Gretsch G6119-1962FT

'04 Terada (Japan) built FMIC Tennessee Rose with Filtertrons.
Walnut stain.
Zero fret; bound ebony fretboard w 22 vintage frets.
Bar bridge. 24.5" scale length.
Pickup selector and mud switch; two volumes and master vol; standby switch.
Painted-on F-holes with painted-on binding. Thin body, bound on top.
Decent quality hardshell Gretsch case. Fits good.

I use this for dinner Jazz jobs a couple nights a week, but I like to play all kinds of stuff. Sometimes I get Showtunes and Pop Standards gigs. I like Blues too, but there's no money in that around here (not much in Jazz, either).
Versatile sounds from Gretsch "sproink" to Jazz. Decent Country on bridge pickup.
Brighter and more character than standard humbuckers.
I generally use only clean sounds but Blues with some "grit" is fine, and it will go pretty loud before feedback.

Surprizingly good Jazz tone, considering there's no real tone control with this wiring scheme. The Master vol and pickup vols kill some highs when down.

I rarely use the mud switch, though it can be useful on the bridge pickup with lots of distortion.

Superb attention paid to luthiery details.
The neck is straight and there are no buzzes with D'addario "Chromes" in 0.012".
Action can go lower than I run it without fret buzz.
I can get the intonation very accurate from the low A string to the high E, with the low E just a bit off with these strings.
With 0.011" roundwounds and a plain third, I concentrate on the G, B, and high E.
Somehow this bar bridge works very well with the 24.5" scale length.

Very little neck/body flex.
Seems stable and requires little retuning on jobs.
I like the open back tuners, they're fine. Electronics are good.
The strap buttons are ok. I sit usually, with a nylon web strap to elevate the neck a bit. The strap buttons should be checked from time to time. They like to back off. The end one unscrews from the wood. The upper bout one leaves a threaded stud in the guitar and screws off. No major issues, but I don't jump around either.
I gig it all the time without a backup.
The finish is fine. Poly I think. Looks good. Nice fadestain. On the back too.
The Bigsby works fine, and the spring is just right: puts the bar readily to hand, and is stable. Stays in tune fine. I don't get too wild with it though. Just a waggle or two now and then, for novelty.

Bought used.
FMIC warranty against the usual defects in materials and workmanship. Usual disclaimers.
I doubt I'd ever have reason to talk to them.

Playing guitar since 1960. Duane Eddy's: "Ballad of Paladin" was my first 45rpm record; "$1,000,000 Worth of Twang," my first album.
From there it was whiney Folk songs and then Paul Butterfield came to town with Elvin Bishop.
Main guitar was a Telecaster for years as a Union hack.
Now I play what I want mostly, but still get calls for Pop and Jazz.

I've had other Gretsches, both American and Japanese (before Fender).
This guitar is the best Gretsch I've had, as far as quality. The others were Anniversary models without Bigsby.

I love its versatily. It can do Brian Setzer, Chet Atkins, or any generic guitar duties I need it to do.
The Filtertrons sound much better than the pre-FMIC ones on a Japanese made Anniversary I had in the 1990's (I eventually had vintage pickups put in that one). The switches and pots, jack, etc., are also considerably better than the pre-FMIC stuff.

It feels like a "real" Gretsch, not a knock-off. FMIC is good for Gretsch, I think. I see them getting more popular. They ought to: they're just as much an icon as any other US brand, and are even better built now than when they were made in the US. Many models are much more affordable than their counterparts from Gibson, etc.

I'd like to get another one with the HiLo-Tron pickups perhaps, as I like single coils.
I'd also like to try a Gretsch model with the DeArmonds, as the 2K's come RWRP for humbucking when combined. I need to reprise my versions of Rebel Rouser and Palladin.

I own Kustom '36 Coupe, Victoria 20112T, and Roland Cube amps.