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Gretsch hunting. Guidance from GDPers much appreciated!

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Jun 25, 2008 11:56 p.m. jay_ordan:

A few years ago I was at a show and the sound that I heard issuing from an unseen amp was simply stunning. I couldn't see the gear, but I asked friends near the front, and the best they could offer when describing the setup was "Gretsch guitar, solidbody. Vox or fender amp. No pedals."

Ever since, the name 'Gretsch' has lingered in my mind, and now that I am looking for a new guitar, I can put the ghost that haunts me to rest... or should I say, resuscitate it. I've browsed through the catalog of past and present Gretch guitars, and found three candidates: the duo-jet, the power jet, and the 70's roc jet. I assume they are all fairly similar, and I would be happy with any of them, but maybe there is one that is better suited to my taste than the others.

As far as tone goes, I'm after a clean sound with a shimmer and a respectable low end. I like to be able to ignore the E and A strings, and then sweep over them and flood the room with a warm, lush wave of sound. I avoid distortion, only ever reaching a modest level of breakup from the preamp. I like reverb; I'm after a wave-y sound, not jangly.

I'm not into Les Paul humbucker sounds, nor strat-like single-coils. Ideally, I would like to find a happy medium between the two. I have an epi Les Paul and it's much too muddy for my liking.

Is this enough information for any of you to make a recommendation? Is it even possible to find a roc jet in decent shape?

PS: This might be beyond the scope of this forum, but would anyone suggest a particular amp for the sound I'm after? I'm pretty much abandoning my past setup; I want to start fresh with gear that I can love, not merely tolerate. Thanks!

Hopefully, I will be a proud Gretsch owner sometime soon. I look forward to geeking out with you all about guitars in the future, but for now, unfortunately, I am a Gretsch neophyte. I'd love to change that.

-Jordan
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Jun 26, 2008 12:13 a.m. bobbyrivera:

That's quite a wide scope...I am of the opinion that most Gretschs can do any genre of music. Some do certain ones better than others though. If you are looking for a basic "rock" setup to start with (judging by what you decribe- and you are familiar with Les Pauls) I would go for a new Duo Jet (with Dyansonic Pickups) with an Vox AC15.

If you are on a budget, try the Electromatic Pro-Jet.

Above all, go to well stocked music store that has plenty of Gretsch's and higher end amps and try them out for yourself.
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Jun 26, 2008 12:42 a.m. Timthom62:

Jay, Welcome to the GDP.

One of our members, the prolific Proteus, put together a great collection of sound samples for the various Gretsch sounds. You can find that here.

Which bridge is installed on your Gretsch also makes a difference, (although they are fairly easily changed and should not be a reason for eliminating any particular model). Luckily our bending author hath pursued that story as well, here.

Lastly, to help clarify your Gretsch Quest (and give the movie "Joe Vs. The Volcano" the respect it so richly deserves), we have this. Possibly the best thing on Earth to help answer your question.

With these three tools in hand, we can better help you find a Gretsch.
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Jun 26, 2008 12:42 a.m. fieldhdj:

If you want gear you can love, there is nothing better than trying before you buy. I assume that is not an easy option for you.

The current off-the-shelf-Jets give you 3 basic pickup options - Filtertrons, Dynasonics, and TV Jones Powertrons.

Dynasonics are single coils, but do not think of Strat pickups. They have a fuller tone, are more complex than almost any Strat pickup you can think of. It is a classic Gretsch sound, and is a good first stop. This is the well known Gretsch twang, bang, keeeerrrang. Here is a thread that uses a Dyna equipeed Jet with 5.. YES 5, different bridges. Thank Proteus, a name you'll know well, for this incredible bake-off.

5 Bridges, 2 Amps, a Dirt Box, and a Jet

Filtertrons and the TVJs are humbuckers. There is a temptation to compare them to the classic Les Paul pickups. If that is a point of reference, think less muddy, more bell like, chimey, with great slightly overdriven sound.

Filtertrons don't seem to handle gain the same way Powertrons do. I have a Powertron equipped guitar and it seems to be a bit more adaptable to gain and dirt - but that's my ears. YMMV.

Both are great, and I advise you to listen to as many sound samples as you can stand.

Finally, there are the aftermarket choices. Duncan recently introduced his version of Dynasonics. Pricey, but folks seem to love 'em. I'd love to have a Jet equipped with 'em. There are TV Jones Supertrons, Magnatrons, and Classics, all great pups. Sound samples are here:

TV Jones Pickups

EDIT: Sorry for the duplicate links!
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Jun 26, 2008 1:36 a.m. jay_ordan:

I am indebted to all three of you for your thoughtful comments. Thank you!

bobbyrivera: I'm definitely not on a budget. I've been coping with mediocre gear for four years now; it's definitely time to get something decent. In fact, I tried an Electromatic Pro-Jet at a guitar shop; it felt like there were some significant compromises in its build quality; it was obviously a 'budget' guitar. Coming from an epi (and having spent enough time playing Gibson LP's to recognize the subtle nuances that differentiate budget construction from venerable craft), I'm after a thoroughly well-made guitar. After all, if George Harrison can call a gretsch his first good one, there must be something there. With the epi, I've been forced to use a heavy hand in my digital editing suite to beautify its flawed tone and hand-craft the sound I want. I'd really like to not need to do that. A good guitar, and a good amp, would serve me well.

I'm at the point where I've recorded a bunch of material, I've sequestered myself in a studio for a long time (professional bass player friend), and I'm starting to have the opportunity to play small shows. Lo-fi gear is fine for studio hibernation... not so much for real spaces.

