[Hobbes]

Thanks much again for all the feedback / help… interestingly, as of this past Monday the 5120 is on the market again. Haven't had chance to message the guy [I've been traveling], but will be this afternoon. He offered another guitar when the 5120 was sold previously, a Tiger ESP,,, and stated that for the style / type of music we like [southern / classic rock, blues, jazz] that it would be much better for us, that "the Gretsch is not what you need for that". Anyhow, now bit more curious,,, could there be something going on with this particular 5120 that I should look about? Also, any thoughts regarding why he'd be stating this about the 5120 - can it not be used for such styles, esp. if mated with a proper amp and settings? Or are there better alternatives for these styles? We do like rockabilly,,, but the classic / southern rock are number one . Tara - thanks again. vjf1968 - yes, that is indeed one of the amps that I'm looking at, thanks! freddy & beatnik - yea, saw that, and should have bit on geezer's sale, but didn't have chance this past week… looks like its going to a good home

[araT]

I think the guy personally didn't get along with the Gretsch feel & so he's assuming it's no good for those genres, I find that they nail the classic & southern rock feel, and blues, and members here say they do jazz well too.. so I don't know what he's on about!

Just give it a play & if it feels good to you bring it home

[dgshooter]

He is saying the 5120 is not for you because he is trying to sell you the ESP. I just bought a VOX VT20 amp for $169 new and it has a $25 rebate. So you're looking at $150 net cost. That gives you $650 to spend on a Gretsch, so get one for $550-very easy to do. then spend the balance on accessories.

[dgshooter]

You might also look at a Gretsch Pro Jet. You can get into a used one (with bigsby) for about $450.

They sound great too, just ask Tara!

[old slowy]

Originally Posted by LittleRedRooster

I would recommend a Fender Super Champ XD amplifier at around $325

I sure like mine! I bought it to replace a Cube I bought starting out that sounded tinny, I have no plans to upgrade my Super Champ, except to a Fender Twin maybe if I hit the lotto.

[Hobbes]

Originally Posted by dgshooter

You might also look at a Gretsch Pro Jet. You can get into a used one (with bigsby) for about $450.

They sound great too, just ask Tara!

Thanks,,, have indeed researched just a little about them… but [bare with me, as I'm not a player, just love listening] not quite sure still the pros / cons of a 5120 vs. a Pro Jet? Especially if can acquire for about the same price? Couple reviews have me [again not much knowledge of the guts / diffs] concerned, such as John's review @ http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guita...lectric-guitar

However, the reviews per http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/revie...ml?no_takeover and http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/revie...120/index.html do lead me to believe that the Pro Jet [even if just looking at the 'scores/ratings'] may be the (slightly) better route… hmmmm.

Well,,, off to go get a pizza, celebrate oldest boy's first college semester,,, he got B's in Chemistry and in Calculus [along with A in English and B in Engineering] after a long hard amount of studying past few months.

[araT]

A pro-jet is semi-hollow, a 5120 a full-blown hollowbody, no pros or cons really, just very different beasts!

If you can afford to spend a liiiiiiiittle more, buy one of the new Pro-Jets, they've got filtertrons in them which are much better pickups than the mini-hums that came in the older pro-jets

[Daryl Licht]

Pro Jet is a great suggestion. It can deliver some great sounds and is usually not terribly expensive. Are they really semi hollow though? Mine weighs as much as either of my (not chambered) Les Pauls, feels even heavier.

I haven't seen it mentioned here, but the Peavey Vypyr gets a lot of love on a couple of the boards I read. It's similar in features and price to the Fender Mustangs and Vox VT's.

[Hobbes]

Thanks Daryl and araT and rest of ya G-T'ers,,, you all are great

[Penguin]

Hi Hobbes,
As you consider your new guitar you should also consider size. For example, the 5120 is 2.75" deep whereas the 5122 is 2.25" deep. I prefer a shallower body. Both have a 16" lower bout. Again for me, the 16" would be better than the larger Gretsches which go up to 17". I know there are folks smaller than me who are happy with a larger body, so it's really a personal preference but it's something I consider.
So, for me, I look for;
1. a neck that I like to play on
2. a body that isn't too large
3. anything else I can modify later on.
Other forum members, what do you think along these lines - am I being too fussy?

IMHO, the 5122DC is a very attractive proposition. Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum!

[araT]

Originally Posted by Daryl Licht

Pro Jet is a great suggestion. It can deliver some great sounds and is usually not terribly expensive. Are they really semi hollow though? Mine weighs as much as either of my (not chambered) Les Pauls, feels even heavier.

As far as I know all the FMIC-era ones are, the new ones definitely are! ..what year is yours?

