[BrandonT]

Hi all. I've lurked in this site, on and off for the past 4 months or so, since I got my 5120. I'm a bit of a refugee from another guitar forum, where little guitar, or music talk goes on. I believe I may know at least 2-3 members here, but I'll see as I go along.

My very first guitar is a '57 Duo Jet that I bought when I was about..14? for about $100 in an East Village guitar shop. I bought it mostly because it looked like a LP. In the late '70's, I knocked it over, and the neck came cleanly off, and it sat in my closets for over 30 years. It was only after posting pictures of it, did I know what I had. I played quite a bit from the early '70s-late '80s, then just gave it up, until about 5 years ago, when I divorced, and rediscovered my love for playing. GAS hit me hard, and I've always wanted a "rockabilly" type of Gretsch guitar w/Bigsby. I got a fantastic deal on a used, but mint 5120 from ebay for $570 that included a HSC.

I love just about anything played on the guitar, but I'm mostly a classic rock guy. But I'll listen to country, blues, shred, pretty much anything. That's my brief intro (I'm supposed to working). Looking forward to meeting all of you!

[PacRat]

Welcome Brandon from sunny Arizona. I think you'll like it here lot's of friendly people and few Ole sore heads. A good place to share your dreams and get your gas fed.

[Arfer MO]

Wotcha Brandon from another 5120 owner. Arf

[rockabilly-rebel]

welcome aboard!

[thunder58]

welcom brandon from your neighbor Rich in rockland county , n.y.

[freddyfingers]

Welcome aboard! I used to visit some of the village guitar shops on my lunch break when I worked downtown. It was back in the early 90's, so the memory is a bit faded, but Matt Humanoff comes to mind, if I spelt it correctly. You ate least live in an area where you can visit multiple shops and see a bunch of great guitars, that most of us only see online. Congrats on coming back!

[Drewgrass]

Welcome to the forum Brandon!

[BrandonT]

Thanks everyone! It was a long break in guitar playing, but it's nice being back for sure.

There's few mom and pop music store left in the city. The legendary Manny's is now owned by Sam Ash. Matt Umanov still survives. You guys probably know the place in Brooklyn better than I , right near the original Gretsch factory. Name escapes me now, but I first heard about it from online friends who are Gretsch fans.

I replaced my broken Duo Jet with a Telecaster; mostly because Roy Buchanan was a guitar hero of mine. I'll post pics of the Jet if anyone wants to see it. I've since acquired numerous other guitars, but there's something cool and special about a hollow bodied Gretsch with a Bigsby.

I look forward to talking to everyone here, and talking about the care and feeding of my 5120. Thanks again for the friendly welcome!

[audept]

Hi Brandon, welcome to the forum! You should visit Rocky at Streetsounds NYC for all things Gretsch.

[fender62custom]

Greetings Brandon...welcome to the forum...congrats on the 5120..fine guitars..we'd love to see your guitars when time permits...great to hear that you enjoy playing again...cheers mate!!

[S. Rock]

HEY Slim !!! glad to see ya buddy. I was just about to send you a PM on the other forum. I've been wondering how you've been. glad to hear that you're getting on with your orange 5120.

oh yeah, GET THAT DUO JET fixed !!! ha ha

[Tony65x55]

Hi Brandon. Welcome.

PS: Fix your Jet.

[Pumpkinass]

Howdy fellow NYCer

[BrandonT]

Ha! Rock, ya gave me up. Happy belated birthday.

Right, Streetsounds...

I'll post up my guitars, once I figure this place out. Thanks again, guys!

[ishtar]

Knocking the neck of the jet must have been awful! Welcome to this place.

[BrandonT]

Originally Posted by ishtar

Knocking the neck of the jet must have been awful! Welcome to this place.

You have no idea. My first electric, and all the hours I put into it; at least it was a very clean break, and probably relatively easy to fix for a competent luthier. Thanks for the welcome, and to the others as well.

I'm going to try to attach a few pics; I hope they're not too big...

I put the neck back on only for purposes of the pic. The Telly replaced the Duo Jet, and was my go to guitar. I may have some room for more gear porn...







The natural finish Strat is a Smith era Strat; the blue Strat is a MiM, and I think the hidden guitar is a MiM Telly. I'm really a Fender lover at heart (sorry, guys)I think you can see how I broke my first Gretsch- some people never learn.

Here's a better pic of my American Strat. My daughter did the pic; notice the output is flush with the body: I have at least 6-7 more guitars, but I don't think I can fit them. My new Gretsch, I tried to make my avatar, but it ended up in my profile.

