Gretsch 6120-60

Standard Factory 6120-60 RI
I love this guitar. The people I met that have run into problems with this model guitar 99% of the time didn't research what they were buying and didn't play enough of the same model to find the one that spoke to them. This a hollow body and a very organic guitar. WHat do I mean by organic? Well I played 14 6120's and was amazed by how different each of them felt and even sounded. Find a dealer where you can really play a decent amount of Gretsches or better yet the same model. The debate between the RI's (Re-issues) and the original is still up in the air. I personally liked the new filtertron pickups in the RI's and the guitar that 'spoke' to me was an RI. DO I regret I didn't buy the 67'? No.

But understand that in buying a 6119 or a 6120 you are buying a very fine instrument. But they are toward the middle (6120) to bottom (6119) end of the Gretsch models. Not having so many bells and whistles but enough that you can keep it as it is and play the hell out of it and keep it 'standard' or slowly start to upgrade and mod. Like a fine hotrod. And these guitars just asked to modded! Other style bigsby's, TVJones PU's, wide variety of bridges, pickgards, tuners, etc... Don't get me wrong, the standard factory line looks and sounds amazing. Modding is just a personal thing, either for looks or tone.

I play Rockabilly, Jump Blues, Bee-Bop, and Swing. It fits perfectly to this style of playing. And listen, you just spent over a grand on a great guitar, don't go plugging it into a Marshall or Crate. Give this instrument some respect and fork over the money for a good vintage or at the very least tube amp. ;) But if you plan to play a Gretsch through a little Peavey practice amp, then maybe this isn't the guitar for you.

If you set it up correctly, and/or have the seller set it up for you, the guitar is a piece of art. Great action, surprisingly light for it's size. It's a real instrument. Feels very organic. Hollow bodies are the way to go.
I love the mix of the Silver brushed metal look of the bigsby contrasted with the the other gold hardware. The Gold on the spacer adjustment bridge where I rest my hand to mute has started to go after about 7 months, but I do play the heck out of this thing and happen to like the worn look on the metal hardware. The body looks like brandnew.

I've had no problems with this guitar. I gig weekly and play the hell out of this little darlin'. The strap buttons were an issue at the beginning, all in my head. I never had them come loose and give them a good tight turn before I start to play. If you want locking strap buttons, go for the schallers but you may hear them click through the amp every now and then. Okay things I have seen but not experienced, from my other gretsch buddies.

- Clicking switches heard through the amp.
Wiring harness issue, maybe bad or dirty pot

- Going out of tune.
Most likely your guitar isn't set up correctly. A bigsby can take a lot of abuse and still stay in tune.

- Listen to it, play it. Play a cariety of gretsch models that have different PU's find the sound YOU want.

- Most importantly head over to http://www.gretschpages.com for any info you may crave or if you just want to talk with gretsch experts.

Haven't had to deal with them. :)

I became a member at http://www.gretschpages.com, all about gretsch guitars and amps and have learned so much, I can almost repair and install anything and everything I will ever need to on this baby.

10 because I researched and took the time to find what I wanted. I play through a 1946 Dan Electro, 1965 Valco Supro, and hopefully soon some kind of 60's Fender VibroKing or Bassman.

2001 6120-60. Filtertrons, Bigsby, space control bridge, tone control. Don't really like the tone switch control, since I use only one setting exclusively (the other two sound like your guitars played underwater). Would prefer a tone knob. Great ebony fingerboard, the nice feature of this guitar compared to other Gretsches. The zero fret is good as well - keeps the open strings balanced.

Just great sounding. Blows away my Gretsch Syncromatic. For Rockabilly and Surf this guitar is it. Has that deep, rich sound on the lower strings.

The action and feel of the guitar was great, though the shop set it up before I bought it, so I don't know how the factory set up is.

The flaw of this guitar is tuning. Bend a string, out of tune, use the Bigsby, out of tune, move that bridge, out of tune. Especially that damn G string.

I think a few remedies will fix this though. I plan on installing Sperzels, maybe changing the bridge to tune-o-matic, and at least taping down the bridge if I stick with the Space Control one. Supposedly, greasing the nut helps keep it in tune better as well.

