#1
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If you missed your chance in 1966...
- the Cadillac Green Viking has been revived as an Electromatic:
http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/b...green-metallic Played a few original Brooklyn/Baldwin Vikings back in the day, and based on my experience with the current MIK E-Matics this one's going to be a whole lot better than the vintage stuff: none of the spotty QC, better tone/intonation/playability (those tuning-fork bridges were a real bear to set up correctly - most players ended up removing them - and I'll reserve comment on the "T-Zone" upper-octave frets ), binding/finish that won't slowly decompose over the next 50 years - and that Caddy Green (only Gretsch could make that work on a full-size hollowbody) speaks for itself...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#2
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#3
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Side note: In May '16 I picked up a (since-discontinued) E-matic 5622T-CB - a 3-PU cats'-eye double-cut semi-hollow which probably would have been adopted/endorsed by George Harrison had Gretsch produced it in 1964. Coincidentally enough, about thirty-five years earlier I had approached a then-upstart luthier (whom I'd prefer not to name here) for an estimate on a nearly identical design; I paid approximately one-third of the figure I was quoted (in early-1980's dollars) for my 5622, and although the handbuilt instrument would undoubtedly have exhibited a far-higher level of craftsmanship and refinement, its intrinsic merits as a musical tool would not be sufficient to justify the substantial additional cost then or now - high praise by any reckoning, and inasmuch as I had the pleasure/privilege of playing some of his instruments fresh-off-the-workbench at the time, not something I say lightly...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#4
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quite a hefty price tag steve. what do you think street would be?
maybe it is my browser, but it sure looks bluish to me. i really like the green on the one you got. i already bought myself my xmas present for this year but, this is tempting. play music!
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2014 Martin 00015M 2009 Martin 0015M 2008 Martin HD28 2007 Martin 000-18GE 2006 Taylor 712 2006 Fender Parlor GDP100 1978 Fender F65 1968 Gibson B25-12N Various Electrics |
#5
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#6
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#7
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must resist must resist, be strong do no give in to the dark side
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Enjoy the Journey.... Kev... KevWind at Soundcloud KevWind at YouYube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD System : Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1 Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Sonoma 14.4 Last edited by KevWind; 12-11-2017 at 04:38 PM. |
#8
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http://blackriderguitars.com/gretsch...-speckle-case/
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#9
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Oh my gosh Steve, I just put a pair of green leaf Sylvania 6v6s in my Excelsior. That "thing" is just what I need to revisit the land of the lounge lizards. Green how cool.
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#10
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Steve, you've been pretty persistent on the Gretsch front here, but I have you to thank for my adding a G5422 to my bunch of electrics.
I love green guitars as much as anyone, but if you drop back from the non-special edition green one to the "regular" colors like the amber/orange one like I got, you can save some on the cost. Gretch of a different color There is something about Filtertrons, even the blacktop models in the MIK line. Combine them with the big archtop and the hardware and it is a different feel and sound. These guitars are funny things. They aren't versatile like I find a good Tele can be (particularly a neck humbucker or three pickup Tele)--making many different timbres with one guitar, but the sound they do make fits into many more things than one might think. Last week I was playing in an electric band context. I had a song of mine that I had thought of as an acoustic guitar number, but not wanting to go to the trouble of setting up for recording an acoustic, I took out the Gretsch hollow body, plugged into a clean Fender amp, and it fit right in for the part. No, it didn't sound just like a acoustic guitar, but the note envelope worked in the rhythm part of the piece like an acoustic would. The other songwriter had a kind of a ironic-techno thing he wanted to try next, complete with a electro-trap drum machine beat and his distorted clav keyboard sound. I didn't put the Gretsch away, and it fit into that too. And the Gretsch is already the guitar I think of when I want to ape that early Velvet Underground subway train rhythm. Not the guitar for sustaining legato lead lines or loud, high-gain-guitar bands from what I can tell, but there's a lot of electric guitar music that isn't that. Yes, the are underappreciated guitars, and the hollow bodies may be a particularly good fit for the acoustic guitar players here.
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... |
#11
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I like the Orange (amber) one better anyway.
Also in black or white.
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~Dave ~Music self-played is happiness self-made |
#12
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Your comments about versatility compared to, say, a 3-PU Tele are right on point - one of the reasons I started looking beyond my trusty old '64 Double Annie when I got back into electric in the early-80's; oddly enough, Gretsch had the solution right in front of them - the 3-PU cats'-eye 5622T-CB (see my reply to Duke's comments above) - which they inexplicably chose to drop from the line earlier this year (NOS is still available if you look around). I've always had at least one 3-PU guitar in my stable for the last 35 years, starting with an '82 Yamaha SSC-500 (best $200 I ever spent and still in my regular rotation, along with an '86 Fender/Squier Strat and Peerless-made Carlo Robelli '53 ES-5 knockoff), so I'll attest first-hand to the broad variety of available tone color; add to that the inimitable "Great Gretsch sound," and things just ascend to a whole different level. I'm mostly a guitar-cable-amp "big-clean tone" player - venture into some bluesy crunch for a solo or a bit of grit to spice up a rhythm line, but rarely further than that - so I find the Gretsch sound ideally suited for about 95% of what I'm called upon to play; if you've got the time and patience I'd recommend seeking one out and taking it for a test drive - and if you kick in the middle pickup, ride the Bigsby a little bit, and rock out on "Sultans of Swing," you'll probably wonder why Mark Knopfler doesn't own one...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#13
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Sure looks blue to me. Love those Gretsch hollow bodies.
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_________________________________________ The Tree: I was alive in the forest, I was cut by the cruel axe. In life I was silent, In death I sweetly sing. Now back living in Baja Sur where I started my carbon fiber journey... Bend OR was too cold! |
#14
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And a heck of a value at the current price--and if you call during business hours they'll almost certainly honor the current percent-off coupon too.
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... |
#15
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Thanks to Steve I've added 3 Gretsches to the family this year. They are outstanding guitars, and I've had the best electric guitar year ever. And, two of them are green. I'm seeing Brian Setzer this weekend in AZ, prepare to be rocked and humbled.
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