Gretsch 6120N

Already well covered in prior reviews. My only additional comment is that I always found the Gretsch master volume to be a great idea that Gibson should have included in their Les Pauls and SGs. Beautiful gold plated hardward, Solid knobs and Bigsby. LIke others I didn't quite trust the strap pegs. My solution was to take them out, put a spot of wood glue on the threads, screw them back in, and never had another problem. Also put a strap lock on the front peg.

Unbelievable response, gorgeous tone. Responds to every nuance of your picking. I originally went to Guitar Center to look for a replacement for a Heritage I'd been using for jazz gigs. Good guitar, just nothing special. I've always loved Gretsch's, but the old American made ones were pretty erratic in their quality. I saw this on the rack and flipped. Took it into a side room, A-B'd it with the Heritage, called in the sales guy and sealed the deal. I have it set up with GHS Brite Flats...10s, and use it pretty much for jazz/pop instrumentals, but with regular 10s or 9s it can get raunchy and scream too. (I have a bunch of youtube vids using this guitar under www.youtube.com/user/sidethehead). The tones are all within the standard Gretsch realm, but the variety from neck/bridge/mid is huge. I play it through an old Gibson Falcon and the tone is to die for. I've been playing over 40 years, teach and playing full time for over 25 of them, have owned everything at one time or another, and to me this guitar is priceless. Can't believe Gretsch discontinued it. Every time I play out with it it gets comments on the look and tone. My favorite guitar ever. I'm actually going to buy a cheaper Gretsch or Schecter or something, because I think I'm going to use this for recording and sit down, restaurant type gigs only. The thought of this getting stolen or dinged is enough for me to want to just keep it home. Can you tell I'm in love with this guitar???

I did a little adjustment to lower the front pickup so I didn't keep hitting it with my thumbpick, and set the intonation a bit. That was it. Beautiful guitar with class and soul, solid feel, built to last.

Had it about 8 years and no problems so far. Used it at lots of gigs, but thinking of semi-retiring it just because theyre hard to find and I'd be devastated if something happened to it. Solid guitar, hold tune for months, quiet, smooth knobs, just a freakin' awesome instrument.

Never needed it.

Would buy another in a second if something happened. Love it from A to Z. If you find one, buy it. In my opinion, a flawless, beautiful instrument that should still be in production.

Features have been well covered by previous reviews. The body shape is stunning and very classy and not typical Gretsch. My guitar is number 17, made in Japan in May 2001 and she is immaculate. Filtertron pickups sound awesome, probably the best sounding guitar I have, better than burstbuckers. Thin body makes her a dream to play standing up or seated although how you can play rockabilly seated is anyones guess.

Sounds great for a wide range of music styles but perhaps not rock. Used with a Fender Deluxe she sounds superb. No background noise. This guitar sings. Great Rockabilly guitar and Rock and Roll but not limited to these styles.

My guitar was originally owned by a luthier and the set up was excellent. Very low action but no fret buzz or any intonation problems. I don't know if this is how she left the factory. Fit and finish are excellent with no problems with pick ups or the finer details such as binding.

She shipped from the States in her OHSC and judging by the state of the box she was packed in the journey was a hard one, 8 weeks and a trip to Amsterdam in the middle. Not the sellers fault but a problem with USPS. She survived although the case was damaged.
Strap buttons do come loose but so far no problem. Check regularly.

Not needed any help but I would suggest that owners log onto the Gretsch website and download the very helpful, 'Your Gretsch Guitar Guide' as it gives loads of info about string changing (without the bridge falling off or the strings coming off the axle pins) and general maintenance stuff.

Playing for 42 years, own Les Pauls's, PRS's, Taylor acoustics (beautiful) a few Fender amps, Deluxe, Bassman etc and Marshall amps and the Gretsch sounds great through all of them.
If it were lost or stolen I would look for another one but they are not easy to come by and I love my one so how could I replace her!
Compared to my other guitars this baby makes a real statement and looks the business. Very eye catching. Equal top with my PRS singlecut but better than all the rest of my electrics.

