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Gretsch Guitars Seem Hard To Sell, Why ?

14K views 86 replies 32 participants last post by  MS41R8 
#1 ·
My G5620T CB has been up for a while on various sites and although there have been hundreds of views, no takers. It is not just my guitar I'm talking about, a lot of Gretschs seem to take a loooong time to move.

Any thoughts as to why they seem to not be very appealing to most ?
 
#3 ·
The nice ones are very expensive or I'd own a Falcon by now - even the Duffy sig is out of reach for me. The non USA ones (electromatics, especially the solidbodies) are affordable-ish (at least used) but on the high side for comparable stuff made in the same Asian factories.

Still kicking myself for not scraping something together to buy that White Falcon in a Church St pawn shop in the 90s. I think it was there for a while too.
 
#4 ·
Weird scale length (24.6), too many complications (bigsby), affordable models use some weird woods (nato fretboard), three volumes and one tone on the archtops, US made models super expensive, rockabilly is dead, cheap filtertrons on imports don't sound awesome. I've owned three and keep wanting to like them, but can't. Figure 50% depreciation if your used guitar is not USA / Japan made and in perfect condition.

They sure are pretty though.
 
#5 ·
  • They are a niche guitar
  • Odd appointments - the controls on Fenders and Gibsons are much more intuitive
  • They are expensive for offshore guitars (A US-made Gibson is comparable to a Japanese-made Gretsch)
  • The branding is complex - numbered models with a lot of configurations
  • Any signature sound they might have is associated with the past (rockabilly, Buffalo Springfield, etc)
Despite all that, I have two prolines, don’t play rockabilly, and many of my favourite players have used one at some key point or another.
 
#30 · (Edited)
  • Any signature sound they might have is associated with the past (rockabilly, Buffalo Springfield, etc)
Not meaning picking on you because a few people have said this, but I disagree.

You also can't ignore the lasting legacy (and now older more afluent fans who can afford Gretsches) of bands like The Cult (Duffy was in Theatre of Hate before that rocking the same Falcon), The Cramps, Rancid, and Depeche Mode to just name a few more. It's a specific tone, sure, but not niche in the sense of being limited to a few dead genres as people are implying - that's a wide range we have already. Also you can't ignore the underground; Rockabilly (and it's many offspring) are far from dead, and you can't ignore the Gretsch/Filtertron sound as the other surf guitar (see Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet; who granted resisted the surf label, but admitted to it later). I just recorded a band featuring a Gretsch (semi)hollowbody, kinda barngoth (countryish gothic rock).

Being a niche is often a benefit to a guitar company's sales vs you know, more Teles and (super)Strats and LPish things. The issue really comes down to the other points you, and others, made - mostly expense especially with regards to comparable alternatives. I mean putting a filtertron in Tele neck position is a huge thing - there is appeal, most of us just can't afford it.
 
#12 ·
Totally agree with all of this! With a bit of patience, I’ve been able to find prolines for close to some of these inflated 5xxx prices. Also, sometimes modded 5-series models come up at good prices. Recently there was one here with all the ideal mods done (proper Bigsby, TVJones pickups, truarc bridge), all for what some people ask for an unmodded specimen.
 
#16 ·
They are not niche at all. In fact they are on a billion recordings for the simple reason that they sound cool and cut through a mix beautifully. If you listen to music every day you probably hear a Gretsch every day.
Most people naturally gravitate to Gibson and fender because the designs are commonplace and simple to use. The sound is obvious- Fender single coil and Gibson humbuckers. Gretsch guitars occupy a different and less obvious field of sound. Filtertrons are humbuckers but with more chime. Dynasonics are single coils are are somewhat tele like but more scooped and open. They sound excellent.
Playing them takes some getting use to though. Short scale, lots of "controls" that are maybe more tradition than necessary.
The budget Electromatics etc are just typical of all cheap mass produced guitars- bad parts, poor fretwork, crappy dead sounding pickups. They are also much more prone to rattles and buzzes. Japanese and American Gretsch guitars are mostly excellent though.
 
