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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Suitable Guitar for Surf, Blues & Rockabilly

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Wow, a lot of Gretsch players on here and I agree 100%.

A single-coil hollowbody with a Bigsby will get you the closest. The Gretsch Electromatic Hollowbodies already mentioned are one of the best bang for the buck guitars out there. Add an external reverb tank and you will be surfing just fine.

I actually find Gretsch guitars easier to play and setup than Fenders, no worries there, IMO.

zak
This thread is turning into a "I play a ___, therefore I suggest you should buy a _ too_" thing, which is pretty useless to the guy asking the question. The guy says he's "new to electric guitars", maybe changing strings on a Gretsch with a Bigsby and a floating bridge isn't the best way to dive into the world of electric guitars, ya know?

zak, that's the only way it can be cause nobody knows what the guy really needs, only himself...and we only may give him the info for thinking over: that's what we'are trying to do I guess

changing strings on a Gretsch with a Bigsby is not harder that on strat, by the way Very Happy

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

New Single is out!

https://waikikimakaki.bandcamp.com/album/rhino-blues-full-contact-surf-single

Waikiki Makaki

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

Thanks heaps for the great advice guys. I've also been recommended by a Rockabilly website ( Vince Gordon) This is what he said

"Get yourself a guitar with DeArmond pups and a Fender Tube Amp with spring
reverb. Also get a Danelectro Reel Echo pedal. When playing RAB you turn the
reverb off. That should cover your needs at a reasonable price.

Oh yes, make sure you get a Bigsby vibrato!"


So I had a look at a Gretsch 5129 the other day which has DeArmond pick ups, Bigsby etc. It was played thru a Fender Junior 15w. It sounded good but the demo player wasn't very good I thought. I'm rusty as hell around the fret board at the moment so in a couple of weeks I'll try some myself. I also heard the 5129 thru another fender amp which was a cheaper valve but the sound modelling style. I can't remember which model it was but it didn't sound great to me. The Blues Junior sounded heaps better.

I don't have the budget for a new Gretsch, that is more than a weeks pay for me down here in Au. So I'm also considering an Epiphone with correct specs. I'm scouring E-bay for used gear as well.

What's the general opinion on Epiphones?

To Fuzz from Canberra, thanks for the offer but I'm down in Geelong. It's very generous of you.

I will consider buying gear from the US so keep the offers coming if you have good stuff to offload.

Oh yes. I love the sound of a Strat because of Dave Gilmour in general & Stevie Ray V's version of Little Wing

Thanks guys

Gavin

gavrrr
What's the general opinion on Epiphones?

Thanks guys

Gavin

if you mean the modern ones chinese - they are crap I think. recently i played Wild Kat in the shop, it's a painted furniture, not a guitar. but may be I am just too used to Gretsch sound...

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

New Single is out!

https://waikikimakaki.bandcamp.com/album/rhino-blues-full-contact-surf-single

Waikiki Makaki

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

gavrrr
Thanks heaps for the great advice guys. I've also been recommended by a Rockabilly website ( Vince Gordon) This is what he said

"Get yourself a guitar with DeArmond pups and a Fender Tube Amp with spring
reverb. Also get a Danelectro Reel Echo pedal. When playing RAB you turn the
reverb off. That should cover your needs at a reasonable price.

Oh yes, make sure you get a Bigsby vibrato!"


So I had a look at a Gretsch 5129 the other day
Gavin

A used "Electro-whatever", I honestly can't keep up with the budget gretschs, is not a bad guitar. I've played many off the wall in shops. Not bad at all... I personally still feel a Jazzy with both pickups on, and the echo and amp will give you a good enough Rockabilly sound, but will also let you play so much more, that with used Classic Players being available for stupid cheap right now, it's the way to go. But those Electro-whatevers are good, and if you've always wanted a big orange gretsch, you probably will always feel that way until you have a big orange gretsch! Follow your heart. I'll admit to an itch for big orange gretschs that hasn't been scratched Twisted Evil I've even had a Rose, and it didn't scratch that particular spot...

