The sound surprised me. Sure it sounded good in the store, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it. Pickups respond to your touch - clean and sweet when played softly and rough and raunchy when you play hard. Without an amp acousticly the sustain is good and no dead spots on the neck. It could use a set of tuning keys, but the originals tune okay and hold tune very well. I owned the guitar for about two years before gigging with it - I'm not a real big Gretsch fan, I recently got rid of two others, a 120th Anniversary model and a Tennessee Rose. I didn't really like either of them. I was very plesantly surprised when I took it to a gig for a spare. I picked it up first and my Les Paul stayed on the stand the rest of the night. I've since grown very fond of this "cheap" Gretsch.

Good mini humbuckers, Bigsby tailpiece, nice Tunomatic bridge, tuning keys could be better - Grovers would be nice. No case. Setup could have been better but I set up all my guitars anyway. Finish good. Has those Gretsch strap buttons - I could do without them.

Sound is great for me. It isn't a heavy metal guitar, but it works for real music. Sounds great thru all my amps tube and ss.

Like all Asian instruments, I'm sure there are cheap copies out there but I'd put the quality of this guitar up with almost any Asian or US made.

no complaint

no opinion

Cosmetics don't really make much difference to me. Altho I won't waste a dime on so called "relics" that look like they've been in the trunk of Kieth Richards car under the spare tire for six months. Tho I don't buy guitars for the flashy looks, I won't play something that looks like it's been thru a terrerist attack.

Active Musician

Rock and Roll from '50's thru '80's, Blues, Motown, Pop, Country

I bought the guitar for the look and feel, assuming that I would eventually upgrade the pickups to Seymour Duncans, as I have on my other guitars. However, I don't think that I ever will. The bridge pickup is particularly hot and produces the classic rockabilly sound. The neck pickup is acceptable. I get some hum in certain knob positions, but it goes away easily with fiddling.

The neck is beautiful to play and look at. Just like on the Chet Atkins model, having the pearl fingernail style markers. It's remarkable that the Bigsby tailpiece comes stock at this price. I added Bigsbys to my other guitars and they are not cheap to purchase. The wood finish is stunning. The mahogany back really goes well the silver top. Only complaint: I can't find a good hardshell case for the guitar, because of its extra long body length.

I like the simple knob setup. Using an exciter plug-in when recording really brings out the rockabilly sound. The other reviewer is right pointing out that this doesn't sound like a Les Paul, even though it looks a bit like one. It has a much cleaner and brighter sound, although the neck pickup can be used to blend in deepness if you want a fuller sound.

This is an example of the excellent quality coming from China nowadays at an incredibly low price.

Fantastic value. A great guitar for a low price. The hardware and pickups aren't junk either, as they are on other guitars. I have a Korean-made Casino that I had to replace all of the hardware on. This guitar has needed no modification and I've owned it for a year now.

never dealt with this issue

The chrome pickup covers and silver painted top are a really pretty combination. It's a pleasure to just look at. No rock stars play this model--so I can play it without feeling like a wannabee. A very unique, special look to these doublejets.

Hobbyist

Beatles Influenced

This guitar has that "great Gretsch sound". The semi-hollow body plus the humbuckers make this guitar one of the best sounding guitars for this price.

The bigsby is good, but it only has two knobs. Though it is more practical, it looks a little cheap. Plus, it's just a little too basic.

This has the ideal classic Gretsch feel to it. I've played a country classic and this has the EXACT same feel. The quality of this guitar is outstanding.

For this price it's a HUGE steal! It is completely worth the price.

classic rock, rock