[joninc]

hey all - i am new here and hail from the wet coast of canada...

i have been playing for close to 20 years now. these days i mainly produce albums and do a lot of playing on them often too. i have a bunch of guitars (tele/strat/guild starfire hollowbody, ricky 12 string, danelectro, jazzmaster etc.) but never owned a gretsch. i did a session a few months back for a friend who had a tenessee rose with the Hilotrons and fell in love...

so I have had my eyes peeled for one and then came across the G6117T-HT
which is remarkably similar and a little cheaper. i love the look of the sunburst too.

while they appear very similar, i know there are a few differences - the G6117T-HT has no zero fret, is a half inch thicker and has a different bridge i believe.

are there any other key differences that the novice might not recognize or is the G6117T-HT a comparable guitar tone/feel wise to the Rose?

thanks guys!

jon

[fender62custom]

Greetings Jon...welcome to the forum...enjoy your stay!!!! cheers.

[Lizardkinged]

Well this version is a guitar that has the VERY clean and characterized as "sweet" sounding Hi-lo trons. Very nice clean sound, but I cant say much for how they break up.

The bridge is a Gretsch "space control" design. better than a rattle-matic/adjustomatic tom style. Still not as good as the aftermarket bridge designs for matching radius.

However these are very nice guitars.

[joninc]

what is the recommended bridge replacement? is there any tonal difference?

[Lizardkinged]

People like Tru-arcs, and Compton Compensated bridges. Some like their Rattle-matics, and melita style bridge and space controls, and roller bridges. Tons of options.

There are a couple different materials to choose from which will alter the overall timbre of the instrument. Realistically they will both add sustain, and depending on the metal and if its "chambered" or not (they remove metal sections to change resonance) it might affect something.

I picked a Compton in Stainless Steel. More of a rock player myself.

Tru-Arcs work just as well. so feel free to shop around.

[ReverberatingDream]

Hi, welcome! I'm a newbie here myself.

I fell for the TR myself and did the same thing, bought a 6117HT. The tone is rounder IMO. More full. I assume it's due to the deeper body but who knows? Anybody?
The Anni's neck is a tad chunkier (not by much). Fret access is lowered by a few frets compared to the TR. The neck pickup on the TR gets an almost reverb sound on its own, and the neck pickup on the 6117 doesn't (but I haven't shimmed mine yet, so...) That's all I've noticed that's different.

I've only had my 6117 a few months...and I'm still GASsing for a TR. I'm actually thinking about selling it already to fund a TR...crazy!!!
All that being said, I really wanted some gritty bite out of my 6117 ala a TR, and I can get it. That makes me really happy, along with being able to play such a fine guitar. Plus, it has an ebony fretboard. Looks hawt!! Feels hawt!! Whee!

If you love the sunburst, I don't think you can go wrong getting the 6117.
I'm not a huge fan of bursts on electric for some reason...or rather, more a sucker for red.

[joninc]

hmmm..

this makes me wonder if i'd be happier with the TR - i loved the feel of that guitar which probably had a lot to do with the neck size... didn't realize it was bigger on the 6117. does the TR have a diff fretboard?

[ReverberatingDream]

It's not that much bigger/thicker/chunkier. Very slight, just enough that I noticed...EDIT again: it's the neck profile that feels slightly different.
too bad I'm four provinces away, I'd say just come over and play it!

Also I should have noted that my 6117 is a 2003, I don't know of any specific differences between it and the new ones except that it has an ebony fretboard and 5 ply top. The new ones have 3 ply I understand.
The new 6117s and HiLo Roses have rosewood fretboards. EDIT again again: The new 6117s have a different burst, teardrop instead of all nicely around the edge.
There are apparently a few Anniversaries out there with trestle bracing, if you can find one/care enough to find one.

Also if you look up NSM46, he has posted a few beautiful songs with clean jazz tones from his 6117.

[joninc]

thanks for this info.

Also I should have noted that my 6117 is a 2003, I don't know of any specific differences between it and the new ones except that it has an ebony fretboard and 5 ply top. The new ones have 3 ply I understand.
The new 6117s and HiLo Roses have rosewood fretboards.

does that mean that the older 6117's are a little nicer quality? i don't own any guitars with ebony fretboards so i am not sure i really understand how that affects the tone

[Drewgrass]

Welcome to the forum joninc!

[ReverberatingDream]

I'm not so convinced ebony affects the tone a huge deal, you have to listen closely IMO, but there's more pros here that can give better advice than me. I do like the feel better, hammer ons are more clear to my ear as well. It feels smoother and harder under my fingers.

From what I've read, the pre-FMIC and FMIC models are both well made instruments, just different in details. Pre-FMIC should be cheaper...

[audept]

Hi Jon, welcome to the forum!