are Gretsch's really plywood?

[Lee Harvey]

I was looking at one..

Until I heard they were plywood.

[Duncas]

why should it matter?

if it sounded nice and i loved the guitar i wouldnt care what it was made from.


in fact, i reckon MDF would be an allright guitar material

[stax]

Lots of hollow and semi hollow guitars are pressed plywood construction, Gibson 335's are.

[Darkbeer]

Don't know if it's plywood but it's got killer sounds.

[Ryan0594]

Who cares? If it's good enough for the Chet Atkins, Jack White, George Harrison and Eddie Cochran then I'm sure it ill suffice you, me and everybody else in the world.

[Lee Harvey]

I care that's who cares.

I am not going to spend money on a guitar made out of plywood.

Geez..

[Tele Fan]

Pro line Gretsches have 3 ply maple bodies and tops or solid spruce tops for the Country club models. The electromatic models have 5 ply bodies. They're great guitars either way.

[KellyCaster71]

I saw a Gretsch electromatic in silver sparkle the other day. There was absolutely no paint underneath the lip of the fretboard where it overhangs the body. Is that normal? Looked really weird to me.

[tlimbert65]

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

I care that's who cares.

I am not going to spend money on a guitar made out of plywood.

Geez..

I think you're missing the point of the responses. It's obvious that you think there's something unusual or substandard about guitars constructed from plywood. This is not the case. You'll find that lots of high-quality acoustic guitars, as well as hollow and semi-hollow electrics are made from plywood. This is not a bad thing.

[Dr. Bill]

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

I care that's who cares.

I am not going to spend money on a guitar made out of plywood.

Geez..

"Plywood" is an inappropriate term here. As has been pointed out, many of the classic archtop hollow-body guitars have used laminates for backs, sides, and tops. I guess you'll just have to leave all the Gretsches, Gibson ES-125s, 330s, 335s, 345s, 355s, etc. to the rest of us.

[Tele Fan]

Most if not all hollowbody electric guitars are made from a multiply. It reduces feedback and increases the instruments ability to withstand temp changes. I would think you'd have to look into the handmade $8,000 to $10,000 jazz boxes to get an all solid wood electric.

[greggorypeccary]

Whatever....if you want to miss out on playing a great guitar, that's your issue.

Fenders are made from two or three pieces of wood glued together, Les Pauls are a piece of maple glued on top of a piece of mahogany.

As stated above, most hollow/semi-hollows are made of a few thin pieces of wood glued together, and they always have been. Doesn't make them any less awesome.

[Lee Harvey]

Originally Posted by Tele Fan

Pro line Gretsches have 3 ply maple bodies and tops or solid spruce tops for the Country club models. The electromatic models have 5 ply bodies. They're great guitars either way.

Thank you for answering in a nice direct way.

*RANT TIME*

For those that acted like I just ran over there puppies.

Last I checked it was my hard earned money I am spending. If I choose NOT to want to spend it on plywood that's my choice. I asked a simple question because the sales guy told me they were plywood. I didn't believe a 3 thousand dollar guitar would be made out of something I used to make skate ramps out of.

Now if YOUR hard earned money is spend, that's YOUR business.

If YOUR gonna buy me one.. then no I don't care what it's made out of.. it's YOUR money not MINE.

So until YOU buy me one get off my back on how I choose to spend or not to spend MY money..

*end rant*

[stax]

Well it was a stupid question and one you could have found out with a simple search,you need to calm down a bit.

[nadzab]

Originally Posted by stax

Well it was a stupid question and one you could have found out with a simple search,you need to calm down a bit.

That's a direct answer...

[nickwort]

I think you're missing the point of everyone's reply. No one's telling you how to spend your money, and no one's attacking you. They were just trying to tell you that laminate body guitars are not a bad thing. A Gretsch is suppose to be plywood to reduce feedback. I can't imagine how bad feed back would be on a solid wood Gretch with Dynasonics (Is that what they're called? The single coil ones..) Anyway, back to the original point. You have no reason to get hostel, no one was insulting you or your choice. Life's too short.

[brookdalebill]

My #1 is a (fancy) plywood Gretsch 1959 Nashville Classic.
Chris Forshage is building me a solid wood (maple/mahogany) guitar with most of the
Gretsch's charms.
Same electronics (TV Jones), Bigsby, nut width (1 3/4), scale (25 1/2), slightly smaller body.
When it arrives, I'll A/B em.
Wonder if the new one will win, lose or draw?
To date, the Gretsch is the best sounding electric guitar I have ever had.
I've gone through a bunch of em', too.

[wemedge]

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

Thank you for answering in a nice direct way.

*RANT TIME*

For those that acted like I just ran over there puppies.

Last I checked it was my hard earned money I am spending. If I choose NOT to want to spend it on plywood that's my choice. I asked a simple question because the sales guy told me they were plywood. I didn't believe a 3 thousand dollar guitar would be made out of something I used to make skate ramps out of.

Now if YOUR hard earned money is spend, that's YOUR business.

If YOUR gonna buy me one.. then no I don't care what it's made out of.. it's YOUR money not MINE.

So until YOU buy me one get off my back on how I choose to spend or not to spend MY money..

*end rant*

Hi-

Not challenging your right to spend your money as you wish, your opinions, or being antagonistic in any way. I agree that if you don't like the idea of ply/laminates, that you can take your money elsewhere.

I'm just addressing the point about plywood/laminates in archtops.

The laminates used in fine archtops/bent tops are not the same as hardware store-grade ply. I think that previous posters were just addressing that point, not questioning telling you what to do.

Laminate tops can be made surprisingly thin and responsive. I have a Moll laminate archtop that sounds pretty good to me.

In any case, good luck and I hope you find what you like.

regards,
wemedge

[bigp7099]

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

Thank you for answering in a nice direct way.

*RANT TIME*

For those that acted like I just ran over there puppies.

Last I checked it was my hard earned money I am spending. If I choose NOT to want to spend it on plywood that's my choice. I asked a simple question because the sales guy told me they were plywood. I didn't believe a 3 thousand dollar guitar would be made out of something I used to make skate ramps out of.

Now if YOUR hard earned money is spend, that's YOUR business.

If YOUR gonna buy me one.. then no I don't care what it's made out of.. it's YOUR money not MINE.

So until YOU buy me one get off my back on how I choose to spend or not to spend MY money..

*end rant*

Can I interest you in some $300 capacitors for your pots good sir - the tone is exquisite

[Lowbassnotes]

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

Thank you for answering in a nice direct way.

*RANT TIME*

For those that acted like I just ran over there puppies.

Last I checked it was my hard earned money I am spending. If I choose NOT to want to spend it on plywood that's my choice. I asked a simple question because the sales guy told me they were plywood. I didn't believe a 3 thousand dollar guitar would be made out of something I used to make skate ramps out of.

Now if YOUR hard earned money is spend, that's YOUR business.

If YOUR gonna buy me one.. then no I don't care what it's made out of.. it's
YOUR money not MINE.

So until YOU buy me one get off my back on how I choose to spend or not to spend MY money..*end rant*

Laminated tops aren't made of plywood like you'd construct a half pipe from, they're made from sheets of veneer glued up in a mold. Not unlike the process used to make skate decks and you know a hard rock maple deck is strong.