in case you read this. there's one thing that helps ENORMOUSLY when keeping a Bigsby in tune and it is quite perplexing that Gretsch hasn't implemented it on all their Bigsby guitars, and they have a LOT. locking tuners. that's it, locking tuners. it's at the tuners the string goes out of tune, not the Bigsby. i still wouldn't recommend metal trem dives with it tho, lol. wasn't designed for it. EDIT, should be mentioned. installing a roller-bridge and ensuring there's good string movement through the nut will allow the locking tuners to do the job at a higher efficiency.
Hey, Hunter. On Bigsby trems guitars tend to go out of tune due to the string windings biting on the bridge saddles. The way around this is to replace the standard bridge with a roller bridge. These can be found pretty cheap. Another upgrade that this guitar might benefit from for your kind of music is an active pre-amp to give the pickups a boost as well as give you some new tonal options. Both of these upgrades can be done on a budget if you don't mind using no-name parts.
Since Gretsch has been very openly trying to get people to play styles other than the normal surf and jazz that people think of when they see their guitars, I think they will be more than happy with this demo. Who knows, maybe they could end up doing a colaboration with some RU-vidr to make a more metal focussed model...
I do have a Gretsch hollow body 12-string guitar and I enjoy playing any kind of genre, like I did recorded pop-punk, power metal, alternative metal, etc.
Maybe Gretsch should make a metal version with full size humbuckers. It would really look cool in satin black with black chrome hardware. Maybe even put a Floyd on it.
I remember seeing other reviews in the past and thinking "JUST TURN UP THE AMP GAIN" in terms of the pickups, but with headphones on I see what you mean. If you got it routed for some Jazzmaster pickups I'm sure it would rip lol
@@nocturnal101ravenous6 ah no. see if the pups in the baritone are true Filtertrons you'd be right. but i suspect they are Broadtrons. Broadtrons are the same dimensions of a regular humbucker, made to look and sound like a Filtertron. in this case, the Filtertron Blacktop. they call it the Broadtron Blacktop. Gretsch are not very clear on the matter and it took me some time to figure out what was going on. EDIT, looking closer, don't think they are Broad after all. i was wrong.
this was fun. i am just now putting together a jazzmaster with a bigsby (and a dual-rail filtertron pickup in the bridge position, jazzmaster pickup in the neck), well, duesenberg's version of a bigsby. i am inspired to finish it quicker... damn heatwave, can't open the windows so I can't be soldering now... maybe tomorrow.
THAT is a cool guitar. I gave up on buying one and just bought a Fender Baritone Strat Conversion Neck, which worked out great, but only because I had the parts. The Gretsch sounds badass. Great video as always!
Absolutely loving seeing how you come up with the demos! Pretty sure I’ve said it in the past but this style works for you! I actually tried my first baritone the other day, a Squier CV baritone tele and it was SICK!
I just recently got a 27 inch baritone and didn't feel like it was a big adjustment to play. But I'm curious if this would make that adjustment more prominent. Rabea did a sick demo of this too. You guys are crushing it!
The hardtail version of this has been rather popular among baritone players for a while now, Erik Bickerstaffe of Loathe comes to mind (12:09 in the video)
"This is gonna be ridiculous!" You got that right, Hunter. I have a short-scale bass which, at 28.6 inches, is shorter in scale length than that Gretsch baritone!
Afaik p90s would fit right in the route, I was thinking about a gretsch like this with tv jones thunder'blades as a future project, I guess the emgs would fit too
SRSLY gretsch kicks the entire ass. My first electric was a 2019 electromatic Jet Club. And even tho my guitar is too cheap to have them, 'trons make f'n awesome metal pickups if you do them right.
I had the amazing opportunity of teching for Erik of Loathe at the Heavy Music Awards this year, and he uses a 105 gauge for the 6th string, tuned to B an octave below ‘standard’ Drop B ☠️. The bridge had to be drilled to accommodate that behemoth of a string.
so I see you mentioned you didn’t like the pickups, and I just wanted to mention that the gretsch broadtron’s that are in most other electromatic jets are way hotter and sound actually pretty great for high gain. Those mini humbuckers do sound kinda disappointing though, tbh
I have one of the squier jazzmaster baritones in all black. Awakened my love for ambient guitar. Highly recommend owning a baritone. A new tonal experience in a comfortable formfactor. Try one with p90s next!