#18 ·
They are not niche at all. In fact they are on a billion recordings for the simple reason that they sound cool and cut through a mix beautifully. If you listen to music every day you probably hear a Gretsch every day.
Most people naturally gravitate to Gibson and fender because the designs are commonplace and simple to use. The sound is obvious- Fender single coil and Gibson humbuckers. Gretsch guitars occupy a different and less obvious field of sound. Filtertrons are humbuckers but with more chime. Dynasonics are single coils are are somewhat tele like but more scooped and open. They sound excellent.
Playing them takes some getting use to though. Short scale, lots of "controls" that are maybe more tradition than necessary.
The budget Electromatics etc are just typical of all cheap mass produced guitars- bad parts, poor fretwork, crappy dead sounding pickups. They are also much more prone to rattles and buzzes. Japanese and American Gretsch guitars are mostly excellent though.
By niche, I was referring to the generic models of business strategy which are either broad or narrow in scope and source competitive advantage based on cost focus or differentiation focus.

There are a few brands that focus on cost only. Think knock off brands like Tokai.

But most of the majors do both. They have some lines that focus on cost (Squier, Epiphone, Electromatic). But their larger strategy is differentiation. Fender and Gibson have distinct offerings, roughly single coils vs humbuckers. Likewise in the acoustic market, Martin vs Gibson have some trademark differences in their offerings and sometimes another player comes along like Taylor with another differentiated product.

So some examples of the four strategies:
  • Broad/price: the big brands’ value offerings (Squier, etc)
  • Broad/differentiation: Fender, Gibson, Martin, Taylor
  • Narrow/price: not many here… but maybe something like Eastman, and arguably Gretsch Electromatics
  • Narrow/differentiation: think of high end brands like Collings
So where does Gretsch fit? It’s hard to get financials because most of these aren’t publicly traded companies. Yamaha is and they report their competitors to be Fender, Gibson, Taylor, and Martin. These are the “broad” players looking to grab the bulk of the market.

Fender reported $700m sales last year. Gretsch has somewhere in the neighborhood of $10m in sales. That figure may be a difficult measure because of their agreement with Fender, so it could be higher with some reported in Fender’s sales.

However, I think it’s safe to say that apart from a boom when the Beatles hit the Ed Sullivan stage, they are targeting a much smaller part of the market than the broad players. Their player series is an attempt to soften out some of the weird features that their current market loves, in an attempt to reach a broader market, but they have a long way to go.

So I’d say their 2-5 series hit a narrow/price strategy and their 6 and custom series hit a narrow/differentiation strategy. Both of these are “niche” strategies.
 
#21 ·
The Korean builds have a good reputation. If I’m not mistaken, they’ve never been replaced with Chinese builds. I think there are four basic levels:
  1. 2-series (streamliner) - made in China
  2. 5-series (electromatic) - made in Korea
  3. 6-series (proline) - made in Japan
  4. Custom shop - made in US
However, as discussed above, the 5-series often get upgraded with new bridges, electronics, pickups and/or Bigsby.
 
#35 ·
Gretsch is actually fairly uncommon these days and the sad thing is that Gretsch announced to the public a few years back that the electromatic line sells more than the high end stuff . And in a since the electromatics are a more playable guitar than the vintage reissue due to the different neck construction. It’s also really easy to mod a lower end Gretsch and you’ll end up with a guitar that outplays the country gent and falcon due to the oversized heel they possess. In the recent years they the started the player lineup that get rid of that heel and they practically got rid of there USA models besides one the 55 white falcon reissue. The biggest problem is they don’t have their own custom shop they are actually done at the fender custom shop so you get fenders greasy palms over a beautiful guitar only to destroy what they once were.

and for resale it’s Gibson ,Martin or fender. Anything else is looked at as an oddity
 
#46 ·
the older gretsches with bigsbys can be pretty bad for losing their tuning, even without using the trem, just going out of tune for a laugh. some of the newer mid-priced ones look great to me, but it feels like a brand that doesn't really have too clear an identity at present. maybe as a previous poster said it just needs a couple of high-profile guitarists to shine a light on them
 
#48 ·
To second @Mooh …I too have recently sold a 1959 Gretsch Duo Jet, 1965 Gretsch Country Gentleman, 2005 Gretsch Billy Bo, 1964 Gretsch 6120 and none of these were on the market for more than several days . I had many responses on them right away either for trades or sales.

I do miss everyone of them and only sold only to replace with more (preferably 50’s) Gretschs.