Same as described in other reviews,very flashy look,but also VERY classy.
G6120N - "New Nashville" (built in 2002 bought in new in 2006)
??? 5-ply arched maple top and back
??? 7-ply maple sides
??? Spruce non-feedback bracing system
??? 16" wide, 1.7" deep
??? Open bound oversized f-holes
??? 2-pc rock maple neck
??? Ebonized rosewood fingerboard
??? White celluloid binding
??? Humped block inlays on fingerboard
??? Width at nut 1.7" (bone)
??? 24.6" scale
??? 22 jumbo frets joined at the 14th fret (neck joint)
??? Adjustable truss rod
??? Gold plated hardware
??? Dual FilterTron pickups
??? Pickup selector switch
??? Master volume
??? Master tone
??? Two volume controls
??? Gretsch Bigsby vibrato tailpiece
??? Adjustamatic bridge
??? Orange finish

I was hit in the face when I plugged this guitar, I was not really a Gretsch guy, but when you try this one, you're converted right on the spot. I use a blues deluxe Fender amp, I play mostly blues and blues/rock,this thing smokes even without using any overdrive/distortion, it did it by itself (at medium volume) and at clean setting the sound is H U G E and warm like nothing else. To get the real Gretschy sound (for me) I use both pickups at the same time. There is plenty of bass on the neck p/up, and very bitty on the bridge p/up. I like the big difference of sound between the 2 p/ups. I've found the perfect match with my amp and the 6120n. If you add some distortion, then you will totally find a new instrument with new colour of sound that I did not suspect from this kind of brand. I tought Gretsch was only for country or rockabilly....I was so WRONG...I've tried 4-5 Gretsch the day I bought the 6120N, I can tell that the only other guitar who can be compared to the 6120n is the white falcon, even if the WF is a beautiful guitar, the look do not really meet style of person, and I prefer thinner guitar.

Every thing was in perfect state right from the box. Even if it stayed 4 years in the store, the guitar was perfect. I was quite surprised when I changed the strings the first time, when the bridge fall off, I wonder if i would have to get it back to the store and have a repairman to adjust it? no, it seems that it doesn't have to need extreme precision to get perfect intonation..I still wonder why, mystery, mystery....
The action was fairly low, lower that I am use to, but it's ok. You have to be careful, when you hit the strings very hard, they tend to slide aside there location on the bridge wich makes you sound untuned. The pickups volume control are a bit difficult to be use to, but the master volume near the cutaway is doing the job.

I am sure this guitar can stand a lot of road abuse, probably not too much young punk abuse,I think this guitar is built for mature person, in this way, I suppose it will resist till the end of my life. One thing I am not so sure is the strap buttons, I rescrew them regularly, I am a bit insecure about them...maybe one day I will change for regular strap-lock.

I've been playing for 35 years, I used mostly Fender guitar, I actually have a fender Jaguar 1963, Fender strat 2004, a Godin artisan, an old Ibanez acoustic (1975) and I have sold a lot of my guitars in the past.If I loose this guitar for any reason, I will try to find another one. When I bought this guitar, I was going to the market and I stopped at the music store just for fun,with nothing in mind. My wife showed me the Gretsches, teling me how these guitars are classy, beautiful etc..I told her how expensive they are, and for me, these guitars were not for me, I tought i did not deserved these. I've tried a 4-5 gretsches and suddenly "thunderstoke"...I left the store with a brand new guitar,walking proudly on the street...I know that you know this feeling...it is the BEST guitar I have ever played or owned. Ilove evey thing about it, the colour, the gold hardware, the big smooth/silky bigsby vibrato (wich is very different from a strat)It's a bit difficult to get access to high register on the neck, but I can easily live with that or maybe later I will be used to it...The guitar is very well balanced, not too heavy, and I have the impression of playing a short neck guitar, wich is always pleasant for me. C'est le top du top, et j'en suis tr??s fier.

