Gretsch 5120 Pointers...

I'm plannining on purchasing a G5120 within the next week. Any things I should watch out for as far as workmanship, finish, electronics etc. ? I've read that they can very a bit from guitar to guitar. I'm kinda of partial to the black but everyone seems to have an orange one, why is that? (Aside from the BS connection)
Thanks everyone!

(I know that the 5120 is an entry level Gretsch, but with a one year old baby girl that's all my budget and current talent level will permit)

I picked up my 5120 last August, and I love it! It's built solid, sounds great, and although it needed a bit of setup out of the box, I haven't had any problems with it at all.

http://blog.joshbuhler.com/2007/08/24/guitar-pr0n/

I do have the orange one, mostly because orange is one of my favorite colors. (Just check the walls of my office in the link above). Another reason for the orange is because I really liked being able to see the wood grain through the finish. If the black was a flat black instead of glossy, it would've been a harder choice between the two.

You should head on over to GretschPages.com, where you'll find a whole group of folks who love the 5120, and have been doing all sorts of mods to it.

One last thing, if you need/want a hardshell case for it, I picked one up at Musician's Friend for about $50 that fit's perfectly, and looks great:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Musicians-Gear-Deluxe-Dreadnought-Case?sku=540945

I have the black G5125. Though an entry level guitar it is still a great player. Mine came with the dearmond 2000 pickups, which by the end of the week i will have installed TV JONES classics! I have also changed out the tuners to sperzel locking, preference really. I must admit as well that some setup had to be done, action was kind of high and the bridge needed to be reset for intonation. From what i can tell, its the same as a 6120 pre fender but with a rosewood neck instead of the ebony.

Now I have had this guitar for just over 2 years (wow has it been that long?!) and the pickup selector is starting to hum when in the bridge or neck position but not in the middle position. (anyone help me to remedy this?)

All in all, entry level or not it is still a gretsch and you will know it everytime you play it!

I'm going to buy my one in a few weeks, and I can't think of anything else at the moment.
Here's an interesting Link, for those of you, who want to tune the Guitar a bit more.....
http://hem.passagen.se/goba666/Gretsch%205120%20-%20total%20makeover.htm

Hoping my english is good enough!

Greasy Greetz from Germany

johnny61 wrote:

I've read that they can very a bit from guitar to guitar. I'm kinda of partial to the black but everyone seems to have an orange one, why is that? (Aside from the BS connection)
Thanks everyone!

Hi,

the orange one looks like a 6120. That´s why a lot of player choose this one.
my opinion: for this low money you will get a lot of guitar. it looks and it sounds like gretsch.
with new tv jones classic trons you push the guitar from entry level to higher level.
imho the better sound you will get with the single coil pups (dearmonds).
the humbucker output a liitle bit low (in my ears, maybe you like it)
greets brett

Your are right brett, the single coils are much brighter on the highs, but in my inexperience, the lows are LOW haha. Cool rockabilly pickups. But not so great on rhythm imo.

Thanks everyone for the info. Off tomorrow to the Guitar Center in Tampa to hopefully pick mine up. All they have is an orange one and that's cool 'cause after internet window shopping much of last night and this morning, it's edged black out of the 1st choice category. Still would like to compare the two side by side though.

(Anyone else happen to check out the white 5120s that a guitar store had custom done for them-24 instruments. Supposedly they had permission to cal them Baby White Falcons. I guess these are legit items?)

Thanks for the heads up on that case Josh. The tweed has a nice vintage look and quite a deal for 50 clams. No problem with the Bigsby with this case?

Once again, thanks and wish me luck tomorrow!

Hey WebElvis,
Thanks for posting that 5120 link. That made for some fascinating reading. That was really interesting. And no worries kid, your English is perfectly fine.
Cheers,
Tommy

GhostRadio wrote:

I picked up my 5120 last August, and I love it! It's built solid, sounds great, and although it needed a bit of setup out of the box, I haven't had any problems with it at all.

http://blog.joshbuhler.com/2007/08/24/guitar-pr0n/

I do have the orange one, mostly because orange is one of my favorite colors. (Just check the walls of my office in the link above). Another reason for the orange is because I really liked being able to see the wood grain through the finish. If the black was a flat black instead of glossy, it would've been a harder choice between the two.