I'd recommend one of the Setzers for prospective Gretsch buyers. They come with Sperzels and a tune-o-matic bridge.

Still, it sucks to buy a $1600 guitar and then have to start modifying it just to keep it in tune.

It's a well built and tough guitar. Once I get the tuning stable I'll have more confidence in it. The Bigsby is pretty much worthless right now until the Sperzels are on there.

Haven't dealt with em' yet

This guitar is a lot of fun, sounds great, and of course, looks awesome. By the way, orange is the only color to get a gretsch. Once I make some mods, I think I'll be very happy. Would recommend a Setzer over it however.

1996 Japanese made. Filtertrons, Bigsby - the usual. This is the one with the tone selector switch rather than a knob. Faux flame on the headstock, but not the body. A historically accurate, but impractical feature the floating roller bridge instead of tune-a-matic style bridge. If you play up the neck, and like to bend, you'll be tweaking the intonation every week or two. If you're not familiar with these guitars, it really is a hollow-body - there is no feedback controlling block like a 335. Know what you're getting into. None of this is bad, but it's not modern and you need to know that.

It does 50s and early 60s styles well - surf, rockabilly, Chuck Berry, and jazz if you roll back the tone controls. I found the pickups to be pretty middle-of-the-road and had them re-wound by a Gretsch specialist, and had the tone capacitors swapped out to match the pre-baldwin specs. A much more satisfying sound afterward - I think a guitar like this shouldn't be too polite. That's what Jazz boxes are for. For the price, you'd expect that great gretsch sound out of the case, but I had to pay for additional mods to get it.

Almost forgot - this guitar really likes a Fender tube amp.

Much better build quality than the pre-baldwin guitars. Binding an neck joint were flawless. Setup isn't really a fair question as it moves around a lot on these guitars by design. I think it goes with the floating bridge + Bigsby territory and you've got to deal with it. I would say that a Gretsch should have a set of 12s on it to sound right, though to do the Chuck Berry unison bends, you've got to swap the wound G string for a solid one. I know that people like lighter gauges, but if you want that woody chunky rhythm sound, use the heavier strings. This isn't a tele.

Tough question. It's reliable for what it is. I've replace the entire electrical harness. The pots and switches were scratchy, and the intonation needs constant watching. Bring a backup for sure.

You get this for a certain mojo and look as well as the sound. It's like getting a brand new `57 chevy. It doesn't corner like a new BMW, but that's not the point. You get it because it's cool, it's what you want, and you can handle the limitations. If you like roots music, psychobilly, or anything in that range, this is your guitar. If you want an anvil and can't be bothered, think about a tele.

99 model reissue of 59-60 model.Hollowbody,orange finish.Filtertron ceramic pickups,bigsby vibrato arm,ebony fretboard,gold hardware,grover machine heads,maple neck and body.This has the fatter neck then the regular 6120 or Brian Setzer model,but it has a thinner taper then a standard les paul.Fretwire is smaller then any les paul or strat I have played.

Talk about that great gretsch sound,this guitar has it.The filtertrons sound fantastic,and are very unique.Perfect for rockabilly,surf,and early beatles.I had to shim the pickup height on the bridge pickup to get more response and a better mix when using both.It has a 3 way tone swith rather then a knob that's only good at the max,but I have never set a tone knob on anything other then 10 anyway.

I set the action higher because I like it that way.The neck was the straitest I have ever seen and not a buzz anywhere.The only problem is the high E gets caught under the 3rd fret wire when doing heavy pulloffs on the open string.The finish is beautiful,but I passed on one at a different store becasue the translocent orange didn't cover the grain in spots,and there was a weak spot at the neck joint.

So far this seems to be a pretty durable guitar,especially for a hollowbody.The finish appears very durable,and all reports I have seen confirm this.The hardware is high quality.I have heard of people having problems with the strap buttons,but mine are fine so far.I normally play a strat also for gigging so I always have a backup,but thats more for sound variety then a lack of confidence in the gretsch.

So far I have had no need to contact the company,but I have heard of people having problems with them.