I purchased this guitar at a local guitar show. The instrument was new old stock and was in unplayed condition. It required minor fret leveling / re-seating in a few spots on the neck due to being stored in a dry environment, the work required was minor in nature.
This is a simi-hollow body design 16" at the widest point by 1 1/2 inches at the rim. It's a laminated maple front, back and sides with a spruce center block like a Gibson ES-335 would have, only the ES 335 would have a maple center block. It has a sharp cutaway making it differient from most Gretsches. The neck scale is 24 3/4 inches, there are 22 frets, and the nut measures a full 1 11/16 inches. The size of the neck is slightly less chunkey than my Ibanez GB-10, but not as slim as an Ibanez AS-200. The color is a transparent orange, the filtertron pickups sport a gold finish as does the Bigsby tailpiece and all other hardware. The body, neck, headstock and f-holes are bound. I did not weigh the guitar, but I estimate it's weight to be slightly over 8 lbs. It came with a high quality case that includes the standard accessories. There is only one toggle switch for pickup selection, unlike most Gretsches which have two. The neck appears to be maple, two piece construction with a thin center skunk stripe, the headstock is four pieces, the finger board is very dark rosewood. The electronics consists of a volume control for each pickup, a master tone and a master volume. I am giving it a nine at this point because I would like a slightly fuller neck, although the neck is by no means too slim to be comfortable.

I play chord melody style jazz, I work as a single using backing tracks. I need a guitar that has a big sound and won't feed back with a little bit of volume. I string the instrument with 13 gauge TI flat wounds and have the action set really low. This guitar plays like butter and the sound is beyond any other guitar I have ever owned, and in 40 years of buying and playing guitars I've owed just about one or two of everything out there, Strats, Teles, other Gretches, Gibson Les Pauls, Birdland, ES-165, ES-335. This thing just sounds great, I love it. I have used it at performances every weekend and recorded with it over the past three months and I am still impressed with the sound every time I pick it up. Although I seldem use the bridge pickup, I liken the sound of it to almost that of a bridge pickup on a telecaster, not quite as bright, but close. The neck pickup is better that anything I've used, the Gibson Burstbuckers are close, but I like the filtertons better.
I run it into a AI Clarus amplifier head and use a Raezers Edge Twin 8 speaker cabinet for large rooms or run it through a small Yamaha PA system for playing small rooms. The sound is outstanding, you can't make it muddy no matter how much bass you use on the amplifier.

As far as quality goes, other than the minor fret work, it's very good, I've never seen better as a mater of fact. Guitars manufactored in Japan are usually of the highest quality out there these days and this instrument is no exception. There are no flaws in the finish at all. Everything is perfect, the interior is even picture perfect. One thing I love is being able to turn down the volume and not loose any highs, the pickups sound exactly the same full up or bearly on.

The guitar has a very solid feel, and I would never imagine having to bring a backup guitar to a job. The hardware is top notch, the strap buttons are the traditional Gretsch style, over sized screw in type, no need for strap locks. The pots and switch are high quality and the pickups are dead quiet.

No clue.

I would replace this guitar in a heartbeat, it's a wonderful design that incorporates the best qualities of the Gretsch guitars of the past with a few ideas borrowed from great guitars like the ES-335. Playing the style of music that I do, it would be cool to bring a Gibson jazz box like a Birdland, of even an L-5 to the job, but wait. Who wants to deal with the feed back issues, suffer the discomfort of wraping yourself around a big fat 17 inch archtop for three or four hours at every job. Not to mention the expence, does it make sence to being a $5,000.00 guitar to a gig that pays $75.00? I'll take the nice thin body, and the great sound of the 6120N any day.

General specs and features are already very well described in the other reviews.The previous owner(one of my students)bought it new in 2001,and according to the numbers inside the f-hole,this guitar was #47 off the production line.If I could add anything to what already to what has been said feature-wise,it has to have simply the most beautiful lines of any guitar I've ever seen,and certainly the most unique among modern Gretsch models.

