NGretschD

dazzajl

I wasn't going to make a thread for this but then I thought it's bounced around the forum so much over the last few months, it deserved its moment in the Sun. Bought from the incredibly lovely @DrCornelius, who tells me it's the David Gilmour signature edition*, it's full title is the G6128T-59 Vintage Select. It's the 9th Gretsch I've owned over the years and including the dozens more I've played, It's hands down the nicest Jet of them all. I can absolutely see why it's not scratched the itch for all the people that have passed it on and at first I was a little underwhelmed too. It doesn't do the Gretsch snarl, rock or Setzer type stuff at all well. Put that aside though and you enter a world of the smoothest, most soulful and articulate tones imaginable. The "mud switch" that I've always loathed the sound of on other Gretsches is gorgeous on this guitar, especially on the neck pick up. 

It's also beautifully put together, has a wonderfully low action, holds tune perfectly and not so much as a single ping from the nut.

* you all know he didn't right!

Here is some random bloke trying to illustrate the sound I'm talking about

https://youtu.be/rk3HUfl9RHE

brooom

As I was the first one to own that guitar, I can say that it absolutely scratched every single itch I might have ever had for a Gretsch (not the David Gilmour thing though, as I'm not a big fan).

The only reason I sold it, was because I have two Gretsch Stephen Stern masterbuilts, which this guitar could absolutely hang out with, but it was also the last one in, so rules dictate it should be the first one out.

here you have it hanging out with it's masterbuilt friends:

Seziertisch

I love the Fender custom colours that come on many of the Masterbuilts 

dazzajl

Love a Champagne Sparkle @brooom. The very first Jet I really lusted for was a double cut, aged in that finish. Two very pretty Jets you have left. 

How do the Stern builds sound compared to this Terada Jet? I had a Stern Annie for a while and it was a completely different animal to any Japanese one I’ve played. 

brooom

Hi @dazzajl, I think the vintage select Duo-Jet compares very favourably to the Masterbuilt Penguin and Jet. They did fix some of the details that were missing on older Japanese models, such as body depth. I don't have a lot of experience with the hollow models, so I can't speak for those. But having two masterbuilts (which I love), I can easily say I'd be just as happy with the vintage selects, at least as far as Jets/Penguins go.

DrCornelius

Hahaha , seriously that made me laugh . I started reading your post and nearly had a heart attack :-)

ThePrettyDamned

Beautiful! 

Hattigol

brooom said:

As I was the first one to own that guitar, I can say that it absolutely scratched every single itch I might have ever had for a Gretsch (not the David Gilmour thing though, as I'm not a big fan).

The only reason I sold it, was because I have two Gretsch Stephen Stern masterbuilts, which this guitar could absolutely hang out with, but it was also the last one in, so rules dictate it should be the first one out.

here you have it hanging out with it's masterbuilt friends:

@AlexO that Penguin...!

AlexO

Hattigol said:

brooom said:

As I was the first one to own that guitar, I can say that it absolutely scratched every single itch I might have ever had for a Gretsch (not the David Gilmour thing though, as I'm not a big fan).

The only reason I sold it, was because I have two Gretsch Stephen Stern masterbuilts, which this guitar could absolutely hang out with, but it was also the last one in, so rules dictate it should be the first one out.

here you have it hanging out with it's masterbuilt friends:

@AlexO that Penguin...!

 Stunning. I’m hoping @brooom sells me it one day 

Jimbro66

dazzajl said:

.........It's also beautifully put together, has a wonderfully low action, holds tune perfectly and not so much as a single ping from the nut.........

@brooom and @DrCornelius did either of you set the guitar up after receiving it or was it already as @dazzajl describes it?

I ask out of interest because I recently bought a G6128T-53 VS and although it is very well made and sounds good it would definitely benefit from a pro setup.

DrCornelius

II wasn't the first owner @Jimbro66 , it came to me with a superb low action and it remained that way even after the neck break.

Jimbro66

DrCornelius said:

II wasn't the first owner @Jimbro66 , it came to me with a superb low action and it remained that way even after the neck break.

 

brooom

As I mentioned, I bought it new. It came to me quite well setup from factory and played extremely well.

Jimbro66

brooom said:

As I mentioned, I bought it new. It came to me quite well setup from factory and played extremely well.

Thanks for that @brooom. That suggests the VS spec guitars are variable in their setup - unless of course yours had been set up by the supplying retailer whereas mine came from the factory via a box shifter who did nothing to it.

dazzajl

Jimbro66 said:

dazzajl said:

.........It's also beautifully put together, has a wonderfully low action, holds tune perfectly and not so much as a single ping from the nut.........

@brooom and @DrCornelius did either of you set the guitar up after receiving it or was it already as @dazzajl describes it?

I ask out of interest because I recently bought a G6128T-53 VS and although it is very well made and sounds good it would definitely benefit from a pro setup.

My experience with Gretches is that they don’t always leave the factory nearly as well set up as they should do. The nut is a particular weakness that prevents both even play at the lower end of the neck and tuning stability with the bigsby. 

