Bente, regarding my setups...
My usual practice is to take action on each guitar as low as it will go without fret buzz that aggravates me much. By (bad) habit, I have a fairly heavy touch, so probably don't have action as low as a really disciplined player could have it.
This generally brings action down a bit from where it is when I get the guitars, but I wouldn't call it super-low. Medium-low maybe. (Yes, measurements would be much better, but I don't have a decent tool for measuring height, and my eyes don't read fine markings on measuresticks well anyway.)
None of my Gretchs have had to have a pro setup, nor any fret or action work - with the exception of the 6128 Jet (not in these tests), which needed some nut attention and some mid-neck fret dressing to get consistent performance at medium-low action.
I haven't adjusted the height of ANY pickups on any of my Gretschs...I don't think I've even messed with the height of individual polepieces on any of the Filtertron models. On Dyna models, I've cranked polepieces up till they started to heterodyne/wolf-tone the strings, or noticeably affect sustain, then pulled them back down till they didn't.
In terms of neck relief, I look for the same profile on the Gretschs as on any other set-neck guitar (and most guitars, period) - which is to have just barely visible concavity, or relief away from the strings, in the 5th - 9th fret area.
No more than one or two of the guitars have needed any truss rod adjustment, and that was within a few weeks of receiving them and stringing them with my choice of strings. So far they've been remarkably stable in the environments where they stay. I'd like to keep them in more consistent conditions, but temperatures have generally ranged from 60 to 90+, and relative humidities from 30 to 70.
I'm glad you like your WildKat - everytime I play mine it makes me glad all over again too.
Richard - thank you for the high compliment; it means a lot coming from a superb player like you. I mean...aw shucks!
I know just what you mean about the Dynas on the 6120. Once I heard that guitar with flatwounds, I knew I'd found a magic configuration. There's something seductive about the tone of that guitar that pulls me in every time...so much character and interest.
Why did I change the neck pup on the 6122-59...an experiment, really. I loved the sound of the Supertron, no problem there. But I was curious about Magnatrons, and about the same time that curiosity reached critical mass I was having the 59 rewired for a different control configuration.
I had the pickups set up with quick-n-easy connectors, and I can swap the pickups around at will. I'm not dead sure the 59 is the perfect host for the Magnatron; the guitar has seemingly lost a little of its majesty. I'll put the Super back in and run another test.
I love the sound of the Magnatron - but I'm not sure it's BETTER for my purposes than Dynas or straight-ahead Filtertrons.
ADR - remember on the Dyna clips that the 6120 has flatwound 11s and the Club has roundwound 12s; that accounts for some of the difference. But I certainly agree that the Club has an all-embracing uber-kinda none-more tone. That and the 59 are the real luxury cruisers of the lot - guitars I'm in awe of every time I play them, like I have to live up to them.
Sean - thanks again, and, yeah, Ampeg. Another seductive tone machine. I keep saying - anytime anyone sees a 60s Reverberocket for under 600.00, just BUY it. If you don't love it (and it'll take you months to really be sure), SOMEone will. Don't see how you can lose money on one.
Stevie - and thank YOU; I appreciate the compliments. I'm with you on flatwounds...I hadn't tried them for probably 30 years, and then only briefly. But so far they've made an unbelievable difference in two of my Gretschs - the 6120 and the Tenny. I can't imagine NOT having that tone in the arsenal now.
It was literally like magic - suddenly, with no more than a string change, whole worlds opened up. I had tones I'd never imagined having before, that I recognized from the legendary past but never thought I could produce. They aren't for every guitar, but I've learned now that before I give up on a guitar that isn't lighting me up, I'm putting flats on it. Whole nother world.