In 36 years of playing pro full time,this is my first Gretsch.I have always had an affinity for hollow body guitars--My various Guilds have served me very well,and still do.However,I was looking for a new voice for my new CD project.When one of my students brought this guitar to me(and indicated that this was not his favorate out of his 11-plus Gretsch collection),I played it and went WHOA!!--I gotta have this!!The Filtertron pickups,coupled with the unusual thinline body design produce a sound unlike my Guilds,or anything else I've ever owned.There is a particular upper mid& high frequency components that allows a palette of tonal variations(depending on exactly where you pick)unlike anything else out there.I'm still exploring this.If there was any criticism about the sound at all,I find that there is some amount of inconsistancy in the volume of individual notes at higher playing volume,but this is common among virtually all hollow body guitars.

This guitar makes a statement the instant it leaves it's case.As best as I can tell,the cosmetics are superb.Only time will tell when it comes to the gold plating on the hardware.I have played a few other late model Gretschs that have had problems with their frets,but mine seem to be just fine...My only gripe is that the spring on the Bigsby tailpiece seems to push the arm up much higher that it typically should be.I've ordered a shorter spring that hopefully will take care of this.

I've only had this guitar a few weeks,but after evaluating my new instruments for 36 years,it appears to be of top quality,equal or better than any of it's competition.I am a little wary of screw-on design for it's strap locks.I am ordering a couple of spares in case one works loose and disappeares at the worst possible moment.

I acquired this guitar in mint condition,and it's solid construction indicates that I should have no reason to suspect that I'll ever have any major problems with it.Given Fender's unsavory track record for stonewalling customers of products that this company has bought out,it's still a calculated risk I'm willing to take.

I've been in the biz 36 years.I've always treated myself to a new axe every couple of years,but the 6120N has me pumped to go out and do things like nothing in a long time!It's gorgeous lines,in-your-face sounds & playability is truly unique in the face of all other products introduced lately,including other Gretschs.From what I understand,the 6120N was only made in 2001 & 2002--Until Fender bought Gretsch and(idiotically) stopped production.If mine was ever stolen,I'd pay almost any price to get another-but only after I'd trashed the world to try to get mine back!!For the rest of you--Try to locate and savor a 6120N--you'll be glad you did.

2001 model...this guitar has been discontinued....i dont know why...its the only gretsch i've tried or owned..and i've owned many..!!..that you can play rock and roll on and enjoy it....mine has a great 335 hollowbody type tone...except with more bite...the bigsby works great...the frets are nice and large enough to bend on..and the neck has a good solid feel....the guitar is overall very solid feeling...but not so fat like the standard 6120...its very thin..but thats the reason it sounds so good..

sounds fantastic for rock and roll..to me...thats why i bought it....stock lead pickup is nice and bright and full...i dont ever use the neck pickup...i like to rock...has a great 50's 60's tone..

i cant find anything wrong with it...except the input jack feels like it is a little loose or the inside connector is a little too big, as my cords falls out easy if you step on it...or girls step on it...remember to wind the cord inside of your strap...and you'll be ok..

seems as good as any gretsch in the hardware department...better than most i bet..i gig without backup all the time...i use this and a 12 string rickenbacker

dont know..i bought mine used

i love that the body is thin...the tone is bad ass...the bigsby works great...it is a much better bigsby action than you would find on a gibson 335.....the most overpriced vintage guitar i know of....if you cant afford a pre 66 gibson 335 then you should just not get one...the necks are so skinny after 66....this gretsch is great and its practical and its cheap and neck is great and easy to play......has a real vintage feel....its solid and ready...and the pickups smoke gibson humbuckers...unless you are a white blues player,...if you are a white blues player , you probably have your head so far up your ass that this gretsch would be laughable to you.,,.

2001 Gretsch 6120N, I bought this as new old stock from a store in Texas. The body is laminated maple with a spruce block down the center. Two volume controls, one tone control, one master volume and a pickup selector switch. Two filtertron pickups. TOM bridge and Grover tuners. 24.7 inch scale, hard shell case.

