Gretsch and Guild are so sweet! Then why do they get no love in general?

[1973Marshall]

I have been trying out Guild and Gretsch hollowbodies as of late and I am blown away. Esp the vintage Guild stuff.

I shouldn't complain on this - but why no love? Old Starfire IVs go for $1000, D55's as low as $700 and they are mindblowing! Rich tones, gorgeous contruction, etc etc. Heck even with basses its true. I used to have a Guild Pilot Bass - and I can't say enough about the tone, build quality, and construction. Pilot basses sell for as little as $300 and they are top notch. WTH?

I have also played a lot of Gretsch reissues like Duo Jets, Tennesee Rose's, 6120's, 6122's Brian Setzers - and they are gorgeous! They do it all from rich jazz to country and rock!

Why no love? Why is the resale crap on these? Why don't I see a ton more pros using them as opposed to Gibson? Why aren't they sought after for their vintage cool or tone or road worthiness? No bashing, just asking.

Is it because these companies went thru hard times and moved factories or went thru different "periods" in terms of manufacturing, quality etc? Or is it something else I am missing? The quality seems top notch.

So what's the deal?

[ROKY]

Just be glad, about it .

[just_one_more]

I can't speak for guild, but do and have had a number of gretsch guitars, recent and older, and yes the quality is there, but they are not the most comfortable guitars, have "odd" control configurations, and are often wrongly pigeon holed in to very narrow and specific tone range. I think tv Jones pickups range combined with the electromatic line is helping change this to some degree though. I guess time will tell. In the meantime just be happy those of us that like can grab the used at good prices, and they seem to be surviving as a brand.

[sixstringslut]

Yes, they are great guitars, however, they are harder to travel with, the player has to watch volume levels more ( hollow bodies don't like high volumes and high gain). Repair parts are less readily available for traveling players. Hollow bodies don't fly well at all, as they don't like temp extremes .

Yes, you can do it...just added maintenance most players don't want to be bothered with.

Also, there are some great cheapos that work very well i.e. Tiesco, Eko, Silvertone, etc...with a little work.

[GAD]

Because Jimmy Page didn't use them.

[HyakuShiki]

Originally Posted by GAD

Because Jimmy Page didn't use them.

QFT. In punk and rockabilly, Gretsch is pretty much one of if not the king. In general rock n roll and pop, unfortunately, they don't get much shine. I know Katy Perry's live guitarist plays Gretsch-esque guitars, at least, but other than that, I dunno.

[Waxhead]

Originally Posted by 1973Marshall

I have also played a lot of Gretsch reissues like Duo Jets, Tennesee Rose's, 6120's, 6122's Brian Setzers - and they are gorgeous! They do it all from rich jazz to country and rock!

Why no love? Why is the resale crap on these? Why don't I see a ton more pros using them as opposed to Gibson? Why aren't they sought after for their vintage cool or tone or road worthiness? No bashing, just asking.

Is it because these companies went thru hard times and moved factories or went thru different "periods" in terms of manufacturing, quality etc? Or is it something else I am missing? The quality seems top notch.

So what's the deal?

hehehehe what you're missing is the many TPG threads WITH all the Gretsch love.
There's heaps of em here hehehehe. Do a search.
Plus you're mssing www.thegretschpages.com

Not so many Guild luv threads though.
Fine guitars but not in Gretsch class imo

[foppy]

People who like Gretsches tend to be fanatical about them, both the vintage ones and the new MIJ Terada ones. They get nothing but love at the Gretsch Pages.

That said, Gretsches have a lot of weird little features that don't make sense to the Gibson/Fender crowd. The mud switch, string dampeners, floating bridges, a rather strange array of bridges, that weird snap-on naugahyde thing on the back of some models to protect the back, and so on. Not to mention all the issues that vintage Gretsches are prone to, such as binding rot, necks that need resets, etc.

Me, I love all of it. In part because it keeps vintage prices down. I recently bought a 1965 Brooklyn-USA-made Clipper (budget hollowbody) that is entirely cool, for $400 on ebay. I love ever speck of binding rot on that thing: it's beautiful to me.

People say not many famous people play Gretsches, but the list of players associated with them could not be more impressive or cooler, at least to me:

Chet Atkins
Cliff Gallup
Eddie Cochran
Duane Eddy
Neil Young/Stephen Stills
Billy Zoom
Brian Setzer

I don't love all these guys equally, but anything played by Cliff Gallup, Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, and Billy Zoom is OK by me.

[Julia343]

Hello? Malcolm Young.

[GAD]

I grew up playing Guilds, and I was always amazed that more people didn't know about them. They never had the killer artist endorsement, and never had a Jimmy Page play there stuff in the limelight. Sure plenty of people did - Hell Brian Setzer had a Sig Guild or two for a while.

I have a lot of guitars - including great Gibsons and Fenders. My favorites just happen to be My Guild and my Gretsch. Sadly my opinion doesn't sway the wallets of a million teaming teenagers saving for their first great guitar.

[foppy]

Originally Posted by Julia343

Hello? Malcolm Young.

Him too!

[SGNick]

You can either have your cool fluctuate between 1 and 9 through time, or you can be a 7 through all Eternity. Thus is Gretsch

[Ken I]

There is no better value in the vintage guitar market than Guild. Some of the best playing and sounding guitars out there at a fraction of the "popular competitors" prices!

[lakehaus]

I can't answer your questions. But I can say that I recently picked up a 1961 Double Annie for what I thought was a killer price. I bought it on a whim because I liked the look and the Gretsch tone. I couldn't believe it when I auditioned it - how this guy could ask so little for such a fine feeling and playing and VINTAGE instrument. A couple weeks went by before I checked out how good I did on this purchase, only to find out I did average. I still can't believe what a bargain these older 'not 6120' or 'White Falcon' Gretsch's are.

[sixty2strat]

Bought a 1971 D40 acoustic about 10 years ago , used in a studio mint shape for 650.00 The guitar has all the things I like about a martin and a Gibson and none of the bad, at about 1/2 to a 1/3 of what the big names would cost. And it has way more warm vintage tone than a modern sounding taylor. What a bargin they are a Takmine went for the same price and it was cardboard