Members geek_usa Posted April 1, 2006 Members Posted April 1, 2006 Hey guys, well I finally got my Gretsch Sierra Jumbo. I pulled it out of the bag and it looked soo beautiful...quite possibly one of the most beautiful jumbos I have ever seen. It looks exactly like a Gibson J-200; it has an all-maple body with an ebony fingerboard. I went to strum the first chord... and I was very disappointed. It sounded dead, lifeless, and lacked color and shimmer. Now granted, it's not going to sound like a solid saeple spruce top. It's going to lack some high end - I was aware of this. But I've played a handful of jumbos and none of them ever sounded dead like this one. The strings are fairly new, too. It's not that this jumbo sounds absolutely terrible...it just sounds disappointing. The harder you strum it, the mushier the chords get. Individual notes sound buried and don't sustain well. For $600 (used) it should sound more like a $600 guitar. I'd compare it to a $200 Fender acoustic in sound. Not to mention that the G, B, and E strings all buzz. I emailed the seller about this and am waiting for a response. So being that I'm pretty disappointed with this guitar, there's an Art and Lutherie Cedar top at my local shop for about $275. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on it since I really liked the way it sounded. I'm hoping that the shop will give me more than I payed for this jumbo - after all, it looks like a $1k+ guitar. That being said, can anyone recommend me some good SOUNDING jumbos? Thanks!
Members geek_usa Posted April 1, 2006 Author Members Posted April 1, 2006 Originally posted by Mika Do you have pics? Not yet! I'll do it when i get home from work though!
Members theflyingeyebal Posted April 1, 2006 Members Posted April 1, 2006 Let this be a lesson: Never buy a guitar without playing it first.
Members Freeman Keller Posted April 1, 2006 Members Posted April 1, 2006 Well I agree with Eyeball, but Either send it back right away if you can - or Have it setup right and put brand new strings on it. The fact that the whole guitar sounds dead tells me there might be something fairly simple wrong - saddle isn't seated right maybe. And where do the stings buzz (certain frets, played open, all frets)? There are tricks to finding and fixing this too - a good tech should be able to help you here. An obvious question is "is it humid enough"? In my opinion, as long as there are no significant structural issues most guitars should be able to be set up and play decently. Be aware that if you start fooling with it you are pretty much committed to keeping it, so make that decision first or discuss it with the seller. I would certainly negotiate that (s)he pay for the setup if you are going to keep it. Last, there is no such thing "solid saeple spruce top." And really last, since you already made one mistake by buying a guitar you never played, why would you ask this forum to advise you on another (mistake). Get out an start playing them yourself. Just like Theflyingeyebal said...
Members Gretsch Fan Posted April 1, 2006 Members Posted April 1, 2006 Something is not right. That guitar should sound and play like a much more expensive guitar. I have handled at least 12 Gretsch acoustics and they were all wonderful. Check and see if there is something wrong with the structure. If not then you can get is to sound like it should. If there is structural problems I would send it back. I love Gretsch but everyone makes a dog from time to time but hopefully it can be fixed. So far not so good but maybe it can be flipped back to a positive.
Members geek_usa Posted April 2, 2006 Author Members Posted April 2, 2006 Originally posted by Freeman Keller Last, there is no such thing "solid saeple spruce top." I meant solid sitka. Sorry!
Members Queequeg Posted April 2, 2006 Members Posted April 2, 2006 spend 7 clams on this guitar before you do anything else and restring it. I'm betting you have dead strings.
Members geek_usa Posted April 3, 2006 Author Members Posted April 3, 2006 Hey guys, here's a soundclip of the Gretsch. I played two rhythm tracks, each panned 100% R and L, and then a lead line up the middle. Tell me what you think!
Members Vibroluxman Posted April 3, 2006 Members Posted April 3, 2006 Sounds pretty good to me. If you still don't like it you could always send it on to me man=o)
Members guitarcapo Posted April 4, 2006 Members Posted April 4, 2006 Time to throw a pickup in it under the saddle and be grateful that that dead plywood top isn't prone to feedback.
Members kwakatak Posted April 4, 2006 Members Posted April 4, 2006 I just listened to the tracks and I see what you mean. It sounds pretty lifeless: no sustain with lots of buzzing happening on all the strings, not just the E, B and G strings. It's more noticable on the rhythm tracks (the bass notes buzz horribly) but I can also hear this to a lesser extent on the solo track. On the bright side, your playing is pretty good. It could probably be fixed with a good setup, but I'd send it back anyway. JMO.
Members sonrise Posted April 4, 2006 Members Posted April 4, 2006 Originally posted by geek_usa That being said, can anyone recommend me some good SOUNDING jumbos? Thanks! [/quote Guild JF30
Members Andrewrg Posted April 5, 2006 Members Posted April 5, 2006 Originally posted by sonrise Originally posted by geek_usa That being said, can anyone recommend me some good SOUNDING jumbos? Thanks! [/quote Guild JF30 Martin J15-as long as you like mahogany.
Members the russ Posted April 5, 2006 Members Posted April 5, 2006 i see you're selling it in another thread - did you wind up restringing it?
Members geek_usa Posted April 5, 2006 Author Members Posted April 5, 2006 Originally posted by the russ i see you're selling it in another thread - did you wind up restringing it? I got it set up. I didn't put new strings on there; I think they are actually quite new.
Members the russ Posted April 5, 2006 Members Posted April 5, 2006 how did you get it set up without putting new strings on?
Members geek_usa Posted April 5, 2006 Author Members Posted April 5, 2006 Originally posted by the russ how did you get it set up without putting new strings on? They adjusted the truss rod. That's all they did. The buzzing went away.
Members Ole Man Blues Posted April 5, 2006 Members Posted April 5, 2006 Sounds like it needs new strings and pro setup.......... OMB
Members geek_usa Posted April 6, 2006 Author Members Posted April 6, 2006 well, now I really need to sell it because I just splurged on my G.A.S. and got an Art&Lutherie. It's a "wild cherry" model with a cedar top. It's all black and sounds wonderful. I picked it up for $260 + tax. and of course this post wouldn't be complete without a SOUND CLIP!!! and by the way GretschFan, I don't mean to let you down - it's just that the Gretsch Jumbo isn't for me. I'm sure they sound great in the right atmosphere; but it's just not what i'm looking for at the moment.
Members Gretsch Fan Posted April 7, 2006 Members Posted April 7, 2006 Not sure what is up with yours but everyone turns out a crummy git every now and again or the previous owner {censored}ed it up (more likely). I have been able to play, usually several times, and think over every guitar purchase I have made so far. If I find what looks like a good deal on eBay I would take the risk too so keep going 'til you get the right one. BTW the A&L that I tried was one of the best ever. GC had a used one and when I went back to get it someone had snagged it ahead of me. I snoozed and losed.
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