the bridge is also critical, as are the pivot points of the Bigsby itself.

Too often, TOM bridges are used with Bigsbys, which don't really allow for string movement across the saddles. Too pointy. So, the saddles become a hang-up point as the string tries to move across them, and the thing goes out of tune. Solution? Wilkinson roller saddle bridge.

Another issue is on less expensive guitars, they'll use the B50 or B70 vs. the B5 or B7 Bigsby, which has sleeve bearings rather than roller bearings. So, you have a small increase in friction that keeps the thing from returning to neutral. Again, a tuning thing. Solution? B5 vs. B50, etc. Warning: big difference in cost.

Finally, you only have the single spring, so there's no tension averaging. Again, a tuning thing. Won't return to neutral reliably. Solution? Tough titty said the kitty but the design is...less than ideal.

All that said, if all you want is subtle vibrato like you might use in Jazz tunes or hear in tunes like SRV's "Lenny"...

[youtube]HEuKbE4MXPE[/youtube]​

...then a Bigsby is a wonderful thing. Not what he used, but a good example of where the thing would work well.

 

[Seamas]

Been a mystery why they didn't enjoy the same kind of widespread popularity Fender and Gibson did. They did alright, but still. Kind of an also-ran competitor when they should have been a major force.

One would think--especially when the lead guitarist of the biggest band in thew world is playing one.

But I think it was a confluence of factors, mostly in regard to timing.

Prior to the Honkytonk Bakersfield sound, most country playes favored Gretch and /or hollowbody Gibsons, but once Don Rich and the like came on the scene it seemed that EVERY country player switched to Telecasters and never looked back

Then you had George Harrison trying out other guitars, while a couple "guitar heroes" came on the scene, favoring high gain and solidbody guitars. With Clapton making the no-longer produced Les Paul suddenly  THE guitar to get (and made Gibson scramble to reintroduce them).
Then of course you had the Stratocaster make you forget about surf music when Hendrix came out.

At this same exact time, (1967) Fred Gretcsh sold the company to Baldwin piano after none of his family wanted to take the reins. Baldwin moved the factory soon after--and then there were a couple fires at the factories. They ended up halting production.

While Neil Young and a couple other "classic rock" players were fans of Gretsch, there really wasn't an icon playing one. Pete Townshend recorded all the electric parts of "Who's Next"with a 6120, but would tour with Les Pauls in the 70s.

Other than that, they did have considerable following with the rockabilly revival (Dave Edmunds and Brian Setzer) and there are quite a few punks and New Wave players who favored them.

But other than Setzer I can't think of a big-name guitar hero who used them consistently. I think that is one key to gaining that mass popularity.