which is the right Gretsch for me?

[mrpink]

Jason,

Thanks for confirming what I was already thinking. I just needed that push in the right direction. Think I got carried away with the whole modding a 5120 into a white falcon or something. It'll take more than upgrades to do that. Well my search continues and I will keep you posted.

cheers.

Paul

ps. Wales is not in England it is next door, it's like telling a Canadian that Canada is in the US. Just sayin thats all. Keep rocking and thanks again.

[jk75hotrod]

Paul,

Sorry about the geography snafu- I honestly always thought when I watched movies with Wales in it it was a county in England...my bad...

Learned something new...

Good luck,
Jason

[mrpink]

Hey, Jason , no worries man, just came back from a trip to Cardiff IAGAIN) and almost bought this

http://www.gamlinsmusic.co.uk/musical-instruments/guitars/vintage-used-semi-acoustic-guitars/item/used-g7576-country-club-1979-natural-1741/

I couldn't believe it when I saw it, it had a few marks on it but what a beauty. Played great and sounded amazing, very warm and full as you'd expect. If only I had enough money in my nank account I would have walked out a happy man. Anyway just to get my hands on it was an amazing feeling I am now hooked......

[GretschSwing]

Hi,

I just had to jump in on this when I saw the mention of the Country Club. I'm assuming the link means that this is the actual guitar you played. I love the "Weirdo Gretsch pickups" in the description; I'm assuming from appearance that they're FilterTrons. I can't comment on those pickups specifically, as I have only one Gretsch, which has DynaSonics. It is a Country Club (2006), though, and I agree that it's a wonderful guitar and very versatile. I realize that Dynas aren't everybody's cup of tea, but I love the single-coil sound. I play mostly jazz and swing and find the combination of the big, deep body and the neck pickup perfect for this application. Too, the guitar sounds great with the bridge pickup, for the Rockabilly I've been dabbling in. Lastly, I prefer the longer scale. For sure, the CC isn't Gretsch's most popular guitar -- but not for any reason apparent to me.

Best of luck in your search.

[Ric12string]

The reason that you don't get a response from someone at Gretsch/FMIC to the questions that you have about the construction of a Gretsch guitar in the United States is that those questions don't lend themselves to an easy, quick answer. They are complex, multi-faceted questions that require considerable nuanced analysis and consideration. In addition, I can well imagine that, in order to offer you a well-considered response, it might require the disclosure of information which is confidential business data and details that the company isn't keen on having out in the public domain for competitors to learn from.

But, this question has been discussed frequently and at great length over at The Gretsch Pages (www.gretschpages.com) by some well-informed and smart people. I would recommend that you head on over there and take a look at some of the historical threads that have talked about this topic, or create a new thread of your own and pose your questions there.

As for the Tim Armstrong model, most of the people whom I know who have actually played the guitar, including Duane Eddy (the legendary King of Twang himself, and member of the RRHOF), have found the guitar to be a very good guitar and an excellent value. I would encourage you to try to find one and give it a test drive. If you don't have any dealers in your area who carry one in stock, look to an online retailer with a generous return policy. In the States, Musicians Friend is known for its generous policy of allowing a guitar to be returned, within a reasonable period of time (I believe it may be thirty days) for virtually any reason, including just not liking the way the guitar plays or feels.

Good luck to you.

[jk75hotrod]

Wow!

Great response on the whole "why isn't Gretsch made in the U.S. anymore?" I just would have liked SOME response to my two questions- that's all. Something along the lines of what you said would have been okay...just anything to recognize that 1) I'm a human being and 2) a real and true Gretsch fan...a simple "hey, thanks for the question- unfortunately we really can't go into why our guitars aren't made in the States anymore- we're just really pleased with the production quality we're getting in Asia. These are some of the best Gretsch's ever!" would have been fine...

And- AWESOME COUNTRY CLUB, MAN!!! I was shaking my head in AWE.....perhaps next time...like they say in Sexy Beast..."where there's a will...and there IS a motherf*ckin WILL...there's a WAY!!!...

Yes, I do concur that the Tim Armstrong simply makes me more excited about Gretsch all the time...I just wish I found this guitar company sooner...but, hey, I'm only 36, so, I have plenty of time to play Gretsch guitars...

~Jason