Title says it all, and I would highly recommend this guitar.
If you are in the market for a junior sized center block hollow body to fit all your blues/rock/jazz/ambiance needs, this is the one. It might be the best quality and sound you could expect to get at this price point. You'd be looking at the G6659TG Broadcasters or Deusenberg Starplayers to see any real lift to the quality, and that would set you back three times as much.
Pros:
- The "new" Broad'Tron pickups plays a nice clean, but doesn't hold back if you want to set the gain up or play a little gritty. Good compromise, and they sound full and warm (much like the sound tests on youtube).
- Comes with a licenced Bigsby tremolo and the double volume, master tone and master volume Gretsch setup.
- Looks. It just looks ridiculously good with the caddy green and gold hardware, as well as the inlay and binding work. There might be some monday items out there ("Made in China"), but mine was near perfect from the box.
Cons (maybe):
- The Bigsby does needs to be used carefully. This is not a whammy bar, and you might get some tuning issues if you throw it around like one.
- If you are looking for the "real" twangy Gretsch sound, this can only do this in part. This sounds more like the love child of a Gretsch and a Les Paul, who also works part time as a Tele' down at the mill. For me, this is a positive, but there might be a reason why you're here looking at a Gretsch and not a Les Paul. Just keep it in mind.
- The tuners look nice, but are not locking tuners, and I might see them changed in time.