[Hobbes]

ohhhh buggers… looks like I'm leaning quite heavily towards a 5135 'vette, esp. after watching and hearing these:

You Tube

You Tube

[Daryl Licht]

Originally Posted by araT

As far as I know all the FMIC-era ones are, the new ones definitely are! ..what year is yours?

Mine was bought new in '08, but I don't know when it was built, I would assume it wasn't in the store all that long. I also don't have a scale to weigh them with, but it definitely feels as heavy as the Gibsons.

[Sarah93003]

I'd suggest having a look at the Fender Mustang III and Vox Valvetronix amps. Not too pricey and good sounds.

[araT]

Originally Posted by Daryl Licht

Mine was bought new in '08, but I don't know when it was built, I would assume it wasn't in the store all that long. I also don't have a scale to weigh them with, but it definitely feels as heavy as the Gibsons.

Hmmm, I always thought the ProJets were a little chambered, not nearly as much as a DuoJet, but a little..

[Hobbes]

Uhhhhemmmmmmmmm… uh-oh… Santa will be bringing a new [to me] guitar in next few days, and it will be a,,, not a 5120,,, not a ProJet,,, but a Corvette Sooooooooooooo looking forward to it coming, will be a big surprise to the boys. I still have most of my scalp after fessing to the lady of the house of what I'd just purchased Nice used model, very well taken care of. Now, need to decide between the ~nine different amps [2 Peavey's, 5 Fender's, and 2 Vox's], that ya'll had suggested, and figure out what all else a person needs to have… thoughts?

Seriously, totally newbie question here, but what all does a person need to go with their guitar [the one that will be delivered does have a soft Fender gig bag]?
- amp
- stand
- guitar strap (and locks?)
- audio cable
- ???

BTW, after few more hours webbing, am looking quite strongly at the Fender Mustang I… seems for the price, it has rave reviews, and can really sound excellent. BTW, called Fender as was not sure if the FUSE software was Apple compatible,,, thankfully, it is… great!

Ohhhhhh, Christmas time in the Ozarks…

[Hobbes]

Top contenders:

Amp
Fender Mustang I 20W or II 40W
Peavey Vypyr 15
Vox VT20

Stand
Hercules GS412B A/G Guitar Stand
???

Strap
???

Audio cable
Pro Co Excellines EG-20 (20')
???

[Pine Apple Slim]

Amp-The Mustang 1 is nice, I have it, but the II has a little more power and a 12" speaker which makes it giggable.
Not hard use roadworthy giggable mind you, like a Peavey Bandit, but occasional local use giggable. The Moddling amps, like the Mustangs, Voxes, and Peavey Vipers are good in that they have a lot of built in effects and settings that mimic well known larger Fender, Marshall, and other amps. But the disadvantage is, they are lightly constructed, can be overly complicated(IMO) & have a tendacy to tend to try to do too many things and none great. Id consider a basic workhorse solid state amp like the Peavey Bandit. Its big enough, has decent overdrive and clean settings, and a decent reverb. Plus its durable and will last forever.
Another good modling amp with some good effects are the Roland Cubes, I esp like the Jazz Chorus clean setting on these.
Another alternative is a low wattage tube amp like the Fender Champ, Kustom Defender, Epiphone Valve Jr, and prob some more I cant think of are all worth consideration.

Stand-just get something sturdy
Strap-whatevers comfortable. Leavys are nice, but a $5 nylon will do in a pinch.
Audio Cable- Premium high grade cables are nice, but unecc for light use IMO. I'd go for a decent braided cloth cable, @ around $15-20 should be fine.

[jeremystephens]

I play through a peavey classic 50 410 and love it.. In MS you can find em used for around 400

[ReverberatingDream]

What's your favourite type of guitar music? I would have to say that if you want to learn to play songs with different effects on the guitar at some point in the future (once you're comfortable with your guitar) than the VT20 is a great buy. It will let you try out a zillion different sounds that otherwise you'd be hooking to a PC to hear, or have to buy pedals to try...plus, in future you can add the footswitch to it to control them. Plus, you should be able to pick up a used VT really cheap, I don't think it's just my area is it? There's always a tonne of them for sale, people who bought them to learn guitar but gave up in three months (they actually admit that in listings!?!).

As was mentioned, it's a modeling amp so it's more complicated for a beginner. You can make it easy on yourself by leaving it one setting until you know your way around the guitar.

This is my absolute must, everything else, even the amp, is optional to learning the guitar. Not this: MAKE SURE YOU GET A TUNER. And have fun.

Naw, just ignore me. I just realized this is a long thread, you don't need all those fancy effects for southern rock, Waylon Jennings etc. I'll go away now.