I own a Brian Setzer Hot Rod and have fell in love with the Gretsch sound but needed something that I could play that didn't feedback as easy and was a little more conmfortable to wear on a strap. The 6120N has a stronger midrange and higher output that a regular 6120. The neck is perfict in size and feel. I love blues, classic rock and rockabilly and the 6120N may be the perfect guitar for those styles. I play this guitar through a Fender Super Reverb, Fender Vibroverb 64, and a Sewell Texaverb and a Sewell Texaverb. The guitar has one the best clean sounds that I have ever heard and has a "live" presence when the amps are turned up. All my band mates loved the sound right off and couldn't believe how good it sounded with a maxon tubescreamer, Fulltone OCD and a Barber Direct Drive. I would pick this guitar over the recent ES 335's I have played, the workmanship is better and the tone is much better. This is the type of guitar that you love to play on a gig, it's beautiful to look at with the Gretsch orange finish and the tone fills the room with a sound that is ditictive form a Fender or a Gibson. I've just discovered Gretsch's after playing Fender Strat's and Tele's and Gibson Les Paul's for the last 25 years. The filtertrons are adictive and give you a very different sonic range of tones.

Excellent workmanship, as good or better than presntly made American instruments.

I've only had this for 4 weeks so I really can't comment, seems very solidly built.

The store I buy from E.M. Shorts in Wichita, Kansas always stands behind what they sell and are great to work with.

I've been laying for 25+ years and have had one of every guitar and amp at one time or another. I love the workmanship and tone of this Gretsch and place it right next to my 57 Goldtop LP and my Fender Custom shop Nocaster!

I am 55 and have been playing since I was 11 yrs old I have owned and played many guitars Commitee, Strat, Tele, 335 and Les Paul to name a few. Out of the box this baby realy sings, the finish is excellent and the sound from the Gretch Filtron set up is brilliant. This is a top quality guitar that feels and sounds as good as it looks

Set up is suited to most styles. I like blues, rock and country

Setup and finish is excellent only critisism for me is the volume and tone knobs turn off centre, the pot spindles are the wrong type for screw lock knobs. Should have solid spindles

Well made and will definately go the distance

I chose this over a new Gibson 335 because for me the look and sound was better and yes if it was stolen I would definately buy another

Beautiful gold hardware.
Flawless finish.
Really stands out on stage.

What can you say but, "smoooooth". Nothing sounds like a Gretsch. Clean or distorted this thing smokes.

Action is great. I had some trouble at first with it staying in tune but laterlearned that when I re-strung it with larger strings, they were getting caught in the nut. I then used a wound g string to open up the slots and it stays in tune fabulously.

My first time to play out with it I knocked it off of the stage and it fell on the headstock from about two feet. My heart stopped, but all that happened was a chip in the finish.
I changed my strap buttons out to Dunlop locking strap buttons. Call me paranoid but I constantly had to keep screwing the Gretsch buttons in and one time I was almost too late.
I use it without backup.

I bought it from Guitar Center in Lynwood, WA in May 2004 and as of today, August 7, 2004, I am still waiting for my warranty papers. "They're coming". Apparently Fender does not prided themselves on speed.

I've played for ten years.
This guitar rocks both in terms of sound and visually. I have always been partial to Strats but Gretsch guitars cannot be beat.
I played several others beore deciding on this one and have not regretted it.

Brand new , Made in Japan.
Laminated maple body with maple neck.
Hollow with spruce center block.
Filtertrons (high sensitivity)?
Classic Gretsch electronics w/ tone knob and BIG bigsby.
Grovers,
Very unGretsch-like fast neck profile.
Workmanship on the nut , finish and binding are SUPERB.
This is an expensive guitar and looks and feels likke one.
I cannot imagine a D'Angelico/D'Aquisto from japan or even a Gibson Johnny A. feeling and looking better.

This guitar suits me fine!
I have played 60's Byrdlands and L5's .
This is in that territory. The sound is ,how wouyld you say, Breathtaking. I have a 1970 Nashville in really nice shape. It sounds tired by comparison. I swear.
Clean This guitar sings.
Distorted it smokes..

This guitar was very well set up and only needed a minor tweak of the neck to get the perfectly straight action I like. No dead spots No buzzes.
The nut is cut to perfection w/ no zero fret.

It has a flaw inn the gold plating on the bigsby . This saved me big bucks.
Now I have Dreamy guitar.

Feeels sollid.
Stays in tune real good.
I would in fact use it on a gig without backup, though I might need a body guard to protect it.

