NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
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BoringPostcards
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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by BoringPostcards » Mon Feb 18, 2019 8:34 am

I don’t know too much about Gretsch (besides their drums being great), but I do like the look of this one.
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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by fuzzjunkie » Mon Feb 18, 2019 9:23 am

I have only ever seen reissues of this model and though they were nice players they weren’t pumpkin orange and the brand had paint added to make it stand out if I remember correctly.

I really like Dynas too. The best sounding guitar I ever played was a ‘55 Duo Jet and the Dynas on it along with the the wood and air from the body resonance was so 3-D. I just bought a house and couldn’t afford it even though the price was a very good deal. I also have played a ‘57 Duo Jet with Filtertrons, and I like the Dynas better in that guitar. I had a friend with a red Sparkle Jet, a ‘64 I think, double cut and Filertrons, and she wanted to sell it for a great price too, that I couldn’t afford because I had just taken a new job and wasn’t sure it would last.

I have always maintained that Dynas go in Jets and Filtertrons in 6120s or Falcons stance ever since. I don’t care for the mini-humbucker things in the Tennesean though, or what ever they are, very uninspiring compared to the other two.

Glad you got this guitar. It looks great and I bet it sounds great too. Wish I hadn’t had to walk away from some of the truly great guitars I have decided to turn down. The ‘54 Goldtop with P-90s, argh, that was another one that hurt. It was almost green and the finish was all cracked, but what a sound! I had just dropped every dime on a surf green ‘63 Jaguar and even though the asking price was about the same $1500 I couldn’t do it. Nowadays that Goldtop might fetch $15k and the Jag maybe $4500.

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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by DesmondWafers » Mon Feb 18, 2019 11:04 am

Dynasonics are my favorite pickup by far, I can only imagine how great it must be to own a real pair of 50's ones.

But please, get that pickguard, stat. It's an amazing looking guitar, but they NEED that pickguard.

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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by jakeisjake » Mon Feb 18, 2019 1:05 pm

PorkyPrimeCut wrote:
Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:08 am
shadowplay wrote:
Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:00 am
...with that view...
I had to check back & look! ;D :fp:

Says a lot about how pleasing to the eye the guitar is, I suppose.
me too
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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by wproffitt » Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:11 pm

I've always loved these, but have only ever seen one vintage example in person. This is lovely! Congratulations! Also, I approve of your decision to rewind the pickups yourself. You and this guitar will now always have a special connection.

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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by Debaser » Sun Feb 24, 2019 7:31 am

Beautiful Gretsch 6121 :? How’s the neck? I always though these Jet-style guitars must be very resonant since they lack the Nitron covered top.

Congrats on the rewind too, glad it worked out. I have an early 60s DeArmond 2000T, and played some late 50s Martin DeArmonds, probably made a few years after yours. The 60s DeArmond is 9.9k, the Martin DeArmonds averaged around 9.8k. My impression is these pickups varied quite a bit. The 60s DeArmond balances well with both a modern Gretsch Dynasonic and a TVJ T-Armond neck (7.8K)—DeArmond 2000s are killer pickups
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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by Squirrel » Sun Feb 24, 2019 12:37 pm

Thanks all, this thing is actually the end result of almost a decade's worth of buying and selling guitars and I feel really lucky to have it. The neck is chunky but not obnoxiously so, I'd describe it as slightly thicker than a late '50s Les Paul with a weird, vague hint of a V profile to it. And yeah, I feel like it might be slightly more resonant than other '50s Jets I've played, but maybe it's a placebo and I'm just hearing with my eyes.

And fear not, it'll be getting a new pickguard soon, along with the right nut and control knob. I just want to get the neverending story that is my Danelectro Guitarlin restoration out of the way first.

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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by sears » Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:02 am

Squirrel, you set some high expectations with all the cussing in OP that, frankly, I'm getting a little disappointed in the lack of follow-through.

Gorgeous guitar.
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Re: NGD: Honey I shrunk the 6120

Post by Maggieo » Mon Feb 25, 2019 12:28 pm

Holy cow, that is a Holy Grail guitar. :-* :-* :-* :-* :-*
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