Thoughts on Gretsch Duo Jet 6128TDS?

[heajos]

I've had one for a about a year and a half and there's a few specs I don't really like about it.

What are your opinions?

[Waxhead]

Originally Posted by heajos

I've had one for a about a year and a half and there's a few specs I don't really like about it.

What are your opinions?

hehehe I've had a Jet 6131 for 3 yrs and it's THE best guitar I've ever played.
To be honest every time I've heard a comment like yours the owner was doing something really silly with it

[jaburgeson]

I have a 6128TCG...pretty similar to yours with the dynes...but its Caddi Green...I also have a compton bridge on mine....It's a saweet guitar with amazing cleans and great overdriven tones. I've got plenty of videos showing it off that may encourage you to love it again...It's a great guitar.

[heajos]

Originally Posted by Waxhead

hehehe I've had a Jet 6131 for 3 yrs and it's THE best guitar I've ever played.
To be honest every time I've heard a comment like yours the owner was doing something really silly with it

Well I promise i'm not doing anything silly with it haha. I just don't really like the bridge at all, which I know is a problem easily solved... But I want a guitar that I don't have to rebuild to like, you know?

I also feel like I don't get half of the sustain like I do in any other guitar, maybe also related to the bridge. I spend too much time getting angry at it rather than liking it.

Wasting my time?

[vortexxxx]

Sustain is partially a bridge problem but can also be a pickup problem. The current Dynasonics have very powerful magnets that affect the strings without being too close to them. On my White Falcon I didn't like the current Dynas at all. I solved my problems by getting a vintage Dyna from the 50's or 60's and using one of the new Dynas but cutting the magnets almost in half (really messy and time consuming). Now the new Dyna sounds more like the vintage one and there is no more magnet pull on the strings. In hindsight I could have sent the new Dyna to a pickup manufacturer to have the magnets slightly demagnetized but It really was more of an experiment to see what would happen. If it failed I would have just bought another vintage one

[Nuclearfishin]

Love mine!

[heajos]

Originally Posted by vortexxxx

Sustain is partially a bridge problem but can also be a pickup problem. The current Dynasonics have very powerful magnets that affect the strings without being too close to them. On my White Falcon I didn't like the current Dynas at all. I solved my problems by getting a vintage Dyna from the 50's or 60's and using one of the new Dynas but cutting the magnets almost in half (really messy and time consuming). Now the new Dyna sounds more like the vintage one and there is no more magnet pull on the strings. In hindsight I could have sent the new Dyna to a pickup manufacturer to have the magnets slightly demagnetized but It really was more of an experiment to see what would happen. If it failed I would have just bought another vintage one

Wow, I had no idea that the pickups had anything to do with it.
I also hate fighting with the bridge and the intonation.

[Waxhead]

Originally Posted by heajos

Wow, I had no idea that the pickups had anything to do with it.
I also hate fighting with the bridge and the intonation.

hehehe that's exactly what I mean.
You probably haven't got the PUPs adjusted properly.
I suggest you start with the settings recommended by the maker.

As for the bridge - which one is on your Jet.
If it's a roller I recommend you swap it for Tru-Arc to get a lot more sustain.
They sound better all round - Cheap & easy......or
Pin a new tune-a-matic bridge in.
I've got a Tru-Arc bridge and have zero probs with it

Intonation - well it's a floating bridge so that's a touch more tricky but still dead easy imo.
But do you have a tuner that's accurate enuf ?
If you don't have a Turbo or Strobostomp tuner (or another rack one as accurate) you're wasting your time with intonation anyways.

Lastly - I have never owned a single guitar that couldn't be improved by some mod's.
All of mine are mod'ed.
Most other players routinely mod there's too.
Changing out a bridge or PUPs is not a re-build

[heajos]

Originally Posted by HowdyJeff

I've had my Gretsch Jet Firebird (it's basically a red Duo Jet) since 2004 and it has been my main guitar since I bought it. I have a good size guitar collection and it is my #1.

It's doesn't have as many different tones as some of my other guitars, but I can live with that since I love the tones it does have. I love that isn't too heavy. I love the Bigsby on it and since it doesn't have the retaining bar on it, it is much for fluid than the B7 on my Les Paul. I could go on and on about the things I love about the guitar...

Yeah man those are definitely sweet guitars! And I agree, there's something magical about my Jet that I can't explain..