Timthom62: I actually read the Joe vs. the Volcano thread prior to posting. Whenever I join a new forum, I always seek out the newcomer thread to glean any preexisting post protocols. Sorry if my post was still too vague despite my efforts.

I also read the guitar sample thread; I hadn't read the bridge thread though. Fascinating! I had no idea that bridges had such an effect on tone, or that they were so easily swapped. That was actually one of my concerns: given that the duo-jet has a floating bridge, how much abuse will it tolerate during playing (strumming wise) before you'll dislodge it and mess up your intonation? If I'm into fast strumming at times, am I better off with a pinned-bridge power jet?

fieldhdj: I have tried a single gretsch duo-jet reissue. I was impressed, though the floating bridge concerned me. You're right: there isn't an abundance of well-stocked music stores nearby. The best is a distant five hours and a ferry ride away. Within a one-hour radius, I have five music stores, only three of which carry gretsch - mainly the electromatic models, a couple of semi-hollow's, and a single duo-jet. I can't play any of the various solid-body gretsch's side by side. Whatever my decision, I will probably have to special order a guitar in through one of the shops. They're just not very popular here, and people don't know a lot about them. Hence my online search for Gretsch wisdom. I obviously came to the right place.

A bridge question: Is there any reason why you wouldn't recommend a gretsch without a bigsby? I've never felt like I needed one, yet they seem to come standard on the majority of gretsch guitars.

Thanks again for the warm welcome.
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Jun 26, 2008 2:33 a.m. Timthom62:

Jay, pinned bridges are, of course, more resistant to movement; but there are also ways to limit movement of floating bridges as well. Some use small pieces of mild double-sided tape, others prefer heavier strings, (11s or heavier), where the increased tension helps keep the bridge in place. Others, once they have found their intonation 'sweet spot' and have settled on a string gauge, choose to pin their floating bridges in place.

There's no reason at all to avoid a non-Bigsby Gretsch. I personally prefer the Bigsby because it adds a dimension to the guitar that isn't there for me on the stop tailpiece models, but it's entirely a personal choice. The two common non-Bigsby tailpieces, the "G Cutout" stamped metal version and fancier "Cadillac G" tailpiece are both aesthetically pleasing and add to the look of the guitar. Conversely, you could also get one with a Bigsby and just leave the handle turned to the rear as George Harrison often did.

It's fairly clear that you're looking for a "Professional Series" Gretsch, but, as someone who has similar Gretsch availability issues when it comes to trying out guitars, I'd say it would be a mistake to dismiss the Electromatic line completely. The details are different, certainly, but many things are fairly consistent in both lines. I found the fact that the body styles were similar to the Pro lines to be quite handy in helping me eventually choose a 6120SSU. The Electromatics are, in and of themselves, fine guitars and are not to Gretsch as Squier is to Fender.

The Jets are a fine choice, in fact a Dyna Jet will almost certainly be my next purchase. The Powertrons are also a fine choice. If you were to buy a Power Jet tomorrow, I have little doubt that you'd be quite happy with your purchase. I would just advise you to explore the different variations, (Hollow-body with Powertrons, Jet with Dynas), as well as you are able to using the sound samples available before deciding.
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Jun 26, 2008 3:00 a.m. mainsoda:

Hey Jay,

I have to pipe in here and say when I was looking at Gretsch guitars for the first time I had the opportunity to play a couple different ones. The first was an Electromatic and it was a good guitar.

But then I picked up a 6119, I immediately noticed the phenomenal workmanship. Then I played a G chord, felt the ebony neck, went woooah and I knew this was the guitar I had been looking for my whole life.

My 2 cents is that you should absolutely go "Professional Series". Sell your car if you have to. It will be worth it.

Good luck in your search.
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Jun 26, 2008 3:57 a.m. bobbyrivera:

Jay- Welcome to the site BTW! You'll find a multitude of opinions here (especially with an open ended question as you've asked)

Definitely check out Proteus' shoot-outs as previously posted by fieldhdj. These may help. I would agree with Timthom that a floating bridge should be of no concern. It's very easy to make it "not float" if you find that you are knocking it out of place while playing. No big deal and an easy fix.

I only mentioned the budget option, because I think they are great guitars for the price, and can get you started on the Gretsch sound if you're not sure about it without spending over $1500.

You stated that you had to use a heavy hand in digital editing with the epi- Does that mean you went direct? If that's the case, then maybe you should start with buying a decent tube amp (such as a Vox AC15 or 30, or any one of the Fender tube amps) and running the Epi, and then deciding what kind of guitar you need after you dial in some tones? Just a thought... Hope this helps-
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Jul 11, 2008 11:05 p.m. Mark Synchro:

Your initial post all but screams Dynasonic Duo Jet to me. If you can listen to Brian Setzer's live recording of the James Bond Theme (Spies in the Night) you'll hear what I'm talking about.

As far as amps are concerned, I really like the sound of my Gretsches played through a Blackface Fender amp, especially a Twin.
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Jul 12, 2008 10:27 a.m. otterbean:

OK Mark- Great minds think alike.

I'm thinking he wants a dyna equipped duo jet also. I like Fender amps too(especially twins). I've got no beefs with a nice vox AC 30 either. Ampeg is building some nice ones now too.

That said, there are a lot of amps made that will work for jay. The thing feeding the amp seems to be a duo jet.
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Jul 16, 2008 4:24 p.m. beatlebum:

I have to agree. I got a 5120 and its great. It got me into Gretsch guitars in a big way. I have just bought a 6120 and its the dream Ive been waiting for. Huge difference in many ways and it gets the 60s sound I wanted with a smooth playability neck.......Heaven. 5120 is superb for the money but I suggest selling your car and buying a pro Gretsch.

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