I have never dealt withh Gretsch.
Probably they are like Fender, in which case it is a crap shoot,
whether theyy shine you on or treat you like a god..

I have been playing 41 years.
I tried one of these in the store before buying online. No Prob.
If it were stolen I would hunt it down and kill the stealers.
I chose this guitar because it is reminiscent of thhe old Jazzz guitars
and of Ted Nugent, But has the fantastic Gretsch pickups and bigsby and cool orange finish.. Man it sounds good. Fender Amps.
I have a Martin D35.
Les Paul from 76 with P90's. (think ZZ)
Tele Elite.... Tele-Sonic
'65 ES 120T
And the '70 Gretsch Nashville.
This New 6120N is High order Guitar madness.
I Love it.

A new model for Gretsch, the 6120N is a thinline version of the 6120 Nashville hollowbody. The 6120N is only 1.75" thick and has a Florentine (or sharp), rather than a Venetian (or rounded) cutaway. There is a center block running the length of the body like a Gibson ES-335 making it a semi-hollow body. Two ceramic Filtertron pickups, master volume control, individual pickup controls, and a master tone control. Finish is translucent Gretsch orange over maple body. Hardware, including Bigsby vibrato, is gold plated. The headstock face is black. Rosewood finger board and pearl inlaid, humpblock markers. Frets are medium. Tune-O-Matic bridge with ebony support. Gretsch case was included in the price.

I played a number of Gretsch electrics before deciding on this new model, including: 6120SSU, 6120-1960, 6120Nashville, Duo-Jet EE, Setzer Hot Rod, and White Falcon. This guitar by far had the best tone of any of the other models. The tone is very similar the the Duo Jet EE model which has alnico pickups. The 6120N with ceramic pickups sounds as good a the alnico pickup Gretsches. I do not plan to change the pickups to alnicos like many 6120 owners have done which saves about $400. The only way to describe the tone is to say "classic Gretsch vibe." I currently have D'Addario Chome flatwound 11's on the guitar. I find I have a great range of sound from classic Chet to Setzer to Easton to Malcolm Young.

In my quest for a perfect Gretsch hollow body, I must have played 30-40 Gretsches. The action, fit, and finish on this guitar is a good as it could possibly be. The intonation is dead on using a strobe. The relief and action are right on specs. The fit and finish of the guitar is flawless - no unseated or sharp frets or other flaws many new Gretsch owners complain about. The neck is medium thickness and has a very fast feel to it. There are no fuzzy switch connections. The electronics are as they should be, perfect. The wood grain is not remarkable like the SSU or the 6120TM, but still beautiful and classic. Binding fit and finish is perfect. Nut looks like it was cut by Dan Erlewine - perfect.

This guitar has a very substantial feel to it. Sort of feels bullet proof. The strap buttons are solid. I have no problem relying on his guitar as my sole guitar for giging.

The people at the Guitar Center in Atlanta were great to work with. The Gretch tech comes up from Savannah every month to check the setup on all their Gretsches (so I am told). In fact the Gretsch tech was there once when I called and I was able to talk to him about this guitar. In addition, GC gives 30 days to check out the guitar. Any problems and you get a full refund. I bought this guitar by mail order after being in the store to try it during a trip to Atlanta. It arrived in perfect condition and very well packed. However, I do not expect I will get much support after the 30 day period is up.

I also have a 1957 Gretch Nashville (purchased in 1965), a Gibson ES-335, and a Strat. I have been playing guitar for 35 years. I have an old Standel amp and a new Blues Junior which I mike at gigs.
What I love most about this guitar is its tone. It is so much better than my 57 with the DeArmond pickups. There is no comparison. Also, I have received raves about the looks of this guitar. Gretsch broke the mold when they made the 6120N. If you want a guitar that has the Gretsch sound with the sustain and crunch of an ES335, this is your guitar. It is a great blend of classic Gretsch and future Gretsch. I think Gretsch showed a lot of guts to make a thinline florentine 6120 and they have received a lot of criticism for it from players who think all 6120s should look like the 1959 6120's. However, let them play this guitar I they will be converted.