Grosh Retro Classic, any love?

[Songman]

For those of you who own Grosh RC, please share your experience and specs of your guitar?

What type of music do you play with it?

What amp do you like to use with the Retro Classic?

[XKnight]

They are great guitars. I had one with an Alder body, rosewood board and medium roundback neck. It had a great vintage Strat tone and feel to it. I play blues and rock through Fender style amps. I sold it simply because that's what I often do to feed my GAS habit. Now, I want another Grosh RC.

[ford]

The best sounding strat I feel I have ever played/picked up was a Grosh Retro Classic... also easily had one of the best feeling necks I've ever played.. just didn't have the cash at the time to pick it up... still haunts me sometimes late at night..

and right now!:crazy

[dwes]

Sold mine a few years ago. Regretted it ever since.
Still have two other Grosh guitars.
Love Grosh!

[creakyknee]

Can't go wrong with an RC. I've had six Groshes, still have two, and looking to get another. I have an alder RC with a rosewood board and Grosh Vinatge pickups - go for one the Grosh pickups!

[stashman]

love my RC- mine has a med/lg "C" and Fralins
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr209/stashman61/P1010122.jpg

[strattitude]

Can't go wrong with an RC. I've had six Groshes, still have two, and looking to get another. I have an alder RC with a rosewood board and Grosh Vinatge pickups - go for one the Grosh pickups!

I also love my RC with Fralin Vintage Hots. How do those Grosh pickups sound?
Is it the Vintage 60's you have?

[chetz]

First of all let me post my ultimate rig pic.
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj153/chetsky/gear.jpg

My son has a retro classic. medium-large roundneck, 6150 frets, 10" radius, mahogany board, it is aged white with painted headstock.............it is stunning. Blues special pickups by fralin in the neck and middle, Steel Pole 43 by him in the bridge.

I have a few pro friends and they love his guitar. I took it to a show and my friend played the entire gig with it. He plays a really nice Custom Shop Strat.

I too would like to try the new fralin pickups, I've heard great things about them.

[jiml]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/3799380428_b7377fdba2_b.jpg


I love the looks of that axe, someday I'll find the right Grosh for me!

[iggs]

I LOVE GROSH GUITARS! Especially my RC-S. I bought it unheard and un-played (no dealers in Canada). As soon as I took it out of the case, any and all doubt went away ... best guitar I ever played.

I immediately sold my Fender Strat and Tele (which I previously thought were great guitars) and now I'm waiting on my second RC-S (ordered about a month ago).

Design, materials, fit, finish, setup, sound, feel ... etc. everything is absolutely top notch. The Grosh neck is the best I ever played.

Mine is: alder body, black, 1 11/16 maple+maple medium roundback neck, Grosh/Gotoh 1088 tremolo, 5-way switch, volume/tone/blend.
Originaly ordered it with S/S/S DiMarzio Areas but needed some more grease from the bridge pickup so I got a replacement pickguard and installed Duncan JB while keeping Area 58 in neck and middle.

I have a Dr Z Route 66 and a Bogner XTC 101b, the guitar sounds phenomenal through both amps. I play alt-rock (see sig for website info and clips) and the guitar excels at anything I need it for ... which can range from sparkly cleans to heavy riffage.

[jzucker]

I've had a couple great Grosh guitars. Did a ton of video demos with them. However, I'm back to playing a Fender SRV guitar. The grosh guitars seem to have a transparency to them while the Fender SRV seems to be bolder and fatter sounding. Not sure how much is due to pickups and/or body routing. I also like the 12" radius on the fender. I ended up refretting both Grosh guitars to 12" radius.

Another thing I found about the grosh was that the resistor/cap bypass on the volume control is cool for being able to turn down the guitar without the treble loss that you have on a vintage strat but it messes up the ability to turn down your guitar to vary the amount of distortion on your vintage fuzz pedal. I ended up clipping that off on both my grosh guitars. YMMV.

[KRosser]

I had one for a while and did a record and tour with it. I really liked it, stock with Fralin Blues specials. I've just never been a big Strat guy, and when the opportunity came to move it along in favor of something more enduring for me, I took it.

But still - a very, very nice guitar

[gregory70]

Without a doubt, the best guitar I've ever played. I have an RC, and RCVT, and an Electrajet. The RC has been my number #1 for almost three years (it's pathetic, but that has to be some kind of record for me). I play everything from rock, funk, and blues with it.

[Songman]

anyone else?

[jackaroo]

great stuff!

[Joe Gamble]

Yeah, fantastic guitars. Ultra-friendly feel. I have mine on, practicing right now and I don't ever want to put it down. Jack nailed it in terms of the overall tonal vibe- listen to his clips- they sound great!

Mine was built in 2000 and has a traditional route. Oddly enough I might be looking to trade mine for one with the swimming pool route. Last time I was at the shop Don explained to me all of his logic in choosing this for his instruments along with other non-trad moves like using a zinc block instead of steel, etc. I came away from that feeling Don is the all-knowing ninja-luthier of life. Mine also now has the Grosh '60s Fat pickups which to me were a grand improvement from the Fralins that it shipped with.

