Gretsch 6119 Tennessee Rose

This is a 1999 Japanese-made 6119 reissue. It has 22 frets on a 25 1/2" scale neck, but it is jointed at the 14th fret so there is limited fret access above that (even with the cutaway). It has a master volume, volume for each fret, and a tone control. I'd prefer to have tone control for each pickup, but the Setzer hot rod models don't have any tone control at all, so I'll be happy with what I have. :-) The chrome plated hardware and bigsby are striking against the deep, red background. This is a beautiful guitar.

The only changes I've made are replacing the stock roundwound strings with D'Addario flatwound 12s and adjusting the bridge a little bit to stop some minor buzzing; I probably won't make any hardware changs any time soon.

I was a little annoyed that the hard shell case wasn't included, but it is beautiful and tank like. I highly recommend it.

yum. With the flatwound strings the sound is delicious. It is exactly that fat, Gretsch sound you're probably thinking of. I play through a 1983, Rivera designed Fender Concert (great reverb) and occasionally use a danelectro "tuna melt" tremolo pedal , rocktek chorus pedal, and a DOD FX96 Echo F/X pedal. The laminated maple top isn't exactly hand-carved spruce, but I really like it. I play pop (red house painters, belle and sebastien, the smiths, etc), rockabilly, and am an aspiring jazz player. This guitar is sufficiently versatile for all my tonal needs.

I was worried about the fit and finish of this guitar because of other made-in-Japan Gretsch reviews in the database, so I spent nearly an hour in the store going over every inch of this beast before plopping down my money. This guitar is really, really nice. The tuning pegs give terrific fine control and feel firm to the touch. The finish is impeccable. The frets seem well formed (no visible file marks or anything) and well seated. The binding on the body and f-holes seems perfect. The translucent/irridescent pickguard is, in addition to looking incredibly cool, secure and firm; it does not buzz or rattle at all. As I mentioned above, I had to adjust the bridge a little bit, but I was also replacing thin roundwound strings with thicker flatwounds; bit of bridge tuning seems reasonable to me. All of the controls are firm, and the pickup selector is silent.

I have only had the guitar a week, but I can't find anything wrong with it at all. There were some Gretsch guitars (one older Brian Setzer signature/dice for volume nobs model, and another whose designation escapes me) in the store that were rather flawed (badly filed frets, *noisy* pickup selector, loose tuning pegs, etc.), but this particular instrument seems very well made. I'm just glad I was able to buy the guitar in person and check it first. The salesman went to lunch and came back in the time I spent playing and then checking this beautiful, wonderful, fantastic guitar.

This is a hollowbody so one needs to be more gentle than with, say, a Tele, but I believe this guitar will withstand live playing (it better!). The hardware all seems good and solid. I expect it to last. The finish is beautiful. I don't know how to judge whether or not it will wear off.

The only thing I don't like about this guitar is the top strap button. It screws directly into the wood and seems like it will strip eventually. Does anyone know if this fear is reasonable?

I would never play any guitar without a backup (much less a hollowbody with a bigsby tremolo), but that's more a statement about my paranoia than the quality of this guitar. As I say, I haven't owned it very long so I can't judge durability. Things feel solid, though, so I expect this guitar to be both durable and reliable under my scrupulous, diligent care.

I have not had the pleasure, but the guitar comes with a lifetime warranty.

I have been playing for 11 years. I own an American Standard Telecaster, a 1983 Rivera designed Fender Concert amp, and a bunch of pedals (I already listed the ones I actually use). I would certainly replace this guitar if it were stolen. If I had the money I might upgrade to a Heritage 535, but I'd most likely just by another 6119 if I could. I love nearly everything about this guitar, I don't trust the top strap button, but the tone from this guitar is really stunning and is my favorite feature. I compared this guitar against the Guild HB35, Guild X170, a bunch of Epiphone crap, and a few other Gretsch models. I wish I'd had a chance to try the Guild X160, but no one within an hour drive had one in stock. Actually, that's a lie... elderly (which is only an hour away from me) has a blue X160 in stock right now, but I was too lazy to drive up there and too impatient to wait. :-)

This is a 1999 6119 Tennessee Rose Single cutaway Jazzbox. It features 2 Filtertron pickups, polished aluminum "V" style Bigsby, and a roller bridge that my 6120 Setzer model does not have. It is very impressive to look at.

As with most Gretsch guitars, I has a rich "Fat" sound, but as most hollow bodies feedback can be a problem at higher volume levels.

OK, here the bad stuff. This guitar came poorly set up and with jagged
shap fret edges. According to a recent article in Guitar Player magazine, this is a common problem with Gretsch. The rosewood used in making the fretboards, is entirely too green when the guitar is built. As the wood begins to dry, it shrinks causing the frets to hang off the fingerboard. There is a slight misalignment of the neck where it meets the body on the cutaway side. The neck hangs over about one sixty forth of an inch. That may not sound like much, but my guess is the paint will eventually peel at this spot. For what Gretsch charges for these guitars, is it unreasonable to expect total perfection? If Fred Gretsch could see the shoddy craftsmanship with his name on it, He'd roll over in his grave. This guitar was purchased on an online auction. It was advertised as new, and it appears to be new. Because the person who sold it is not an authorized Gretsch dealer, My guess is the warranty is worthless.
Based on the problems I had with my 6120 Setzer Signature madel, I e-mailed the seller about the shap fret edges before I even bid on it. He lied! This guitar is not currently in playable condition. It needs the action adjusted to eliminate major fret buzz. This is my second Gretsch, and it's worse than my first. It's a piece of junk, but a pretty piece of junk.

This is a stay at home guitar.

Never dealt with Gretsch directly. I've read bad reports.

Overall I am disappointed with this guitar, and disappointed with Gretsch all together. I got it at a great price, I saved about $450.00 off the current retail price, but will have to sink money into it to get it right. Based on my personal experience with two Gretsch guitars, and what I have read, I think the Gretsch company needs to re-evaluate the Japanese factory that builds them. They are defineately "Not all that" The crap they are putting out would be an embarrassment to Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy, Brian Setzer, or anyone else who has their name on one. If this guitar was lost or stolen, I'd replace it with something other than Gretsch. Most likely I'd go with Guild which is a far superior guitar. I have wanted a Gretsch ever since I was a kid, and now that I have two, I realize everything that glitters, is not gold. I would love to have a vintage USA Gretsch. There is no comparison to the imports.