[SlimFatJr]

Well, it arrived last week - right in the middle of a busy schedule so I didn't get much of a chance to play with it at first. I just happened to be home when the postal van pulled up and the driver asked if I was expecting a parcel - oh yeah! -and there in the back of his van was a large cardboard box with red Gretsch lettering all over it. After paying about 50 bucks in taxes and duty (whatever happened to the Free Trade Agreement?) I scurried into the house with the box and carefully opened it.

After hearing horror stories of shipping nightmares and guitars that never quite matched their description, I opened the case with a little trepidation. I needn't have worried because the guitar was pristine - immaculate - and set up really well. All I had to do was tune it up and it was ready to go. My thanks to Rocky at Street Sounds for making this purchase headache-free and for delivering to me such a fine instrument.

I dithered about whether or not I should bring it to a gig this past Saturday night but in the end I thought: this is what I bought it for. I packed my gear - my orange 5120 and the Anniversary Jr, a couple of Fender amps (I don't like gigging without backups) and a small pedalboard.
The gig was a dance in a cavernous old hall and I was playing with a band that covers a lot of ground musically - '50s rock, old and new country, blues, R & B - with a strong female lead singer who also encourages the rest of the band members to contribute a few songs each during the night.

I plugged the Annie Jr in to my Deluxe and was rewarded with a nice clear tone - a little brighter than I was used to with the 5120 but not drastically different. We started playing and after a few songs I noticed a strange tone coming from the amp whenever I played a little harder that usual. It was as if someone had turned on a distortion pedal or fuzztone to max and kicked it in every time I took a solo. My playing took a bit of a dive because I felt inhibited about soloing with such a crapped out tone. As soon as I had the opportunity I switched guitars. The 5120 fared no better - but at least it wasn't the guitar, thankfully.

Long story short, I tried all night to fix the problem but it eluded me until the dance was over and I had the time to go over my signal chain thoroughly - in the end it was my damn guitar cord which for some idiotic reason (it was an expensive Planet Waves cord, guaranteed for life, supposedly...) I never considered would be giving me such grief. I really should know better after all these years, but that's how it went. The Annie Jr was still relatively untested at this point.

The next day I had a rehearsal with a group of guys putting a showcase together for a venue at the Winter Olympics here in Vancouver. The bandleader is a singer/acoustic guitar player who is into folk/country/soft rock. The guys all oohed and aahed when I showed them the Annie Jr (it seems to be a common reaction - not a lot of Gretsches in these parts, certainly not many two-tone green ones). I plugged into a Vox that was set up in the rehearsal studio and strummed a chord. Magic. Full, rich, and shimmering - every note hung in the air before gently falling away. Damn, I am starting to really like this guitar!

The Annie Jr performed beautifully, inspiring me to play in ways that I never really attempted before. I have played and owned a lot of guitars in my day - Strats, Les Pauls, PRS, Yamaha, Ibanez, Godin etc. - but this little Gretsch makes me want to forget them all. It is a thing of beauty (I realize that some people don't like that particular shade of green, but then again, some people don't like ice cream...) solidly and professionally built, and plays like a dream. My 5120 (nor most of my other guitars) will probably not see a lot of action for a while.

After another rehearsal with a R & B band later that day, then a visit to a friends' blues jam that evening, the Annie Jr proved to be a surprisingly versatile instrument, covering jazz standards, funky R & B, honky tonk country, Chicago blues, and soft rock beautifully and convincingly.

I guess I am officially a Gretsch convert now. Whoda thunk it?

[JohnS]

Nice!

[Bengal65]

Nice write up. Now all you need is more and more Gretsch's. And this forum will give ya GAS big time!

[Sarah93003]

Congratulations! The green Annie's are just as beautiful as the yellow ones, in my humble opinion. As time goes on I am becoming more and more convinced what gems these Juniors are. It seems to me they are capable to putting out the same awesome tones as their larger counterparts in a compact package that is a little more comfortable to handle. I would like to see a Junior version of each of the major models. So far I've been able to play a 6120JR and it's one awesome guitar. Paul Pigat was totally impressed with it, so much so he said he'll have to get one. I've seen the Annie JR's, 6122Jr's, and a White Falcon Jr. I'd love to have one of each!

[SlimFatJr]

I'm on the same page with you on that - I think that I need at least one more Jr. Of course I need to come up with the requisite cash, so from now on all my gigging bucks will be going into an account for my next Gretsch. Time to start looking for more and better paying gigs!

[SlimFatJr]

Here are the two together - funky as all get-out!