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Old 11-05-2018, 09:43 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carbonius View Post
...I want acoustic type strumming rhythm abilities, nice clean tones for fingerstyle & also the ability to have some distortion/overdrive tones...just to overdrive it a bit at times for leads and also some natural breakup in some rhythm parts...

...I mostly heard about Godin 5th Ave. I really wish I could try one. The specs are nice, slightly wider neck, different ratio tuners for treble side vs bass side. It also comes with a case and the total price is LESS than the Epi & Gretsch I was looking at. I find the Godin gets more praise for workmanship.

Can you please describe what the differences are between Godin P90's and Godin HB's on these 5th Ave??

Also, can the HB's have a coil splitter added?? This would really open up the tonal palette I think.

Anyone hear the "TV Jones Classic" PU's in the more expensive Uptown line??
Lifelong Gretsch guy here (I've had at least one in my stable since early 1964, presently down to three), owned my CW II since 2012, and since I have extensive hands-on experience with both brands I'll offer my observations/recommendations in that light; grab a cold Molson or two and some chips-&-salsa - this might take a while :
  • First off, IME Jeff's 100% right about the P-90 CW II - that's the model we own, TMK it's the most popular iteration, if you're looking for clarity and "air" along with warmth it's one of exactly two brands in the $1K+/- price range you need to be considering - and although I've never even seen (much less tried) one in person, I tend to think there's a good reason the humbucker version is a slow seller. P-90 guitar though it may be, don't expect the kind of raw crunch and drive associated with Leslie West, George Thorogood or Woodstock-era Pete Townshend and Carlos Santana (I also own a P-90 Les Paul goldtop and I'll guess based on head-to-head comparison that the Godin pickups are about 5% underwound compared to most Gibson originals, similar to the ones in some of the better-sounding early/mid-50's ES-125/ES-150 models I've played); as Godin's ads state the CW II is built along the lines of the classic (and classy) bread-&-butter archtops of the early-1950's like the first-version ES-175D and Epiphone Zephyr Regent - quite frankly I like the tone better than the "thud-&-mud" often found in the vintage jazzboxes (there's a definite and unmistakable element of old Brooklyn Gretsch in the tone - not surprising since they're using similarly lightweight woods) - so if versatility in an easy-handling package (mine weighs just a tick over five pounds - comparable to a Seagull mini-jumbo) is the name of your game this might just be your guitar. PSA: I understand Tony Bennett's guitarist has been using one in concert for a number of years - what I said about classy - and I think both he and his boss have more than a little experience in the tone department...
  • Again speaking as an owner I'm quite familiar with the Korean-made Gretsch 5400/5600-Series E-matics, I'll state unequivocally that their tone/QC/playability exceeds many of the (several hundred) "Golden Era" Brooklyn originals I've played since I was a kid (if you grew up in that time/place your first "good" electric waa a Gretsch, period) and, along with the aforementioned Godin CW II, you're not going to find a higher-quality instrument in this price bracket (well worth saving up a few extra bucks if you're interested BTW - and my made-in-China Epi Ultra 339 isn't even in the same hemisphere quality-wise); that said, the various combinations of pickups and body construction will each provide you with different tones, so I'd recommend finding a way to audition any models you're considering before you make your decision. Speaking in the very broadest of terms - again as a lifetime owner who plays every new Gretsch product that I can get my hands on - I can give you an idea of what to expect (as always YMMV depending on your playing style, setup, associated amplification, etc.):
    • 5400-Series full-hollow thinline: the classic "Brooklyn Gretsch" hollowbody tone with a subtle midrange "thump" not present in the vintage originals, as a result of the thicker woods used in their construction (as stated above Gretsch used very thin woods back in the day - thinner than many acoustic instruments - which accounted for much of their lively, "airy" tone); I've seen several local-level Beatles-tribute bands use the walnut/gold 5422 as their "George" guitar, and played with flatwound strings through a Vox AC30 in a live setting you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference from a Country Gent. Personally, I'd sooner have a new 5420 than the Godin Uptown with TV Jones Classics - comparable quality/tone at considerably lower cost (I'm familiar with the Jones PU's in Gretsch livery), and nothing beats that cool Gretsch visual vibe...
    • 5600-Series semi-hollow: IMO the most versatile design in the current Gretsch lineup regardless of price, this one'll not only cop 95%+ of those iconic Chet and "King George" tones but will take you into 335 territory with a distinct Gretsch twist; if you like to explore the harder side of things once in a while - classic rock, '60s-70s blues-rock, Southern, or anything else for which you might consider a Gibson 335/345/355 - the 5600 is a real hidden gem...
    • "Blacktop" Filter'Tron: As company ad copy states this one was reverse-engineered from a '70s Baldwin-era Filter'Tron, IME a different flavor of Gretsch than the "High Sensitive" Filter-tron tones I grew up with (and that most players think of when they hear "Gretsch"); IMO this one's a great introduction to "That Great Gretsch Sound" for the soapbar P-90 crowd: thicker, more midrange emphasis (as compared to the distinct upper-mid peak of the Brooklyn F-Trons and their Professional Series reissues); crunchier, but without ever getting muddy as full-size humbuckers (or hot-wound P-90's) can often do - and if you need your leads to cut through the band without resorting to sheer volume, or you want to goose the front end of a high-gain tube amp into the sweet spot without getting thrown out of the club (both of which sound like primary considerations in your case), these just may be your pickup...
    • Super Hi-lo'Tron: Unlike their (justly) oft-reviled '60s namesake (only Brian Jones - with the puke-green Double Annie he used in the early Stones days - and George Harrison seemed to like them) these are a true humbucker designed to have the Hi-lo frequency response with more power/gain, and as the owner of both a '64 Double Annie with original Hi-lo's and a '16 3-PU/cats'-eye 5622T-CB with the current "Super" version I'll say they came fairly close; they're an excellent match for the 5600 semi-hollows BTW, and that's where they seem to have found their home in the Gretsch lineup. IMO one big plus in the current versions is that they dialed back the Fendery trebles of the originals - never were a good fit for a lightly-built hollowbody guitar IME - and while they sound good through my '65 Super Reverb RI (the original Hi-los were not only screechy to my ears when I played them through original blackface Supers back in the day, but had a tendency to feed back when you reached club-level volume) they really shine through an EL84-equipped amp: I can get "NME '65" Vox AC50 Beatles tones through my Bugera V22 (the retrofitted Eminence Swamp Thang and Russian mil-spec tubes make it sound "bigger" than an AC combo), and a recent test-play of a current twin-PU 5622 through an AC15 had me channeling every 1964 George Harrison lick I could think of. Never heard them on a full-hollow - not even sure if they produce one at this time - but at around 7-1/2 pounds on the strap the current 5600's are almost two pounds lighter than their recent predecessors (and less than one pound heavier than the 5400 full-hollows); they'll also give you some nice near-acoustic fingerstyle tones if you dial in your guitar/amp combo right (used mine on a couple recent gigs where I needed to travel light and leave the Rainsong at home) - as I said, very versatile while remaining unquestionably Gretsch in execution, and if I could only own one electric for the rest of my life I'd happily reach for my 5622...
Hope this helps...
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Last edited by Steve DeRosa; 11-05-2018 at 09:54 PM.
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