Anyone Got A Gretsch Electromatic?

[Megadeth Man]

I'm interested in the 51xx Hollow Body's and the G523xT Pro Jet with Bigsby. What's the word?

 

Cheers.

[jdjonsson]

 

I'm interested in the 51xx Hollow Body's and the G523xT Pro Jet with Bigsby. What's the word? Cheers.

 

 

They kick ass.

[Random11]

I feel they dont kick ass. They are more about looks than playibility. Anytime you even touch the bigsby get ready to tune your guitar. I wouldnt suggest them.

[TheKinks]

 

I feel they dont kick ass. They are more about looks than playibility. Anytime you even touch the bigsby get ready to tune your guitar. I wouldnt suggest them.

 

 

Thats a lie. The Bigsby doesnt make it go out of tune that quick. I had the pro jet and was amazed at the quality. Didnt feel cheap at all and sounded amazing. I highly suggest it.

[vanderwaal]

i have a 5120. excellent guitar. it is not just about the looks (although they are spectacular). it plays beautifully. i'm not sure what the other poster's problem is with the tuning but mine seems to be pretty stable even with heavy bigsby wiggling. there are a couple of issues though. first the pickups... some people don't like the gretschbuckers. i, for one, do. some people say they don't sound enough like a gretsch. what they me is they don't sound like dynasonics and that's true but they still have "that gretsch sound" to my ears. second the bridge... almost everybody complains about a buzzing bridge and it's true the bridge on the g string does buzz on almost every one i've ever played. it's an easy fix. either replace the bridge with a rocking bar (you should be doing this anyway) or go up on your string size to 11's or 12's. heavier strings will kill the buzz and you should be running at least 11's on it anyway. i mean it is a gretsch. other that that it is the perfect gretsch for mid to late 30 something fathers who have other things to spend money on than a $3000 guitar. ps... don't pay more than $550 out the door for one at a GC. i can tell you from experience that you can walk out with a 5120 for that and maybe even less.

[guitar-fish]

I've never played a Gretsch, and I've been contemplating a 5120. What can you play on them, compared to a solid body? I know they are great for rockabilly and that sort of thing, but what else? In other words, is it versatile, or a one trick pony? I don't wanna buy one and not be able to use it much.

[vanderwaal]

i play everything but metal on mine which works out fine for me since i don't dig on metal. classic rock, punk, country (well, the kinda country i play). people say that since they are full hollow that they feedback a lot but i haven't had any problems with mine but, again i don't play anything that is super high gain.

[thelemac]

I have a beautiful orange 5120. I use it for almost everything. The cleans through a fender tube amp are to die for. I use it for blues and classic rock and early rock and rockabilly type stuff. turn the tone knod down and its almost acoustic like in its sound. As far as the bridge buzzing-have it Pinned with double sided tape and it won't buzz and intonation is set. The tuning has been fine-I will probably replace the tuners because it could be more stable. I use the bigsby for subtle vibrato so it hasn't been an issue. Well worth the money. I have been looking for other electromatics like the pro or duo jet because my 5120 is such an excellent instrument.

[guitarcapo]

I'm a Corvette nut and I really think they did a get job with the reissue.

[foppy]

I want a 512X with single-coil Dearmonds but they cost more, around $850. Can't justify it to myself yet.

[DARKMETL/]

I love my G5120, Bigsby works great, but I dont kill it. Probably put a set of Grovers on it just because I have an extra set sitting around, might do a slightly hotter Filtertronish pickup. Its about the only guitar I play out of 25ish at the moment. It would be nice to have a Setzer Gretsch, but honestly thats so far outta my league. Played great right off the rack and I still have the same set of strings that it came with and I got it in may and I practice it pretty hard, just havent got around to changing strings and none have broken which is pretty astonishing for them being on for7 months!

A pic if you care:

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[DRPool]

 

 

 

Hey Darkmetal, that is a beautiful guitar. I've spend a lot of time at my local GC noodling around on one of those and really like it.

 

What style music do you play and do you find yourself at all limited in those styles? I want to be sure I can punch up some distortion and still pull off some collective soul type stuff. No metal here though, so that type of stuff is not a concern.

 

Thanks for any thoughts you might have.

[Juniper Monkeys]

I have an orange 5120. I put in GFS Brooklyns, got a bar bridge for it, and added a Duane Eddy handle to the Bigsby. I love it thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much.

 

And Bigsbys going out of tune in a stiff wind is grade A blarney. If you're dive-bombing it, yeah, it's not a Floyd, but it's totally fine with most use. I find they're best just adding a little "shimmer" in any case.

[FarToMany]

I love my 5120, i play everything except metal on it. Its currently all stock. Of couse like most people here, its not my only axe. But i def give it its fair share of playing. I have zero probs with the bigsby, but i dont beat it either---just enough of a bigsby shimmer is all i need for the effect.

[DARKMETL/]

DRpool wrote:

 

What style music do you play and do you find yourself at all limited in those styles? I want to be sure I can punch up some distortion and still pull off some collective soul type stuff

 

 

Currently using the Gretsch for a horror-rocka-surfa-punka-pyschobilly project through a Fender 4x10 Hot Rod Deville combo and a Line6 FlextoneII head/4x10 cab. Using a Boss Ds-1 distortion and a Ibanez tubescreamer. You shouldnt have to much feedback issues if you use a slight overdrive or low gain amounts. Not sure if it would give you the "fatness" some Collective Soul needs, but overall a really cool guitar. I got it new for $425ish new so it was a no brainer for me.

