So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by Ceylon » Fri Mar 08, 2019 5:51 am

If things play out my way, by next week I'll be playing my first ever own Gretsch. Not a fancy vintage piece like some of the ones in this thread but still... :whistle:
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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by dezb1 » Fri Mar 08, 2019 10:22 am

Ceylon wrote:
Fri Mar 08, 2019 5:51 am
If things play out my way, by next week I'll be playing my first ever own Gretsch. Not a fancy vintage piece like some of the ones in this thread but still... :whistle:
Any Gretsch is good my Streamliner is i great guitar.

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by i love sharin foo » Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:01 am

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by Zork » Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:37 pm

Nice repair on that pickguard... :fp:

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by i love sharin foo » Sun Mar 10, 2019 3:07 pm

Zork wrote:
Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:37 pm
Nice repair on that pickguard... :fp:
It was actually done about 50 years ago. It adds a lot of history for me and I wouldn't consider changing it.
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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by shadowplay » Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:34 am

too cool i love sharin foo, too cool. I'd not change the scratchplate either.

D
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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by i love sharin foo » Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:43 am

shadowplay wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:34 am
too cool i love sharin foo, too cool. I'd not change the scratchplate either.

D
Somebody took the time to cut a thin steel plate to match the pickguard's shape, cut the screws to the right length and even countersunk the holes on the face. When I first bought the guitar, I had planned to start the hunt for a correct, unrepaired one. But after it was in hand and I looked it over, I felt like it was part of the guitar's story. Something that I didn't want to lose.
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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by Zork » Mon Mar 11, 2019 2:14 pm

It certainly adds to the mean rock'n'roll vibe. But...
i love sharin foo wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:43 am
Somebody took the time to cut a thin steel plate to match the pickguard's shape, cut the screws to the right length and even countersunk the holes on the face.
...and then at the same time managed to put the screws in all crooked, wonky and sloppy...? There really must be a very funny or very weird story behind it! :D

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by i love sharin foo » Mon Mar 11, 2019 6:05 pm

Zork wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 2:14 pm
It certainly adds to the mean rock'n'roll vibe. But...
i love sharin foo wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:43 am
Somebody took the time to cut a thin steel plate to match the pickguard's shape, cut the screws to the right length and even countersunk the holes on the face.
...and then at the same time managed to put the screws in all crooked, wonky and sloppy...? There really must be a very funny or very weird story behind it! :D
You must take great pride in being a dick, huh?
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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by BobL » Mon Mar 11, 2019 8:08 pm

That thing is cool as hell!

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by Mechanical Birds » Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:45 pm

Squirrel wrote:
Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:10 am
I'm a huge fan of Gretsch, I wouldn't even consider buying any other make of guitar at this point unless it was something really unusual. Here are mine:

Image

Image

1965 6120, 1967 Tennessean, 1966 Astro Jet. Aaaand I've just bought another, which shall be revealed fairly soon. :ph34r:
I really, really love the look of those Astro Jet guitars. I wish I could find one for like a grand but they, like every piece of gear I dream about owning, have moved well beyond any price I’d be able to pay. They look so, so awesome though and if I somehow did end up with one I wouldn’t hesitate to route out some space for a Mastery trem. They’re killer.

The bridges on the other ones in this post though look insane? Like just a thin piece of metal that looks like you literally can’t set intonation, or am I wrong? I know there was a point in time where every guitar didn’t inexplicably have a Tun-o-matic, like right now, but still that ‘bridge’ looks like it would just suck in about every possible way. What’s the deal there if anybody wouldn’t mind schooling me a little

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by Squirrel » Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:25 pm

Mechanical Birds wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:45 pm
I really, really love the look of those Astro Jet guitars. I wish I could find one for like a grand but they, like every piece of gear I dream about owning, have moved well beyond any price I’d be able to pay. They look so, so awesome though and if I somehow did end up with one I wouldn’t hesitate to route out some space for a Mastery trem. They’re killer.

The bridges on the other ones in this post though look insane? Like just a thin piece of metal that looks like you literally can’t set intonation, or am I wrong? I know there was a point in time where every guitar didn’t inexplicably have a Tun-o-matic, like right now, but still that ‘bridge’ looks like it would just suck in about every possible way. What’s the deal there if anybody wouldn’t mind schooling me a little
Thanks! I love the Astro Jet too, mine was a bit of an impulse purchase but I was surprised at just how incredible it plays and sounds. If you want one but want to pay less than a grand, NOS Astro Jet bodies turn up regularly on ebay for not much money. A lot of people have turned them into really cool guitars, plus you could route it for a Mastery trem with total impugnity.

Yeah, the bar bridge doesn't have adjustable intonation which kinda sucks. You're basically stuck using a wound G, which was the norm at the time. On the plus side though, it's actually a thick, solid piece of metal (the original ones from the '60s are chrome plated brass, I think) so the notes ring out really nicely. Also like a Jazzmaster bridge it rocks back and forth on its base which helps the tuning stability.

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by Mechanical Birds » Tue Mar 12, 2019 5:06 pm

So it has grooves ok couldn’t tell from the pictures. Even still, yeah seems wild.

I’ve yet to try one but those new Gretsch things that are only like $400 brand new look crazy. Much more expensive looking finishes and hardware, seems like a true value.

Another thing I always thought was weird was the absolutely giant block inlays that seemingly take up the entire space between frets. Was it like that because instead of using a whole piece of rosewood they could just alternate between rosewood or ebony or whatever and pearloid and thus have a fretboard that’s not a single piece, but is actually ~22 different pieces? I know that’s not what they did but I can’t say it would have been dumb to me if they did. Seems like it’d have saved a ton on material costs but probably cost even more in labor. Brass tacks the huge inlays look weird as hell to me and have me wondering what a fretboard made entirely of pearloid with no wood at all would be like.

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by BobL » Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:23 pm

'Can't set intonation' only applies to individual strings... you can move the whole bridge around to get it in the right ballpark. A lot of them are pinned once the intonation is set so the bridge won't slide. I don't run into intonation issues with mine, to be honestly. It's like an acoustic - those things when done right have good intonation.

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Re: So who is playing Gretsch guitars?

Post by Zork » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:04 am

i love sharin foo wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 6:05 pm
Zork wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 2:14 pm
It certainly adds to the mean rock'n'roll vibe. But...
i love sharin foo wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:43 am
Somebody took the time to cut a thin steel plate to match the pickguard's shape, cut the screws to the right length and even countersunk the holes on the face.
...and then at the same time managed to put the screws in all crooked, wonky and sloppy...? There really must be a very funny or very weird story behind it! :D
You must take great pride in being a dick, huh?
Sorry if I came across as a dick, it was not my intention at all. I just thought this repair is kind of strange, that's all. Sorry.

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