You should head on over to GretschPages.com, where you'll find a whole group of folks who love the 5120, and have been doing all sorts of mods to it.

One last thing, if you need/want a hardshell case for it, I picked one up at Musician's Friend for about $50 that fit's perfectly, and looks great:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Musicians-Gear-Deluxe-Dreadnought-Case?sku=540945

Hey great read Ghost, the Gretsch looks really ace too. Great quality for an introduction to great guitars.

That artcore wouldn't happen to be in sea foam green would it?

Got my 5120 last Friday. Life is good!

johnny61 wrote:

Got my 5120 last Friday. Life is good!

what kinda amp are you playing that badboy out of?

sixstringslinger wrote:

johnny61 wrote:

Got my 5120 last Friday. Life is good!

what kinda amp are you playing that badboy out of?

Right now I'm using a borrowed Vox Celestion practice amp (no likey). Any recommendations on a good sounding match for the 5120 for someone on a tight budget would be greatly appreciated. I just play at home for my own enjoyment (for now).

I have a new '65 delux reverb re-issue, that i just Love. Tone is all there. A buddy of mine took it on the road with him and plays a white falcon through it, and it screams! Just a beautiful amp.

You can usually find one used and in good shape between $300-$400 on ebay
That would be a great deal.
If you are looking for a small practice amp I would suggest the Gretsch Electromatic Compact amp G5222. Its a tube amp a loud 5W and list for about 195, you can probably get it at guitar center for 150, and the thing just looks cool!

6120 1959 LTV>65 Twin Reverb RI> which gets the job done...im jonesing for a Bassman tho.

Thanks guys. That Gretsch Electromatic has cool written all over it. May be a little smaller than I want. How about the Gretsch Executive or Playboy- I'm guessing they're a little on the pricey side?

GhostRadio wrote:

I picked up my 5120 last August, and I love it! It's built solid, sounds great, and although it needed a bit of setup out of the box, I haven't had any problems with it at all.

Ghost can you pass on the info on the guy making the pickguard for you? Thanks. Todd

I'm so happy, because Tomorrow I can pick up my 5120 from my local guitar store. It's so hard to wait, but in less than 86400 seconds, I will be rockin' my new guitar. Let's start counting!

Nothing is like your first Gretsch!!

webelvis wrote:

I'm so happy, because Tomorrow I can pick up my 5120 from my local guitar store. It's so hard to wait, but in less than 86400 seconds, I will be rockin' my new guitar. Let's start counting!

Can imagine! I have been brought to my Gretsch just a couple of weeks ago. I use to be more Telecaster kind-of-guy. But the orange 5120 just hit me, then surfed the web all day, and went to NRW (from Hessia) to get it. Boy, this is fun!

Post a picture of yours!

Cheers, Stephan (Germany, Wiesbaden)

Hotrodtodd wrote:

GhostRadio wrote:

I picked up my 5120 last August, and I love it! It's built solid, sounds great, and although it needed a bit of setup out of the box, I haven't had any problems with it at all.

Ghost can you pass on the info on the guy making the pickguard for you? Thanks. Todd

Ask here! www.gretschpages.com

Yeehaw!!! It's mine!!!!
Yeah I picked it up this morning and I just love it !!!!!

Here are the first pictures:

I don't like it......





It's in your room!!

Hey Tommy, after my mom read your shortform "Webby" for "Webelvis" it became her favorite name to call me, but today I'm so happy about my new guitar, she started calling me "happy webby" She's been doin' that all the day!!!

There you have your stagename.. Live tonight ba,bam Happy Webby, Or not.

@webelvis:

Gratulation, wunderschönes Teil! Hast Du TV Jones direkt ein paar Pickups abgeknüpft? Und hast Du schon mal auf www.gretschpages.com reingeschaut?

Sorry, folks, Kraut conversation between Krauts.