Gretsch 3205 Deluxe Hawaiian Historic Series

Acoustic/Electric Hawaiian Historic Series guitar made in Korea in 2000. Has Golden Sunburst finish with Solid Flamed Maple Top, Back and Sides (yes. . . looks like Tiger Stripes). Maple neck. Floating pickguard. Bound triangular soundhole, fully bound top, back and neck. Abalone inlays around top, head, floating pickguard and soundhole, as well as abalone thumbnail neo-classical position markers. Rosewood fingerboard and bridge, adjustable truss rod, gold hardward/gretsch closed back tuners, and a Fishman matrix pickup/preamp. A beautiful, highly unusual looking guitar. Bought NOS for $500 in late 2007 (said to list for about $1050 in 2000). Needed set-up and fret dress to put it spot-on.

Balanced acoustic sound, with a very strong mid-range. . . nice but light bottom-end (not booming like a Martin) and top-end (not overly bright a-la Taylor). Nicely suits strumming, finger-picking and flat-picking. . . with a bit of the "Gretsch Sound" so prevalent in their electric hollow-bodies. Handles Worship Music (strumming and Steve Bell), 70's acoustic (JT, CSNY, Cat, etc.), and surprisingly Swing and Jazz very well. Plugged in it does a bit better, as controls allow strengthening of highs and lows as required. Swing just jumps out of this guitar when amplified. Really wish it were a bit stronger acoustically with low and high E's, but more than acceptable for $500 investment.

Action was too high from the factory, and frets were downright dangerous until dressed. Outside of that, and a very slight discoloration of about 1/4 inch on the neck binding, the build quality, wood quality, hardware quality, and finish are downright spectacular. Bridge pins also seem a touch too small. Stunning looking guitar that gets rated down for initial set-up.

Have only owned it for 2 months, so I cannot accurately report on reliability/durability. . . but it is absolutely solid, stays in tune after considerable hammering, and nothing has come loose/rattles as of yet. Finish is also indestructable. Would love to give it an 8, but can't push beyond 7 without at least a year of duty.

No warranty. . . and buying NOS after 7 years one might believe is warranty enough. Never called the company.

This is a fun guitar to own. . . sounds very good, looks like nothing else so it always generates discussion whenever it's out. The fact that it handles Swing and Jazz so well makes it very flexible when you plan on wandering across a wide musical spectrum. I have been playing 44 years, mostly 60's British Invasion thru Woodstock thru JT & co to Worship with a little Swing and Country on the side. Currently own a 70 Martin D12-28, 50 Kay Archtop with bar pickup, 2002 Japan Strat, and Martin Backpacker w/pu. As this high-end model was made in extremely limited numbers, I wouldn't even bother to look for another if it was "lost." Rated it based on the $500 price-to-value. . . if I had paid $1050 it would be rated in the 6-7 range.