They shouldn’t need that extra work, definitely not at those prices but once they are really properly sorted, it’s impossible to not forgive them these little shortcomings. The 53 looks utterly gorgeous, I hope you’re loving it.

Jimbro66

dazzajl said:

Jimbro66 said:

dazzajl said:

.........It's also beautifully put together, has a wonderfully low action, holds tune perfectly and not so much as a single ping from the nut.........

@brooom and @DrCornelius did either of you set the guitar up after receiving it or was it already as @dazzajl describes it?

I ask out of interest because I recently bought a G6128T-53 VS and although it is very well made and sounds good it would definitely benefit from a pro setup.

My experience with Gretches is that they don’t always leave the factory nearly as well set up as they should do. The nut is a particular weakness that prevents both even play at the lower end of the neck and tuning stability with the bigsby. 

They shouldn’t need that extra work, definitely not at those prices but once they are really properly sorted, it’s impossible to not forgive them these little shortcomings. The 53 looks utterly gorgeous, I hope you’re loving it.

Interesting comments @dazzajl thanks. Yes the 53 is everything I wanted and I'm sure that once it has been properly sorted it will become a definite favourite. I'll probably drop it over to Feline to get them to work their magic on it.

Congrats on the 59 BTW and HNGD

Keefy

Congratulations on another Jet @dazzajl ;

brooom

Jimbro66 said:

brooom said:

As I mentioned, I bought it new. It came to me quite well setup from factory and played extremely well.

Thanks for that @brooom. That suggests the VS spec guitars are variable in their setup - unless of course yours had been set up by the supplying retailer whereas mine came from the factory via a box shifter who did nothing to it.

No worries. It wasn't setup by the retailer, that was just how it arrived from factory.

TheMarlin

This guitar is currently on sabbatical at Marlin Towers. 

With all due respect, those that owned this before @dazzajl, you all are frinkin batshitcrazy for selling this thing. It’s a phenomenal guitar and (even though I have a Masterbuilt Gretsch in the house) it’s the best Gretsch I’ve had my hands on. Stunning build quality and attention to detail,  wonderful neck, just the feel in the hands is worth the price of admission. 

It’s not as raw and visceral as my Annie, but I like that. It’s it’s own thing.  Plus, when you really wind it up to neighbours threatening levels, it’s glorious.  

I saw the Stray Cats in Birminghsm on the last tour. Seltzer is a fantastic effortless player, with a few Gretsches to choose from. All his Hot Rods sound lovely, but the guitar that steals the show is his 59 6120 (it’s believe to be a 1960 model, but let’s not pick holes)... it’s not as loud as his newer Hot Rods, the pickups are not as hot, but boy does that guitar sound fantastic.  It’s not raspy, but has superb complexity of tone, and better pick dynamics than the newer models. 

Less powerful pickup gives you better tone at those kinda volumes (which I can cheat at home with my nut-job 5E3). 

This guitar is stunning. I’ve rarely lusted after a guitar more. 

BeardyAndy

Happy NGD.

Great pic's by the way, next time I have a guitar to sell, can I send it to you for the photo shoot?  

brooom

TheMarlin said:

This guitar is currently on sabbatical at Marlin Towers. 

With all due respect, those that owned this before @dazzajl, you all are frinkin batshitcrazy for selling this thing. It’s a phenomenal guitar and (even though I have a Masterbuilt Gretsch in the house) it’s the best Gretsch I’ve had my hands on. Stunning build quality and attention to detail,  wonderful neck, just the feel in the hands is worth the price of admission. 

It’s not as raw and visceral as my Annie, but I like that. It’s it’s own thing.  Plus, when you really wind it up to neighbours threatening levels, it’s glorious.  

I saw the Stray Cats in Birminghsm on the last tour. Seltzer is a fantastic effortless player, with a few Gretsches to choose from. All his Hot Rods sound lovely, but the guitar that steals the show is his 59 6120 (it’s believe to be a 1960 model, but let’s not pick holes)... it’s not as loud as his newer Hot Rods, the pickups are not as hot, but boy does that guitar sound fantastic.  It’s not raspy, but has superb complexity of tone, and better pick dynamics than the newer models. 

Less powerful pickup gives you better tone at those kinda volumes (which I can cheat at home with my nut-job 5E3). 

This guitar is stunning. I’ve rarely lusted after a guitar more. 

Hi Marlin,

I'm super happy to know that you bought it, as I know you're a big Gretsch fan. So it really ended up in the right hands.

As you know this was originally my guitar (I bought it brand new, from a dealer in Portugal). I praised it for a long time here in the forum, and stated many times that it was in no way inferior to my two Stephen Stern Masterbuilt Gretsches.

The only reason I sold it, was because I needed (and still need) to downsize my gear, and that one was the last one in.

I really gain nothing by praising that guitar, as I'm no longer selling it, but it was that good. As great as my 59 Penguin Masterbuilt or my 59 Sparkle jet masterbuilt for sure.

Enjoy it, it's a stunning instrument.