I've got one of these babys and it does surf. But it has a limit on the neck length that slows it down some.
For versitility it is good for blues and I bet there isn't a rockabilly player that would turn it down.
They aren't cheap though. But they do cover a lot of ground.

image

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 24, 2009 00:02:29

zak
There's three pickups...can you find the third one?

Ha! A guitar quiz! Funny!
I guess the third pickup must be inside the neck!? Between the frets!?

Twang cheers!
Ralf Kilauea

http://www.myspace.com/thekilaueas

Twang cheers!

Ralf Kilauea

www.kilaueas.de

https://kilaueas.bandcamp.com/album/touch-my-alien

zak
There's three pickups...can you find the third one?

Ha! Or is the 3rd pickup in the bridge? There`s a cable to the bridge.
Interesting anyway!

Twang cheers!

Ralf Kilauea

www.kilaueas.de

https://kilaueas.bandcamp.com/album/touch-my-alien

Well they do & I've had a couple which were bloody good. But I have also found a Yamaha SA503TVL in a local shop that sounded pretty damn good. It's a thin hollow body, with 3 Bar Style p90's (they say) 3 vol knobs that are scratchy (they say) & one master tone. It looks good, is built better than an Epiphone ( the salesman says) is quite a bit cheaper than the Gretsch 5129 I looked at. The reveiws on Harm. Central are glowing about these guitars.

It was demo'd through a Vox AD100VT-XL which is too bloody big for me. But it did sound pretty good. I'm struggling to find a really good demo player to show off these things they are trying to sell yet. But of course I really need to have a twang myself which I will do. I would have liked to have heard the Yammy through a nice valve amp but the shop was useless for that.

Opinions on this Yamaha please & on Yamaha guitars in general?

As for amps, I think I'm going to need one with a 12" speaker. I don't need much power, 15w is heaps but to get a 12" some of the amps are 50w plus. I heard a Peavey today & the sales guy recommended a Peavey Valve King. It's no fender, but I only want the sound, not the label.

Most stuff is made in some asian country these days anyway so brands matter less & less with just about everything we buy. It's the manufacturers quality standards that matter.

Thanks for your help guys. You're all very knowledgeable a generous souls

Gavin

You shouldn't buy something until you can play well enough to demo guitars yourself. Also, Yamaha guitars that are sold in America aren't that great. I'd stay away from them. The aforementioned Epiphones can be pretty decent or not so great. Depends on the price tag. Over $500-550 and you are safe.

Also, don't read reviews on Harmony Central. People have a habit of disillusioning themselves according to the quality of the guitar they just bought. People never want to feel like they've made a bad purchase or seem less cool for having bought a crappy guitar so they will go on and on about how great a guitar is. That last sentence should be the new name of SG101.

Speaker size won't matter for you. It is way too early in the game for you to worry about speaker size. In several years you may be able to tell the tonal differences.

gavrrr
Opinions on this Yamaha please & on Yamaha guitars in general?

As for amps, I think I'm going to need one with a 12" speaker. I don't need much power, 15w is heaps but to get a 12" some of the amps are 50w plus. I heard a Peavey today & the sales guy recommended a Peavey Valve King. It's no fender, but I only want the sound, not the label.

Lots of people own Yamaha SGVs here (including me) and I think most of us on this site have quite a high regard for their stuff. I had a look at the guitar you mentioned and it looks cool. Although I own a lot more expensive amps, I use a Peavey Valve king for Surf myself - they sound great. I'd say it was a good choice. I used to have the 50w and the 100w versions but I sold the 50. Both are good amps and will also suit the other types of music you mention as long as by blues you mean the more American guitar sound: The Valve-King is much more in the Twin Reverb ballpark than sounding like a Vox or Marshall.

http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns

Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery.

Everything ive read about the new Fender era Gretschs has been fantastic. As good or better than the 50s models and way better than the Baldwin era. The guitar posted above has a nitro finish, tv jones classics, 59 tresle bracing, pinned bridge, sperzel tuners, and is one of the nicest guitars ive seen. Why wouldnt a person want one? They come with the standard knobs too ya know. Anyway since Randy Bachman's guitars have been used as templates and Fred Gretsch III bought back the company and struck a deal with Fender these guitars have never been better.

