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Help me decide! I can really only keep one: MIJ Duo Jet or MIK Electromatic hollow body?
I’ve had the Electromatic (G5422T) for about 6 months as my first ever Gretsch, and it took about that long to really bond with it, so I never went on to do my originally planned upgrades - TV Jones Classics, new wiring harness, TruArc bridge. I thought maybe I just like solid body-sized guitars with more spank and sustain, so I starting GASing for a Duo Jet.
The MIJ Duo Jet plays great and sounds great, but now I’m torn. I like the TV Jones Classics more than blacktop filtertrons for sure (more sparkle, less midrange nasally bridge sound, but not apples to apples with the very different guitar construction). The MIJ has better hardware, and it’ll retain its value way more than a modded Electromatic would. But surprisingly, playability for me is pretty similar for both, with the MIJ having a more unique neck carve (soft V vs thin U), a better setup, and a little better tuning stability. I thought I’d have an easier time deciding (e.g., it’s been easy for me to choose an MIA/MIJ Fender over a MIM one).
Part of me is still attached to the Electromatic and wanting to mod it up, but there’s no guarantee it’d end up as good. My mental image of a Gretsch has always been a hollow body, and my slight aversion to Les Pauls doesn’t help the Duo Jet’s case. My brain says the Duo Jet is the “better” guitar, and it certainly sounds and feels better stock than the Electromatic does stock. I'll spend more time with both and suspect with time I'll appreciate more about the MIJ, but I'm going back and forth at the moment.