[Teledriver]

You got all those guitars in the 5 years since the divorce? Dang, she must not have taken everything then. If you did have them, then either she didn't care about the guitars or else there was some hiding going on...Thank you, off-shore banking!!
Seriously, Iwas like you being a Fender guy. Squire strat in the late 80's, awlays wanted a Tele, but settled on a Carvin bolt-on strat-style (hardly the same thing- it's now in peices needing a re-fin so I can give it- literally- to a friend) then got a Tele, then another Tele partscaster, then scratch-built a '59 Les Paul..still wanted that dang sound of a hollow!! Got a Epiphone Sheriton II and it was there! Scotty Moore and Chuck Berry, and even some Beatles (I know, wrong pups for a Casino sound). But there was still another hollow-body sound I was missing...That Great Gretsch Sound. Got my 5120 over a year ago and love it to death! I think I got all my areas of guitar interest covered now!
Welcome to the Forum, and we do talk more about guitars and music here, enough that it's my favorite of the 4-5 I belong to. Friendly crowd here!

[telespank]

I'm a tele man, myself. Don't tell anyone, though - this is a Gretsch forum

[BrandonT]

Hiya Tele- well, I had the broken Gretsch, the Telly, and the Strat, and a few acoustics before I got married; otherwise, yeah, after the divorce, actually, [i]during[i] the divorce, was when I got back into playing, and started buying guitars just to get 'em. Lemme see if I can list them (once I figure this forum out, I'll post pics in the right place; I've mostly been here on an iPhone app that just popped up, when I was googling something on Gretsches. I downloaded it, and here I am).

Most I got from Ebay, and they were all mint:
Jackson Dinky MGGT- SD pups swap with hardshell case
Brian Moore i91; brand new
RG-321 with Floyd rose (gave it to my daughter's boyfriend. Floyds are a pain
MiM Telly- sold it to Sam Ash
Ibanez Artcore AG-95; I should have gotten the model with the Bigsby, but if I did, I may not have gotten the G5120. Really sweet sounding. I also sold a MiM Strat to Sam Ash, and used that to buy the Artcore
'72 Telly Deluxe reissue with HSC; another great ebay score
Bought and returned to GC an Ibanez AG-75T with Bigsby. It looked like a Gretsch White Falcon copy. The bar was horribly stiff, and I was becoming obsessed with a Bigsby, and that led me to the 5120- glad I did. Even though the 5120 is on the low end of the scale, I personally think the build quality is fantastic. I'll probably change the bridge, and I'm now tweaking the pup height. At first, I thought the tone was really flat sounding, but I've raised the pups, and the tone is coming to life. I'll have to see over time, otherwise, I may be asking the members about a TV Jones swap.
Ibanez Classical acoustic electric
Washburn dreadnaught a/e (low end, but sounds fantastic)
NY Pro 3/4 sized acoustic; cost $100, but stays in tune.
Epiphone SG- bought for my son, but he lost interest in playing, so it's mine now, haha
I probably have a few more that I've forgotten about, and I bought a TON of various pedals.

Yeah, I was pretty much cleaned out by the D, but I'm happier now. I got joint custody of the kids, and my son has been living with me full time for a year, so she didn't get everything. Oh, I still have the Fender Champ amp I got on my 16th birthday. The amp I use the most is a Vox VT20, or my MicroCube. When I want to make some real noise, I use my Fender Blues Deluxe RI.

As for the "other" forum, I'm not going to knock it. I met some really nice people there (like Rock), but I was a moderator, and the rules there were essentially, there are no rules, just some very general guidelines. I guess you can say I'm on a leave of absence from there, and I wanted a place to just hang out, not out of obligation, and just talk shop when I feel like, and come and go as I please.

I'm pretty much GASsed out, but I'm missing one guitar: a Les Paul. Can you believe I was planning to take my daughter to go see Les Paul the very week he died? Even during the years I wasn't playing, I always wanted to see him because he wasn't getting any younger, but it seemed like he was going to live forever.

The New Yorkers here knows it's been pretty hot and humid the last few weeks, and that throws my guitars' intonation out. I've really given my 5120 very little play, but I hate playing a poorly intonated guitar. My Telly, which is 3-saddled was way out of whack. Only last night did things start to settle down with slightly cooler weather (well, the AC helped), and I got a chance to play a bit with the 5120. Which I'm going to do right now. Nice meeting you; have a good one!

[BrandonT]

Originally Posted by telespank

I'm a tele man, myself. Don't tell anyone, though - this is a Gretsch forum

As am I. Roy Buchanan was my childhood hero. Anytime Gretsch isn't mentioned, the post is invisible, right?