Gretsch G5120

Any thoughts on this guitar? It looks fairly awesome - very cheap for a Gretsch too! Anyone have any experiences. I love the way it looks, especially in orange, and the specs look good. :lol:

http://profile.ultimate-guitar.com/profile_mojo_data/4/5/7/1/457175/pics/_c762634_image_0.jpg

They are supposed to be great after a TV Jones upgrade.

I have one with upgraded bridge (TruArc) and pickups (TV Jones).
I love it.

I put Surf 90s and stainless steel Compton bridge on mine. Also had to replace the PU selector switch and put on a LP input jack plate. I love how it sounds and plays.

Mine is shipping out tomorrow. Been wanting a Gretsch for some time now. It will look good next to the Tele and the Ric.

Great guitar for the $ if you like that style. There's a ton if info about them (and tweaks/mods) on these two forums: The Gretsch Pages and the the Gretsch Discussion Forum.

I've owned 3 of the Korean hollowbody Electromatics and still have 2 - a now - discountinued gold sparkle top 5128 with the sweet DeArmond single coil pickups and an orange 5120. An Aluminum Compton bridge is a significant and inexpensive improvement on the 5120. The stock "Gretschbuckers" can be tweaked to sound .......well more "Gretschy", but I installed some new High Sensitivity Filtertrons for a bit over $100 and am extremely pleased with the sound of this guitar. I like these guitars a lot.

PS - one other easy improvement is to either install a slightly stiffer trem spring in the Bigsby or shim the stock one with a penny.

there is one sitting across the room from me right now. i'm returning it to it's owner (my best bud) after another friend borrowed it and just brought it back to me, knowing i would see him sooner than he. i borrowed it last winter for about a month but just couldn't bond with it.

not one thing wrong with it, and it makes some cool sounds, but it just wasn't for me. my best bud (a whopper of a tele picker) only plugs it in now and again, hence, it's easy to borrow. now there is a gearhead ! i never tire of jamming my way thru his extensive collection, but what is it all for ? you never catch him at a gig with anything but his '78 natural finish maple fretboard tele.

anyway, the above is a well-regarded guitar, and if you're really gassin' for one, you'll prolly like it just fine. i was only sort of checkin' it out from curiousity anyway.

Great guitar for the $ if you like that style. There's a ton if info about them (and tweaks/mods) on these two forums: The Gretsch Pages and the the Gretsch Discussion Forum.

I've owned 3 of the Korean hollowbody Electromatics and still have 2 - a now - discountinued gold sparkle top 5128 with the sweet DeArmond single coil pickups and an orange 5120. An Aluminum Compton bridge is a significant and inexpensive improvement on the 5120. The stock "Gretschbuckers" can be tweaked to sound .......well more "Gretschy", but I installed some new High Sensitivity Filtertrons for a bit over $100 and am extremely pleased with the sound of this guitar. I like these guitars a lot.

PS - one other easy improvement is to either install a slightly stiffer trem spring in the Bigsby or shim the stock one with a penny.

How hard is it to do that. And, where did you get your Filtertrons from? Thanks.

I had one for a while; did some upgrades (bridge, pickups, tuners, the usual mods for this guitar). After a short honeymoon, I sold it. I can't say that there is a specific aspect of it that didn't work for me, but overall, it just wasn't an extremely well-made guitar. In my opinion, of course.

I had a '56 Gretsch that I had to sell for fiscal reasons, and it was a much better guitar and sounded great. My 5120 didn't stay in tune, and I found it very one-dimensional. I don't know. I think there are better hollow-bodies out there for a competitive price.

I have a real nice 5120 but I don't think they're all equally nice. Also, I put GFS Surf 90 pickups in mine, because those humbuckers were just way too dark for my tastes.

had a black one. It was great for the $$$. Kinda has me wanting another... (only sold it to get an AmSp tele)

I had one for a while; did some upgrades (bridge, pickups, tuners, the usual mods for this guitar). After a short honeymoon, I sold it. I can't say that there is a specific aspect of it that didn't work for me, but overall, it just wasn't an extremely well-made guitar. In my opinion, of course.

I had a '56 Gretsch that I had to sell for fiscal reasons, and it was a much better guitar and sounded great. My 5120 didn't stay in tune, and I found it very one-dimensional. I don't know. I think there are better hollow-bodies out there for a competitive price.

I agree 100%

How hard is it to do that. And, where did you get your Filtertrons from? Thanks.

Bought the HS Filtertrons from Antique Electronic Supply........but there are several reliable EBay sellers that have them.

It wasn't too hard - I bought some gold Gretsch pickup bezels off EBay to mount them with and used some hard nylon material to make some mounting bars. The best way to see how this is done is to go to the Gretsch Pages Electromatic forum and find the thread titled "Hillbilly Pickup Mounts" or something similar to that - I believe it's stickied on that forum for easy reference. The author of that thread used hardwood to make his mounting bars. TV Jones also makes "english mount" pickups. Not at all difficult if you are resonably handy. I think there is a forum member or two there that makes/offers these very inexpensively too.

Re: some posts about poor or inconsistent quality of the Electromatics, Gretsch initially had these made at the "Peerless" factory but changed to another factory beginning with "S" (can't remember the name right now) because of quality control issues. There were some visual differences like F hole shape, etc. but the easy way to tell source is by serial numbers on back of headstock. The Peerless ones start with KP, i.e., KPxxxxx, whereas the later(better) ones have serial numbers KSxxxxx. Of course,, some of the KP ones are fine too - just not consistent, according to Gretsch.

I love mine.
Needed a good set-up and a .022 tone cap.
No longer my main gigger (but it was for quite awhile), but I gigged it this past weekend and still love it.
I was going to put in a pair of DeArmonds, but now I might not.
The die-hard Gretsch guys complain about them not being Gretschy enough.
I think they get great (but not perfect) Gretsch twang with the volume rolled off and really nice humbuckery zing when cranked...can sound real 335-ish.
Lotsa tones available with pickup adjustments.
It pays to experiment.

Bought the HS Filtertrons from Antique Electronic Supply........but there are several reliable EBay sellers that have them.

It wasn't too hard - I bought some gold Gretsch pickup bezels off EBay to mount them with and used some hard nylon material to make some mounting bars. The best way to see how this is done is to go to the Gretsch Pages Electromatic forum and find the thread titled "Hillbilly Pickup Mounts" or something similar to that - I believe it's stickied on that forum for easy reference. The author of that thread used hardwood to make his mounting bars. TV Jones also makes "english mount" pickups. Not at all difficult if you are resonably handy. I think there is a forum member or two there that makes/offers these very inexpensively too.

Re: some posts about poor or inconsistent quality of the Electromatics, Gretsch initially had these made at the "Peerless" factory but changed to another factory beginning with "S" (can't remember the name right now) because of quality control issues. There were some visual differences like F hole shape, etc. but the easy way to tell source is by serial numbers on back of headstock. The Peerless ones start with KP, i.e., KPxxxxx, whereas the later(better) ones have serial numbers KSxxxxx. Of course,, some of the KP ones are fine too - just not consistent, according to Gretsch.


Thank you Sir.