Gretsch Solid Body Electric Guitars

I bought this guitar at guitar center. List was $750. They were asking $400 and I ended up paying $315 out the door. An excellent deal for such an amazing guitar! I intended on picking up an Ibanez for $200 more than the Gretsch but after I played it I opted not. Just didn't play like I thought it would for the cost. I messed around with a few other guitars for an hour or so and came across this Gretsch. It was up by the desk with all the other $2300 Gretsch guitars so I just over looked it thinking it was at least a grand. Turns out they were asking $400 so it was within my budget. I played it for about 15 minutes and the station I was playing at freaked out and lost power so I came back the next day, played the guitar for 30 minutes or so and had to have it! I love everything about this guitar. It looks and plays like a much more expensive guitar. Actually it looks almost identical to Gretsch's 1962 duo jet re-issue for about $2000 or so. Minus the Bigsby Tremolo tail piece though. The knobs are the same and it's weighted about the same. It's not a light guitar by any means but very easy to play. The Gretsch dual Humbuckers sound great and it has that distinctive "Gretsch sound". I've been playing it pretty much all day for the past three days neglecting food and sleep, it's almost 3:00 am right now and I'll be getting back to it as soon as I'm done here. Don't plan on picking one of these baby's up unless you're unemployed, out of school, and don't have a girlfriend because you're not going to be able to put it down! Just line up the beers and crank up the amp! There's really nothing that I don't like about this guitar. It's weighted a tad bit wierd if you're leaning back in a chair while your playing but if you sit up like you're suppose to it's fine. The standard strings are a little harsh but that's an easy fix and the bridge and pick-ups needed a little adjusting to get the sound exactly right. I think someone mentioned a loose pick-up on another Gretsch review. Mine did the same thing but all that needed to be done was to crank up the hieght screws for the neck side pick-up as they are spring loaded at it comes a little loose. The quality of the guitar is excellent! All the parts are excellent quality or at least they look like they are. I guess in time I'll find out for sure. It feels like a much more expensive guitar. Most of the hardware is the same as seen on all the high end Gretsch guitars regardless of price. The details are excellent. The only thing that is plastic on the guitar is the pick guard. The elevated Gretsch style pick guard, by the way, has to be one of the coolest things in the world! The knobs and hardware are all chrome and the knobs have the Gretsch "G" etched on each one. Very very nicely done guitar. The top of the neck has "Electromatic" written in gold and looks very pricey. Overall an excellent guitar. The bottom line...... if you find one of these guitars, buy it! It would seem that Gretsch's are not as popular as Ibanez's or Fender's nowadays but I think it's just a better guitar overall and worth every penny if not more. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com