A little background- I've bought and returned several Gretsches. They were either abused or misrepresented. And to be honest, if Gretsch just made one with the right combination of features, I'd have bought one new many years ago. Only missing by color, this one is close enough. It checked the right boxes with the pickups, chambering, thumbnail inlays, stained back and conventional Gretsch over-engineered appointments. If the front was metallic racing green, I'd be over the moon.
GC listed it in "Great" condition, which I take as a good sign (primarily that if it has issues, they'll refund not only the price, but shipping too). It was $374.99 and included a case! That's a pretty decent deal on a lefty guitar that retails for $599.99 without a case.
It arrived last night, and unboxing I saw a Gretsch case, that retails for $200 so it's looking promising. Temps have been above freezing, so I opened it up right away. The guitar is covered in finger print goo, but no dings. It cleaned up incredibly well. Last night I played it for a few hours, and again this morning just to retest my impression. The previous owner set it up pretty much exactly as I would. Everything works as intended and I love how it plays and sounds. Independent volumes on this guitar don't disappoint as the tonal range is astonishing. The pickups are much closer to the strings than my eyes would find appropriate, but my ears say they're just right. The cleans are crisp and highly detailed, and I think the chambering qualifies it as a semi-hollow, I hear woodiness. It also takes dirt very well. Fun rocker in my book, and everything I'd hope for in a Gretsch. Finally, I bought one I'm not returning, but now it sets the bar pretty high for that Rafferty copy that's coming soon.
If that was all, I'd be much more than happy, but then I opened the storage compartment in the case to find a pirate's booty of case candy (not all my choosing, but hey). I had to look some of this stuff up, but here's what was in the treasure chest:
BlueChip JD Crowe Thumb pick ($40 retail)
Pair of Sammy Shelor stainless steel finger picks ($45 retail)
5 Dunlop finger picks ($10 retail)
D'Addario Humidipack kit ($25 retail)
Tombo (Japan) Lee Oskar C Harmonica ($50 retail)
Jim Dunlop Ben Harper Tonebar slide ($50 retail)
Snark Super Tight tuner ($13 retail)
I had been considering getting finger picks to try on my Dobro, and the slide is very high quality. I used to play some harmonica, but I'm not sure I can clean someone else's harmonica enough to play it myself, I'll have to contemplate that. Still, it's a nice one. Those are just bonus though, because the guitar itself is surprisingly great. I finally found one I'll never return or sell. Porn follows.