I used to have one of these. Sounded just like yours from what I remember. Have fun changing the strings with the Bigsby lolllllll I used it tuned like a Bass VI (E to E and octave lower than guitar). I was the "bassist" in a fuzzed out space prog/proto metal band. It wasn't a bad instrument, the Bigsby is super fun to mess with and sound like Blue Cheer. Eventually I felt the tone was a little undercooked and moved to a Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom (MIJ). World class tones, and easier to maintain on the road (or anywhere really) without the Bigsby. I took two of those Jaguars on tours, one heavily modded with roundwounds, the other stock with flatwounds. Played a Mesa Boogie Bass 400+ with 8x10's. And lots of fuzzzzzz. Beastly.
Some say the tiles in his house all popped out of the grout making this demo track, but that's better than what happened to the hardwood floors next door when he plugged the 2x16 cab in, and the shingles on the roof, and the drywall in the garage, and every toilet flushed within a quarter mile when brown notes were struck so the plumbing is clear. And he dares not bring in a proper Gretch Duo-Jet for fear all the Les Pauls will gather dust and cobwebs until the wee girl grows enough to rebel against him, and yet that might be preferable to some punk boyfriend from the shallow end of the gene pool spouting nonsense about phone apps and binge-watching. The man! The Legend! Der Fish!
Gretsch are pretty overlooked for modern rock and hardcore music, but they do the job just as well as a ES-335 would, especially the G2622 and G2655, which come loaded with humbucking pickups that measure at about 17K stock
I have one of these, sans bigsby. I’ve always wanted a baritone and found this one I love it. Delicious, nutritious DOOOOOOMMMM!!! Loves a fuzz and some overdrive.
I have one of these (with the hardtail bridge) that I put a SD JB in, tuned to dropped E (well, EAEADF#) with Ernie Ball 13-72 strings, Gotoh locking tuners, and a Schaller bridge. Shit is gnarly.
Roller bridge and roller nut will solve tuning stability issues. Look up the guitar mythbuster guy who made some sick neodymium pickups and a homemade alumatone.
Bigsby stability is very seldom about the saddles and the tuners. It's pretty much always the nut. In the case of this guitar, the string tree is going to be another huge source of sticking. A skilled repair person can make sure the nut has a good break-angle, and allows the strings to move freely. The string tree will probably need lubrication - and graphite from a pencil ought to do the trick. Add graphite to the nut slots too for extra slippage. You can get a very reliable Bigsby. But their poor reputation hinges principally on the lack of care taken when cutting guitar nuts at the factory (exacerbated by most traditional guitars not having a straight run to the tuner).
Heh, with you not sure what this guitar was meant for, I'd say look up a band called "Hank Knife and the Jets" which were a seventies Glam rock band which used the similar Fender Bass VI as their gimmick. Search up a song of theirs called "Guitar king" to hear what kind of audience Gretsch were aiming for. OR, look up a live version of a song called "Pictures of you" by The Cure to see another way a guitar like this was intended to be used.
Hello from Detroit. The sound of that beautiful guitar is so sick. It sounds amazing. Would you do a video of it with the other gage string's on it to here the difference between them? Thank you this is one of your top 5 videos you have done.
That bigsby spring is pretty stiff. There are options available. Changed mine to longer one I had. More spring, requires a softer hand for smoothness, but that and a roller bridge takes dives well.
It’s been a year since I’ve watched this video, I came back cause these guitars regained my interest and this part is absolutely NASTYYYY Hunter 😭 7:39
I love Gretsch guitars and I have used them for hard rock settings. Mine have TV Jones in them and the do the Malcolm Young style sound well and even hopes up in Drop D tuning. Nice clear crunchy sound.
I have the stop tail version of this andddd I put fishman will adlers in it. It's a whole new beast with the pickup swap. Had to route out the wood though.
Part of me is really thinking about seeing if it’ll be possible to route the bridge pickup on this out for a standard sized humbucker, bc I’ve been looking for a decently priced 30 inch baritone. I know there’s that one SubZero jazz master for like 350 bucks but I’m pretty hesitant because I can’t find what factory they’re made in and knowing my luck I’d probably get one with horrible quality control
There's also the Schecter Hellcat, if you didn't already know about that one. Probably more expensive than a lot of the other options but it's Schecter, who are reliable. Another option is the Burns Shortscale Jazz Bass. I can't comment on the quality of that model specifically but if it's anything like my Club Cobra it should be better than the equivalent Squier Bass VI reissue by virtue of having Trisonic pickups, which should sound massive. The looks may be an acquired taste and there's no demos online but I suspect that it's got some mojo