[78tsubaki]

About 10 years ago I walked into a music store to check out a Rivera amplifier. I owned and played Gibson and Fender guitars at the time. The sales person lit off the amp and when he handed me a Grosh RC, I forgot why I had walked into the place. That guitar felt like it was an extension of my soul. A week later I walked in to purchase the Grosh and it was gone.
I quickly learned that Grosh Guitars seem to be consistently excellent. As excellent as anything can be considering the variables of wood and electo-magnetism.
I own an RC S/S/H with Frailin and Holmes pickups and an RCVT that I ordered with Fralin Unbucker and Broadcaster pickups. I have played these guitars through Rivera, Reinhardt and Allen amplifiers straight in or with effects they play and sound great. Both of mine came out of Don's California location. I have heard from pretty reliable sources that his Boulder guitars are even better if that is possible.

jiml, I want to visit Boulder too. I need to take 0769 back for a re-fret.

[sanhozay]

I have a Grosh Retro and it's pretty damn close to perfect! The only thing I'm not over the moon with is maybe the neck being a little fatter than what I want. The dealer told me it was a medium but it's a medium/large and is just slightly beefier than what I was expecting. The feel and playability is fantastic and the fit & finish is the top of the mountain. And the tone is gigantic! Great looking guitar and my last stop for a Strat appears to be ending with Grosh. I might try to trade up for a medium neck shape but this guitar really compliments my humble collection of Tele, Les Paul - Grosh Strat. This one has the stainless frets and they are so nice to play on, the frets are perfect, too. Braz board and a great two-tone burst. There's a lot going on with this one!

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL236/1831198/8510927/368900417.jpg

[phoenix 7]

http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs136.snc1/5815_123457389385_676364385_2218683_8096404_n.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2218684&id=676364385)

Much love! I've had mine for 4 or 5 years now. It's just an amazing-sounding strat. Love my Set Neck too!

[Long2Play]

About 10 years ago I walked into a music store to check out a Rivera amplifier. I owned and played Gibson and Fender guitars at the time. The sales person lit off the amp and when he handed me a Grosh RC, I forgot why I had walked into the place. That guitar felt like it was an extension of my soul. A week later I walked in to purchase the Grosh and it was gone.
I quickly learned that Grosh Guitars seem to be consistently excellent. As excellent as anything can be considering the variables of wood and electo-magnetism.
I own an RC S/S/H with Frailin and Holmes pickups and an RCVT that I ordered with Fralin Unbucker and Broadcaster pickups. I have played these guitars through Rivera, Reinhardt and Allen amplifiers straight in or with effects they play and sound great. Both of mine came out of Don's California location. I have heard from pretty reliable sources that his Boulder guitars are even better if that is possible.

jiml, I want to visit Boulder too. I need to take 0769 back for a re-fret.

Contact myself and or the shop if you come to Colorado for a visit. Grosh Guitars loves doing personal tours when possible.....

[FredW]

I have an early one from '96 and I love it. I bought it new and will never sell it.

[ken budd]

I own a R.C. serial # 241 and its by far my favorite all time guitar. I don't know what the current ones are like but this guitar has it all for me. Maple neck with oil finish, 12" radius and 6105 frets. Alder body. The finish is so thin that its very checked but the guitar resonates like crazy. If I had to have one guitar for the rest of my life it would be this one no question.

[LightninBoy]

Love my White Blonde Grosh - have rewired it with a superswitch for separate tone control on the bridge pickup (like Suhr's wiring), the first tone pot is a 'no load' to bypass the tone circuit altogether for a clearer clean tone, and it now has Bare Knuckle Mother's Milk pickups in it. 1-piece Swamp Ash / Maple - this guitar does everything I like.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/LightninBoy/IMG_8182.jpg

[78tsubaki]

Love my White Blonde Grosh - have rewired it with a superswitch for separate tone control on the bridge pickup (like Suhr's wiring), the first tone pot is a 'no load' to bypass the tone circuit altogether for a clearer clean tone, and it now has Bare Knuckle Mother's Milk pickups in it. 1-piece Swamp Ash / Maple - this guitar does everything I like.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/LightninBoy/IMG_8182.jpg
WOW! the only word that came to mind when I saw your RC. Looks like the neck is just getting broken in. Swamp Ash and Maple..........nice.

[Sunil]

I bought Xnight's (few posts above) RC last year and really dug it. One of the best S-style guitars I've played. I ended up selling it because I have a couple of Suhr Classics, and the necks on the Suhrs agree with me more than the Grosh's Medium Roundback. The Grosh had the most "vintage" sounding tone of the guitars. Craftsmanship and build quality on every Grosh I've played was top-notch. I also had a Bent Top Custom (mahogany/maple top) that I wish I never sold, but bad financial situation at the time forced the sale. I'm now lusting after an Electrajet. You can't go wrong with Grosh!

-- Sunil

[slowburn]

For those of you who own Grosh RC, please share your experience and specs of your guitar?

What type of music do you play with it?

What amp do you like to use with the Retro Classic?

my RC is alder, maple / rosewood neck. medium roundback carve, 1 5/8" nut 6105 frets (not stainless steel) dimarzio virtual vintage pickups, blend pot, locking klusons, swimming pool route. I've had it for 10+ years. it's one of the top 2 or 3 instruments I've ever played, and the finest instrument I've ever owned. easily.

I play whatever type of music I feel like playing, I think it lends itself to pretty much anything. But it's my opinion that amp choice and overdrive/distortion settings dictate what sort of music you can play on any given guitar.

I am between amps, but I prefer el84s single speaker combos in general.

in truth, this is a fantastic "strat style". if you get one, you won't be disappointed, and furthermore, you won't care that it doesn't say fender on the headstock.

[808Beat]

I got my RC a couple weeks ago. Very nice guitar with SSH pup configuration. Usually prefer SSS but this is pretty cool with the blender and tapped control. The more I play it the more I like it.