Christmas, Gretsch style!

[BoneDigger]

Four of my Gretsch guitars getting into the Christmas spirit!20211127_021245.jpg

[Bluside]

Love it. Great collection.

[Dru Edwards]

Great family pic! Where's the eggnog?

[GoPappy]

Nice family photo. So, do you have a favorite? If so, which one?

[Steve DeRosa]

You need one of these - the G5622T-CB cats' eye, my personal gigmeister and IME the most versatile guitar ever to wear the Gretsch name:





- and this "guitar-that-never-was-but-should-have-been," an FSR E-Matic Duo-Jet from a few years ago based on the highly apocryphal (and never released - a couple prototypes are rumored to exist) Mary Ford Standard circa 1963:

[BoneDigger]

I do have a three other Gretsches that just don't have Christmas colors, so they stayed out of the picture.

[GoPappy]

Steve, I saw one of those 3 pickup 5622's in a green color that was just stunning, and it took all my self-control to keep my wallet in my pocket.

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by GoPappy

Nice family photo. So, do you have a favorite? If so, which one?

Honestly, not really. I also own three other Gretsches. They all have their unique qualities.

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

You need one of these - the G5622T-CB cats' eye, my personal gigmeister and IME the most versatile guitar ever to wear the Gretsch name:











- and this "guitar-that-never-was-but-should-have-been," an FSR E-Matic Duo-Jet from a few years ago based on the highly apocryphal (and never released - a couple prototypes are rumored to exist) Mary Ford Standard circa 1963:

I do own a 5622t, just not the cats eye, 3 pickup version. It's a fabulous guitar!

[Street Glider]

I find Gretsch to be a niche market thing, kinda' like Rickenbacker. 1,000 people will buy a Les Paul or a Strat to every one person buying a Gretsch.

That said, I want one. I want this one:




If I can't have that one I'll take the Stephen Stills Signature Model:

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Street Glider

I find Gretsch to be a niche market thing, kinda like Rickenbacker. 1,000 people will buy a Les Paul or a Strat to every one person buying a Gretsch...

IME that's largely a matter of respective company history (both Gibson and Fender have a relatively continuous lineage compared to Gretsch), regional availability (I grew up in Brooklyn, my grandparents lived three blocks from the 60 Broadway factory and just down the street from the drum warehouse, and if you lived in that place/time Gretsch guitars were all over the place), market-driven sales (the bulk of vintage Gretsch - and to a lesser extent Rickenbacker - instruments on the market fall into the 1963-68 "Beatle years"), and standardization of parts (until TV Jones came along there was no such thing as an aftermarket Gretsch pickup)...

By the same token, if what I've been seeing in the local/national music stores over the last decade or so is any indication Fred Gretsch has carved out a distinct market identity for the brand, and if what I've been seeing here on the Electric subforum is any indication savvy players who tend to think outside the box are adopting them as their all-purpose go-to instruments. FWIW I've been an owner since 1964 (still have the Double Annie I bought brand-new), and I can say without reservation that the current crop of Electromatic and Professional Series instruments are among the finest ever to wear the marque - the former being a particular favorite among those of us who crave "That Great Gretsch Sound" but can't afford/don't want to sink $2500+ into a Pro Series or Custom Shop offering...

Finally, just as it's de rigeur for any serious electric guitarist to own at least one Fender/one Gibson, if you're in this game for the long haul you almost can't afford not to own a MIK/MIJ Gretsch of one stripe or another, especially if your style depends on clarity of articulation and tends towards the cleaner side of the spectrum. FYI as long as you're not a hard-core headbanger they can get down and dirty - the more-powerful/more-midrangey Baldwin-era "blacktop" Filter'trons (both original and reissue) and discontinued Super Hi-lo'Trons featured on the MIK 5622 E-Matics (my favorite of the "new generation" Gretsch PU's BTW) are particularly well-suited for blues/Southern/classic-rock OD, hitting the front end of a tube amp with a stronger signal without sacrificing their Gretsch identity - and while you're waiting to scrape up the bucks for a Pro Series White Falcon, you can indulge your Gretsch GAS for about one-fourth the price with one of these (easily customized to near-Falcon specs for a couple hundred in aftermarket parts ) at no sacrifice in tone or playability:



https://gretschguitars.com/gear/buil...are/2506014567

- or channel your inner Neil Young:



https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...vintage-orange

- or Brian Jones:



https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...dy-aspen-green

The cyber-week sales are on, take the plunge now - you'll thank me later...