Yamaha makes fine intruments although ive never played the model your asking about.

If your hung up on wanting a hollowbody and can afford it i would add the reverend Pete Anderson model to your list.

IMO bang for the buck its pretty hard to beat a Guild.

Zak, I just want to sound like Brian Connelly. What was he playing through when he opened for you, a white falcon and?
another killer player is Paul Pigat.

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 24, 2009 00:02:35

I owned a terrible Fender-made Gretsch. I hated that guitar. Just sold it thankfully. Bought a 60s Guild instead. Million times better.

hmm, L5 eh. I always see pics of him using a white falcon. anyway i will need to play another 100 years to get to his level, clean and perfect.

Well i have the guitar in question and yes the trestle bracing keeps the feedback down and yes makes a difference in liveliness but i cant say i notice much difference at higher volumes.

Cant comment on weight since all i've played are new models but they did'nt feel any heavier than other hollowbodies ive tried. I wonder over time if guitars get lighter and lighter?

I was just recently at a rockabilly wedding and Paul Pigat was the best man, i have never seen a right hand faster than that, sounded like a 100 notes a second. Told me i should get "the swinging guitar of Tal Farlow." What a decent guy, even gave me a guitar lesson.

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 24, 2009 00:02:39

JakeDobner
I owned a terrible Fender-made Gretsch. I hated that guitar. Just sold it thankfully. Bought a 60s Guild instead. Million times better.

interesting, what year was it made.
does your Guild have dynasonics? or the Franz P90s everyones trying to get ahold of?

ZAK
Re. modern Gretsch guitars - maybe the quality has improved since Fender got in on the act, but why do they need to make 'em weigh twice as much as the old ones? Even the Country Club I used to have, which was a really BIG guitar, weighed a LOT less than any of their current models.

'59 Trestle bracing - ok...why do people want it? Because Setzer's guitar has it? Sorry, but the earlier ones sound WAY better, there's half as much useless timber inside them. The '59 bracing really reduces feedback (probably why Setzer likes it) but also kills the liveliness and resonance of the guitar. People want stuff without even understanding why.

Ya know Zak o'buddy you have a very definite opinion about things and quite often you are spot on the money. But this time I will disagree with you. I own an example of the pictured Gretsch I posted. It is a very fine guitar. You poo poo it because it has some plastic dice for knobs? The guitar comes with matching metal knobs for thoses who want to change them.
Then you go on to decry the lousy pickups the trestel bracing and the weight.. Hell man you love thoses old metal guitars. Tell me how heavy are those o monsters? Then you come back with an backup step when someone calls you on your comments. ( see ZAK quote above)
ZAK, this time I say you are talking out of your blow hole.
You and Jake both..
Wow! Shocked it seems I'm in a rude mood.

gusto

JakeDobner
I owned a terrible Fender-made Gretsch. I hated that guitar. Just sold it thankfully. Bought a 60s Guild instead. Million times better.

interesting, what year was it made.
does your Guild have dynasonics? or the Franz P90s everyones trying to get ahold of?

The Gretsch was made in 2005 I think. It was a 6118-120 with TV Jones.

The Guild is a '65. The pickups don't have a name but they are very similar to the Mickey Mouse pickups. The Guild is a T-100D. Below is another '65, mine has a Bigsby B-3 on it though. The Mickey Mouse pickups have a chrome ring around the pickups.

This model of Guild never had Dynasonics. Some of the Starfires did. The Starfire III(I think) is identical to the T-100D, which differnet pickups and I think some were made out of mahogany and not maple like the T-100.

The Franz pickups were used from '58-61 or '62 as far as I can tell. Then there was a all chrome pickup that I don't know what it is. Then in '65 you see the pickup that is in my guitar, and in '66 onwards you see the Mickey Mouse. Anyways, the Guild is a fantastic guitar. The craftsmanship is amazing. It plays so well, and the sound is amazing as well. It has a really great archtop sound, even though it is a thinline.

image

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