Gretsch are great guitars and for the ones who know how to handle them, get the most out of them and want to look good doing it …..they are perfect .

I have also owned a few Korean “5 series” Gretsch’s over the years and they are generally quite well built and with a few small upgrades can be very Good guitars. I found where they lacked compared to the 6 series is the pickups/tuners/bigsby.
 
#59 ·
I’m REALLY late to the thread, I’ve had 3 Gretches that I picked up in trades, a MIK 5120, and a couple of MIC guitars, I think they were Jet variants.

My take:

The pickups were really muddy, the finishes were not as good as some Epiphones I’ve had, and they really didn’t feel good in the hands. I wanted to love them, but really didn’t.

I think the Ibanez Artcore series are a far superior hollow body, especially the early 2000’s models, and they are much cheaper.

In terms of the Jet types, they have a look about them, but I’d want to change the pickups out to TVJones models or something along those lines.

US Gretches are probably night and day different, but I’ve never seen one in the flesh. They are legendary so there’s obviously something there, but I have the feeling that the imports are just riding that branding and reputation.
 
#67 ·
There’s a sweet spot between the guitars you’ve tried and the US-made options. Since the 90s, and especially since Fender started overseeing production in 2003, the prolines (6xxx models) have been made in Japan and are excellent guitars. The only US-made guitars are hand made custom shop models from Fender’s California master builders and they are $$$$. Also, the 54xx models are better regarded than the 51xx, but often get modded anyway. I look for deals on the Japanese models and have never been unhappy.

I spoke earlier in this thread but will update my posts. I own and have owned many Gretsch’s from Vintage to reissue and there have been a few Korean models in there . I will say that the higher end 6 series (Japan) is overall a much better guitar in stock form, they just are. The 2 stock electromatics I owned were gone after very short stays . Weak points are the pickups, tuners, nut and Bigsby compared to the 6 series.

I have found that I “personally” don’t care for the Filtertron sound in Gretsch’s. Just too warm for me and although it’s a great sound …it’s not my style . But I LOVE a Gretsch equipped with The single coil DeArmonds/Hi Lo Trons or Dynasonics…they have a snap and twang to them that is just pure music to my ears…Duane Eddy tones. I play a bunch of 50’s-60’s classic country and Rock so these fit just perfect.

Here is the list of Gretsch’s I own or have owned within the last 6 months . Some are gone ..mostly the ones with Filtertrons.

  • 1959 Gretsch Duo Jet (Black)
  • 1960 Gretsch Double Anniversary (Smoke Green)
  • 1964 Gretsch 6120 x 2 (Western Orange)
  • 1965 Gretsch Country Gentleman (Walnut)
  • 2014 ‘57 Gretsch Duo Jet (George Harrison Reissue) ..Black
  • 2005 Gretsch Billy Bo (Red)
  • 2004 ‘57 Gretsch 6120 (Reissue and is Glorious) …Western Orange
  • 2003 Gretsch 6120 (Brian Setzer) Green
  • 2004 ‘59 Gretsch Duo Jet (Silver Sparkle)
  • 2008 Electromatic 5422 (White with Gold)
  • 2009 ‘59 Reissue Gretsch Double Anniversary (Smoke Green)

Out of all of these …the best in my opinion are the single cut ‘57 Reissue 6120 with Dynasonics and the 1960 Double Anniversary (Single Cut) with Hi-Lo Trons. They just suit me the best

I will try post a video clip of the 6120 if I can find one .
My Double Anni with Hilotrons sounds amazing. Why no one talks about these, I’m not sure!
 
#60 · (Edited)
I hate gold appointments on guitars, and Gretsch guitars are, for the most part, too ornate and gaudy looking for my eyes. I had a Tennessee Rose that was nice - more tame in looks, but it was stiff and uninspiring to play. I recently got to try a friend's 5 series in which he swapped the pups for a set of Vineham FT's - that was enlightening. Honestly, that guitar had more resonance and give to it than the Rose I had (2005 model), and those pickups with the amp set at the edge of break-up were beautiful and expressive. Had I not recently picked up a great deal on a 'bucker HB I'd definitely be looking at a Gretsch.

Isbell certain coaxes some wicked tunes from them, and I saw Darrell Scott playing solo with a White Falcon through a Princeton and it sounded insane.
 
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