And yeah, I don't need this guitar to do EVERYTHING for me, I have others for more metal/hard music. The Gretsch does exactly what I need it to do for the music we are doing, like I said, I might put a slightly hotter Filtertronish pickup in it to drive the amps a bit more.

[BlackCat]

I couldn

[Mac_C]

I have the Pro Jet with the Bigsby. I didn't care the for the Bigsby so I picked up a Gretsch tailpiece and converted it. I upgraded the pots, caps, and wiring and to my surprise it really helped with taking some of the muddiness out of the neck pickup; I thought that I was going to have replace the neck pickup but I really dig it now. I'm a country and rockabilly player and this guitar kicks all kinds of ass.

[DRPool]

 

DRpool wrote: Currently using the Gretsch for a horror-rocka-surfa-punka-pyschobilly project through a Fender 4x10 Hot Rod Deville combo and a Line6 FlextoneII head/4x10 cab. Using a Boss Ds-1 distortion and a Ibanez tubescreamer. You shouldnt have to much feedback issues if you use a slight overdrive or low gain amounts. Not sure if it would give you the "fatness" some Collective Soul needs, but overall a really cool guitar. I got it new for $425ish new so it was a no brainer for me. And yeah, I don't need this guitar to do EVERYTHING for me, I have others for more metal/hard music. The Gretsch does exactly what I need it to do for the music we are doing, like I said, I might put a slightly hotter Filtertronish pickup in it to drive the amps a bit more.

 

 

Thanks DM, Collective Soul may be a poor example on my part but if you are using a DS-1 and a tubescreamer with good results that, that answers my question right there.

 

Thanks for the info. BTW, where did you find the $425ish deal?

[cliffS]

I just picked up a Pro Jet slightly used. Guess I need to start a NGD thread.. So far the Pro Jet shows promise. Gigged it one time, and it cuts thru the mix like a Tele. The mini-buckers or whatever you call them have a good clean sound. Not so much of a hi-gain sound altho it does ok when I play a break with some distortion. Like someone else said, a set of 11's could make it feel more substantial. With 10's on it it's just too easy to play. Don't have a Bigsby on mine - love the look of them but get along without one

[DARKMETL/]

I got mine at Guitar Center. They were having a sale and it was something like $500 on sale, normally $599 or so and I answered some sort of music trivia question at the store that gave me another 20-25% (cant remember which one) off my total purchase.

BTW, I do use the DS-1 one the clean channel of the Deville but dont totally love it....just a bit too much so I just got the Tubescreamer and havent heard it in my rig yet. I think I was looking for more overdrive and less distortion, but that was me and might be totally fine for you.

[Rick 381]

 

I feel they dont kick ass. They are more about looks than playibility. Anytime you even touch the bigsby get ready to tune your guitar. I wouldnt suggest them.

 

 

Since you're new here and we don't really know your experiences perhaps you could fill us in on what you're basing your opinion on Gretsches and Bigsbys.

 

As the owner of 2 Gretsches and 3 Bigsbys(one's a clone) I find my experiences don't match yours.

[Blackbelt1]

I feel they dont kick ass. They are more about looks than playibility. Anytime you even touch the bigsby get ready to tune your guitar. I wouldnt suggest them.

 

I can tell you've never actually played a Gretsch. To the OP, I own both of the Electromatics listed in your thread and have gigged both of them quite a bit. The 5127 was my first Gretsch and still gets a lot of use even though I also own a 6120 DSW now. I bought it new a couple of years ago for $499. The 5238T gives something between a Tele and an LP as far as tone goes, plays great, although it did need a little bit of setup work out of the box. I bought it new for $325 w/gig bag. Both guitars hold tune just fine; I'm a heavy Bigsby user and have no problems yanking the bar throughout a gig and not retuning.

 

5127 Electromatic Hollow Body

 

5238T Electromatic Pro Jet

 

~Blackbelt

[studdhuss]

I love my 5238T,

but in all honesty the Bigsby had to go.

I may have dive bombed the spring out of whack...who knows.

It just would be too tempermental and I possibly made this worse.

I considered a roller bridge..

but in the end I went with a (mothballed) TP-6 tailpiece.

I replaced the tuners with Schaller Keystone 16:1 type

and Lace 'Aluma 90' P-90 style pickups.

I really like the body of this guitar.

It's thick and heavy as, well a Les Paul.

End Result? I got my Gold Top look with P-90's now, and the Gretsch is kickin' some serious ass!

[Rob Dobbs]

I had been wanting a Gretsch for 20 years and wasnt able to score one till the G series. The damn things are sweet and well worth the cash. Even unplugged they have a nice sound and tone. The last thing for mine is a rocking bridge and maybe vintage gold colored pups and gold bigsby.

 

No problems at all with the bigsby but I also have Grovers on it so...

[Megadeth Man]

Thanks for all your replies brother's, good stuff.

 

Cool pics, they're sweet looking axes. Ignoring the Random dude it seems like the Electromatics are getting some good love here.

 

The main "negative" points I've seen recurring in reviews, etc, are: standard Bigsby related stuff, string buzz, the pickups may not be to your taste and the tuners may want replacing. None of that's going to be a problem for me.

 

It's all looking good. I've owned 60's hollow's somewhere back in time and whilst I'm not expecting that, It seems these Electromatics are a respectable axe worthy of the Gretsch name. I think I'll be laying down dough for a 51xx Hollow Body pretty soon, now If I can only decide which colour I'm digging on most...

 

Any more input most welcome.