Who's using a Gretsch for Blues?

Not exactly blues, but if r'n'b could be related to your topic, i've recently found pics and videos of different Wilson Pickett's guitarists with Gretsches guitars (Chips Moman at Muscle Shoals, and Midnight Mover's guitarist in a live show for italian television).

 

Blues is a genre. Gretsch makes guitars. I am an artist. Pass the Am pentatonic please.

 

My '67 Rally with Hi Lo Trons nails some dirty blues pretty good. Some very good J.L.Hooker tone, but she likes some Elmore James tone as well.
Also my 6120 with Eddie Cochran P90 on neck position nailed them ok before I switched to Ray Butts.

 

That first picture is not Chips Moman-- That's Jimmy Johnson and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (also known as "The Swampers").
Left to right in the picture: Jimmy Johnson, Wilson Pickett, Spooner Oldham (keyboards), Roger Hawkins (drums), and Junior Lowe on bass. The regular bassist, David Hood, is not in the photo.
This picture was taken in 1968, before they left Rick Hall's FAME studios to start their own studio, Muscle Shoals Sound.

 

I’d hesitate to call myself a guitar player in any genre, but blues is clearly where my heart is. If it’s worth anything I can do a comically poor impression of blues on any brand guitar. I heard that’s a thing on youtube lately?

 

Thank you very much, very helpful!

 

I thought blues is in the heart and fingers!
Gretsch makes lovely guitars!

 

Blues is all I play.

My 5127 is my #1 stage guitar. My 6129TLS is on the list as well.


Bo Diddley did too....

 

Well, I use my Gretsch for everything, though some might not call what I play the blues

 

There is no blues tone. There is no blues guitar. Elmore James used some acoustic guitar with a soundhole pickup. Did anyone tell him he was playing the wrong guitar? I would go to blues jams and all the guitar players had Strats and singing distorted amps. I'd purposely play a Tele clean just so there was a different sound coming from the stage. A cowboy hat and pearl button Rockmount shirts also threw a monkey wrench in the "what is blues" thing.

 

Related thread, from a few months ago. Interestingly triggered by that same video. Thought I'd add the link here, just for fun. Enjoy...

https://www.gretsch-talk.com/threads/why-arent-grestch-more-popular-in-blues.207915/#post-1330294

 

There's a bar near Pittsburgh that has a cigarbox guitar collection/museum.
Many performers show up and play some awesome blues on cigarbox guitars.
Did you ever see the Youtube video of the guy playing the shovel guitar?
Like may have said in this thread--it ain't the hammer, arrow, axe, etc.
It's the operator it's attitude.
That said, I have a hard time getting flatwound strings on a hollowbody to NOT sound like Jazz--even playing Neil--could be me.

 

This.

 

Blues comes from the soul and I don't think it matters what guitar is in your hands when you play it.

 

I've posted similar on another recent thread so apologies to those who have already seen this. At a gig the band and I played, the first set was commented on as being "Bluesy". We were playing Rock 'n' Roll and Rockabilly standards for the most part. I don't try to emulate note for note the original solos (partly through lack of talent) but try to keep them in the spirit and work from there.

My guitar was a Gretsch 5622 with the SHT pickups. For feedback, I took that as a compliment as I love Blues. As the post above says, "Blues comes from the soul and I don't think it matters what guitar is in your hands when you play it."

 

Bo Diddley

 

The real question is, Why are you not using a Gretsch for everything?

 

And of course, then there is this: