Gretsch G6122TG Pl.Ed. CtryGentl. WLNT

I already own a few Gretsches so I'm able to make some taste comparisons.
The neck on the G6122TG is a deal thicker than my other Gretsches - almost feels the same as my J45. It took a day or 2 for my left hand to "find" itself around the neck. The stock .11-.49 strings added to challenge. But perseverance paid off and I was soon flying around with accuracy. The frets are comfortable, neither too high nor too low, and feel like they've a well-judged width.

The body feels well-proportioned and sits naturally. I sometimes have problems with my G6119 when sitting down as it tends to slide away from me, not so the G6122 - it stays where it's put. The controls are all in exactly the places I'd expect to find them on a Gretsch so that end of things slipped on like a glove. The pots all have a nice even and balanced sweep which means one can draw out a lot of subtleties with ease.

The Bigsby has a perfect tension; my G6119's has a hair trigger, my G6128's is slightly less responsive than I'd like, and my G6129's is almost a total lame duck, but the G6122's is bang on. Locking machine heads so I've stayed in tune for 4 days of near solid playing.

I'm still working out the balance for bridge height/pickup fine adjustment, but that kind of thing's best done once one knows a guitar better. Like all the Japanese Gretsches, there's plenty of room for micro-adjustment which can make broad changes to the tone if so desired.

OK. Let's put all the engineering geekery aside and go for the important stuff. The sound.

The 67 Filtertrons are noticably different from HS Filtertrons. Initially I approached them expecting a sound like my G6119 and found myself slightly confused. The 67's don't have so much of that famous 50's rasp that HS's are known for, they have more middle. In some respects they overlap a little with a Gibson humbucker's spectrum. However, once one's ear is dialled into the sound (& one's forgotten what one first expected of them) that unique Filtertron growl is definitely discernable. Push the amp into warm overdrive and it's there even more.

Having been playing for 40 years on many different guitars, I can safely say this G6122 doesn't sound like anything else. There are hints of flavours of other things, but this guitar has its very own distinct personality. The sound is clear, strident and very well-rounded - the bottom end isn't sludged up with lower-mids mush and the tops are crystal clear without being too sharp.

The sound sits great in recordings and in a live band setting. Because of the balanced tone one can play that little bit louder because the sound places one "around" the band rather than competing head to head with anyone (especially the vocalist!). If you play metal... well, you probably already know this baby ain't for you. But for most everything else, this creature will fit right in. Sits well with other guitars too - having its own distinct tonal fingerprint means it can cohabit with Gibsons & Fenders without anyone treading on each other's toes.

One word of caution. You play this guitar right and it will make you sound like a hero. But by the same token, you make a fluff and that misstep is gonna be broadcast to the universe in full 3D technicolour! This is definitely not a guitar for someone with an over-heavy right hand either, it doesn't appreciate being battered at.

As I said, 40 years of playing. And I feel like I've just got myself a proper "grown up" guitar.

Sound is outstanding, very detailed. It's a bit demanding guitar, requires accuracy in playing. Every mistake (ie. inadvertently string pull) will be heard louder than on every other guitar I've tried.

I was very surprised that on every other guitar tuner was twitching, but on this one standing still.

My joy dropped a bit after visiting luthier, because he found some production flaws (poorly polished frets, slight deviations from tuning in two positions). I am disappointed that such "premium" guitar is lacking proper quality control.

I can recommend this guitar for the sound, but visit the luthier for setup and check after buying.

I’ve been playing guitar for more than forty years and have never had an instrument as good as this Gretsch. It plays effortlessly and the sound is very precise, responsive and beautiful. It is one of the most expensive guitars I have ever bought but it’s worth every penny. I have another Gretsch guitar, the electromatic ratrod on which I’ve installed tv jones classic pickups. That guitar has a big rich sound that I love, but this guitar is more focused without losing any richness in the sound, and sounds great in the mix. Usually I have to do some work on a new guitar to get the setup the way I like it. That wasn’t the case with this guitar, it was perfect.