#1
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Gretsch New Yorker acoustic brand new for $ 435.00... should I take it ?
Premise: I play acoustic flattops, fingerstyle, never had an archtop in my life, but I'd like to experiment with a different kind of guitar and a different sound, not to mention that archtops are SO beautiful... and, I am on a budget
(no more than $600.00). One of my local music stores has a brand new Gretsch New Yorker, which is not built anymore, and he is willing to sell it to me for $435.00. I briefly played the guitar. No flaws, great set up, and I quite liked the tone, punchy, dry, very interesting. But... this is the first and only archtop that I have played. I know that there are other options in the $ 600 range: Epiphone Century, Loar LH300, Godin 5th Avenue...but I did not find a store that stock any of them. So, what is your opinion of the Gretsch New Yorker ? And... for $ 435.00, do you think it is a good buy ? Thanks! P.S. I want to buy new, not pre-owned. |
#2
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Acoustic Guitar Magazine liked it a lot and it was $500 street so the price is right. I have not played their arch tops but the rest of the Gretsch import line is an exceptionally good value.
http://acousticguitar.com/gretsch-g9...e-to-the-core/ |
#3
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Fundamentally, you're asking: will I get a decent "archtop experience"? If it is in reasonable shape, then yes, you would be, for a low-end archtop. You'd be able to check out the different Tone and Playability of an archtop vs. a flattop.
For me, getting a feel for what archtops can do vs. flattops has been a journey. I didn't get it at first, then came at it again over the years, and have only just now realized what a great fit an archtop is for me. Having an inexpensive example that you can live with sounds like a great idea.
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An old Gibson and a couple of old Martins; a couple of homebrew Tele's |
#4
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I've tried these. I thought the neck was kind of clunky, fat and with almost sharp fretboard edges (not frets, the actual wood)
It was strung up with flatwounds which is kind of a tone killer for an acoustic guitar (it was used, clearly somebody read somewhere that flatwounds are good for jazz and missed the part about them really being electric guitar strings) but it sounded pretty good. With rounds and a good setup, it'd be a decent budget box. Louder and deeper sounding than a Godin 5th avenue, likely--but not as good in the quality department. |