I have been playing for 27 years and have had many quality guitars.I would rate this as high as anything I have played.The quality of construction and attention to detail are better then my les paul standard.If it were stolen or lost I would replace it immediatly after killing the person who stole it.Its a pain to string with the bigsby,and shimming the pickup was a pain,but its all more the worth the sound this guitar has.

This is the Japanese-assembled reissue made to look like a 1958-1960 era Gretsch 6120. It's all laminated maple with an ebony fingerboard and a flamed maple veneer on the headstock. It has the thumbprint inlays, oversized f-holes, and orange finish one would expect on a Gretsch like this. It has the post 1958 era electrics and controls: 2 humbuckers with a 3-position selector, a 3-position preset tone switch, a master volume knob on the upper treble bout, and individual volumes for each pickup on the lower bout. The ceramic Filter 'Tron pickups have higher output than the original alnicos to please modern players who appreciate quieter guitars. Construction techiniques are more modern, as well. The neck is set much more firmly then vintage Gretsches. The tuners are excellent quality. I have replaced the bridge, but more for my personal tastes than for a quality issue. After 5 years of use, the pots are about as scratchy as any 5 year old guitar I have owned. I clean the jacks and pots a coulple of times a year and haven't experienced any embarrassing on stage from failures. It would be nice if the electrics weren't merely average -- the rest of the guitar is top notch.

These guitars are much more versatile than their Rockabilly image would lead one to believe. I play some surf, some loungey stuff, some rockabilly-ish stuff, some blues, some jazz, some country, and the Filter 'Trons (when dialed into an appropriate amp) seem up to any task I throw at them. I play mostly clean tones, but with an occasional bluesy crunch. Sit down with a Line 6 Pod and dial through the different amp styles, play with the tone settings -- you'll be amazed at the versatility. Beatles-style sounds can be had with flatwounds and a Vox. Duane Eddy? Big strings, a 1x15 amp with 6550's and your there. Surf? Blackface and lighter gauge. Jazz? Try it through a Polytone or JC120. High-gain stuff? Careful now, this IS a hollowbody! So long as you can work with lower volumes, the Filter 'Trons work well even with Mesa Boogie-style hollowed overdrive; though you should expect more microphonics than you'd get from a Strat. I play through a combination of amps. For may music, I find that for thicker tones, Fender tweeds combine nicely with the Filter 'Trons. The higher output ceramics put you into overdrive territory you couldn't achieve with a vintage Gretsch without a stomp box. For a more articulate tone, I go through a Sovtek Tube Midget (think JTM 45) going in to a 2x12 cabinet loaded with WeberVST Californias. I am amazed at the versatility I can get from the sounds. I have played through 5881s, El34s, El84s, 6550s, solid state -- they all create different textures with this guitar -- but they all work.

Fit and finish is top notch. Unfortunately, though, most guitar shops don't know how to properly set up a guitar with a floating bridge. I have seen some nightmare set-ups. I can't blame Gretsch for that, though. The flawless thin poly finish seems to let the guitar breathe much more than those thick 1980s poly finishes. The finish and construction is light-years ahead of vintage Gretsches.

I haven't experienced any unexpected problems in 5 years. I have used it without a backup many times. Maybe I'm tempting fate, but I am pretty confident about this guitar. One should treat it like a hollow body with a floating bridge, mind you... but it's much more solid than most hollows I have used in the past. With less scratchy pots and a little more solid strap buttons, this would be a 10.

I have contacted Gretsch through my dealer to buy parts for other guitars -- I have never had a problem with them. A lot of folks don't seem to understand that Duke Kramer's shop is respsonsible for parts in America and end up blaming Gretsch for the misunderstanding. Whatever. They didn't knock my socks off with service, but they definitely did what I expected.

I've been playing for 13 years. This was my fourteenth guitar in that time. There is no doubt in my mind that this Gretsch is "my" guitar from this point forward. Nothing else has come close. If it were stolen, I'd hunt down the thief and kill them. These are not inexpensive guitars, but compared to rival Gibsons they are rock bottom cheap. I can't recommend them enough.