Gretsch = Tele?

[AaeCee]

Strangely, I've never played a Gretsch, but am considering installing TV-trons in a thinline Tele. How close is the quintessential Gretsch sound to a Tele tonal palette? I want a good bit of that twang, and especially like the middle setting on my tele. I realize that it's still going to be a difference of single coil sound vs. humbucker, but I'm hoping it'll lean in that Tele direction. Opinions? Thanks, AC

[pjwill]

I think that the Gretsch Dynasonic single coils will give you a more Tele-like twang and still retain some Gretsch tones. I am a Tele fanatic, but also enjoy the tones of my 6120 Nashville Western DSW with Dynasonics...Great twang with a "fatter" tone. I did own a Roundup with Filtertrons, but they were too humbucker-like for my taste.

[KRosser]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a296/krosser414/Rosserteles.jpg

These two were built for me by Saul Koll last year. The mahogany/Bigsby one (semi-hollow w/o f-hole) on the left now has a set of TV Jones Vintage Filtertrons built in a p-90 casing (a standard offering of his). They completely transformed this guitar - I don't know if I'd call it *exactly* Gretsch or *exactly* Tele, but whatever it is, it's working for me in a big way...

Anyway, I think the Tele/Filtertron combo is a natural, but they do sorta create a third beast...

[Old Tele man]

oww, I like the blonde on the right!

[Drunkagain]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a296/krosser414/Rosserteles.jpg

These two were built for me by Saul Koll last year. The mahogany/Bigsby one (semi-hollow w/o f-hole) on the left now has a set of TV Jones Vintage Filtertrons built in a p-90 casing (a standard offering of his). They completely transformed this guitar - I don't know if I'd call it *exactly* Gretsch or *exactly* Tele, but whatever it is, it's working for me in a big way...

Anyway, I think the Tele/Filtertron combo is a natural, but they do sorta create a third beast...


Damn those are beautiful. Just wow!

[Tinman]

You might want to consider the TV Jones Magnatrons. They look like Filtertrons (except for the pole pieces) and they sound like Dynasonics. Good twang. No one will mistake it for a tele, though. Be sure to consider string spacing too. Gretsch pickups have narrower string spacing than your tele. probably.

[Crazyquilt]

The Magnas are great. I've got on in the neck position of my 6120; the bridge is a TV Classic. Since I recently got a Duo Jet with Dynasonics, I'm thinking of replacing the Magna with another TV Classic -- it gets the Dynasonic tone that well.

I don't think either one of them really sounds like a Tele. They sound like Gretsches. Neither has the same top end as a Tele, and both have bigger bottoms. Someone over at the Gretsch forum described the Dyna as being half-way between a Tele & a good P-90. There's some truth to that, but, at the end of the day, they're still their own thing.

Filters are more aggressive than Dynas -- they're humbuckers, but they don't sound like humbuckers, really. They have a growly twang. Brian Setzer & Reverend Horton Heat both are great examples of Filtertron sound, albeit in big hollowbodies.

Dynas are smoother & clearer, with pronounced bass & a sort of a "thump" to them. They have a smokey, alto twang. But they can certainly rip -- they're pretty much the quintessential rockabilly pickup. You can replace "Dyna" in the above description with "Magna."

I will say that I had a TV Classic in a humbucker sized rout in an ash-bodied Koll, and, no matter what I did, the pickup just sounded too dark and muddy. Several people before me passed along that same guitar for similar reasons. But Ken's example is definitely a strong counter-argument.

In a thinline, you're going to be approaching the construction of a Duo Jet (chambered mahogany with a maple top) more, so I think either pickup is a safe, good bet.

One last note: If you decide to go & play some Gretsches, keep in mind that the TV Jones pickups sound much better, imo, than Gretsch's stock Filtertrons, and the DeArmond pickups that are on the fairly common Electromatic hollowbodies have been described, accurately I think, as "Dynasonic Lites." Basically, you can take those sounds & make them bigger, more complex, and twangier.

[jgm]

I did two TV Jones Filtertron classics in a light solid ash body with a Lentz neck and a hardtail strat bridge. Outstanding. No, not a true tele sound, but covers a lot of the same ground in this format. More versatile though (and for the purists out there, I played nothing but teles for years). I got great slide tones in all three positions, twang for days, nice thick neck tones and a middle position straight from R&B heaven. The guitar was never too dark.

Sold it to get into archtop territory and ended up woth two of Tom's pickups in a semi hollow (Epi Elitist Chet Atkins). I'm using the Powertrons now to cover some PAF ground but the versatility is still the same. In a solid body, the powertrons would probably be too dark unless you split them.

Since TV Jones is doing the best Filtertrons out there and he does all of the variants in bucker, p90 and fitertron formats, I'd stay with bucker or p90 holes - gives you a lot of versatility.

[cmatthes]

I'm in the midst of a doubleneck Tele project - the upper neck has 2 Filtertrons in - it's a lot further along than the pic below suggests, btw. Can't wait to finish that one up!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/cmatthes/DoubleTele.jpg

I recently put 3 'Trons in a Hamer Daytona (like a Strat), and it honestly blows away every Strat I've ever owned. Definitely worth trying out! For the first time, I've got a Strat-type guitar that I love the bridge pickup on.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/cmatthes/StikedelicDaytona.jpg

[riverastoasters]

Strangely, I've never played a Gretsch, but am considering installing TV-trons in a thinline Tele. How close is the quintessential Gretsch sound to a Tele tonal palette? I want a good bit of that twang, and especially like the middle setting on my tele. I realize that it's still going to be a difference of single coil sound vs. humbucker, but I'm hoping it'll lean in that Tele direction. Opinions? Thanks, AC

I dunno about the Tele direction.

But it sounds like a pretty cool idea. I would like that guitar for sure. I have a Koll glide that has a pair of TV-Trons, thinline body, and Bigsby. It's not that much like a Tele sound, but it's a very good sound.

[DrDespair]

I´m also intested in Magnatrons.

I don´t know about their output: would a MT Neck over power a regular Tele bridge? (if the springspacing is to braod for a MT Bridge)


DrDespair

[Chicago Slim]

I've been thinking of putting Filtertrons in a Strat. I figured that if I didn't like it, I could easily change the pickguard assembly back.

My favorite sounding gutiar, is a G&L ASAT Classic (middle position). I describe the sound as a cross between a Tele and a Gretsch.

[KRosser]

oww, I like the blonde on the right!

Thanks! I do, too...swamp ash/maple, Lindy Fralin Blues Special Tele & Strat singles, Lindy Unbucker in the neck...Joe Barden bridge. This guitar stayed completely stock, and probably always will...

The mahogany/Bigsby originally came with Harmonic Design VP-90's - a really, really great sounding pickup. So good that I wanted to put them in my '56 goldtop reish instead, so I replaced them with the TV Jones kinda on a lark and was completely floored - they're much better in this guitar, for me, than the HD's...

[KRosser]

Damn those are beautiful. Just wow!

Thanks! That pic was taken by Saul Koll, right before he delivered them. Once they got in my hands, however, they got all manners of scuffs, dings & smudges on 'em...so, now they look even more beautiful...

[DrJamie]

My reissue Duojet recorded better clean tele tones than my Tele. It had the stock single coil dynasonics. Shouldn't have sold it.