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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Guitars and accessories → Gretsch or Wildkat?
Gretsch G5120 electromatic or Epiphone Wildkat LE? If any of you have played either of these guitars and can help persuade me one direction or the other i would be grateful. Also if anyone knows a decent medium priced hollowbody that im overlooking let me know thanks. Keep strumming
I own the 5120, and it is by far the best value for the price I've played. Looks great, plays easy, sounds good. It's also easy to mod-- take a look at http://gretschpages.com/forum/ . In the "Modern Guitars" forum, you will find a TON of info on the 5120 (and every other Gretsch guitar).
As I mentioned to Cytania in another post, you can replace the pickups with some TV Jones Classics, and have a guitar that sounds like a Setzer Signature edition for under a thousand dollars.
Sad to say, I've not played the Wildkat, so I can't give you any help there.
I also own the 5120 and have played the Wildcat, and the Epiphone cannot touch the Gretsch. Even though the 5120 is a "low-end" Gretsch, workmanship, tone and vibe are all superior. The Wildcat is a little smaller, and the sound is also lacking in depth. Sounded "boxy" to me, whereas the Gretsch is a bit more "open" sounding. You can easily upgrade both guitars: get some Kent Armstrong P90s for the Wildcat if that's your favorite, or (besides the cool TV Jones pickups), shell out $130 for a pair of GFS Retrotrons from GuitarFetish. I also hated the clear pickguard on my orange 5120: took it off, cleaned it real good, and sprayed the back of the clear plastic with gold spraypaint and now it looks more like a big-boy Gretsch... And yes, it took me three days to paint the interior edges of the F-holes white -not for the faint-hearted, but worth the trouble!
Another vote for the Gretsch! If you can afford it, get it!
ABOUT GRETSCH aren't they produced by Fender? AND are they still USA made?
I think Fender has bought out the Gretsch company (Guild and others too) and I don't think any of them are currently made in the USA. The top line 6120 and Artist editions are made in Japan...most of the others are made in China...
I don't know about Chinese Gretsch's, but my 2007 Gretsch 5120 was made in Korea. More expensive ones come from Japan. And I can assure you that the Korean-made Gretsch guitars are a big surprise: The workmanship (and quality control) are first rate. I'm sold on low-cost Gretsch's and after the 5120, I am contemplating the brandnew Gretsch G5122 double-cut model.
Funny thing about the Gretsch's: They seem a little hard to tame initially, but with the right strings this baby sings. I'm used to sort of "slouchy", laid-back playing on my Stratocasters, because the action is so low. These hollow bodies play different, need more finger workout, but have a vibe of their own. It almost seems that Fender owns just about every major guitar company in the US. I'm waiting for Gibson to throw in the towel and maybe we'll be getting better quality out of Memphis, TN then...
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Guitars and accessories → Gretsch or Wildkat?
