Sunday, September 23, 2012

New Hollow Body 6-Strings!

Here's the latest purchase - an Ibanez semi-hollow body:

I should really polish this guitar. It deserves polish.



And, here's the one I found and put on layaway when I went to pick up that one:
Walnut Finish, Gretsch G5120












I brought the Ibanez home yesterday and played it for an hour or so last night. It's a very sweet set-up (one reason I like used guitars - sometimes you find a set-up that you really, really like). Smooth action with perfectly trimmed frets and edging everywhere. A very nicely done guitar. And, it sounds as good as it looks.

But, I mean, just LOOK at this Gretsch!

My dilemma is this: if I get the Gretsch, should I take advantage of the 30 day return policy and basically trade in the Ibanez? Of course, I'd love to keep both. But, I'm already swimming in guitars. If I ever had to restring the entire collection at once, we'd have to skip a house payment or something. If I ever have to move them all, I don't know what I'll do - there's no way I'd have that many cases lying around. It's a little ridiculous. Granted, most of my guitars are pretty cheap. The PRS is probably the nicest, most expensive one I own and it's just an SE. With a battle scar. Not like I've got thousands of dollars worth of guitars. But, I don't play well enough to deserve that sort of collection. I've got mainly Epiphones. And the FrankenStrat - Yamaha with replacement neck of unknown origin. Plus the Yamaha bass. Who needs two nice hollow bodies? Really.

I've got about 27 days to think about it and make a decision. Return the Ibanez and use that money (about $300) toward the Gretsch? Or, just keep the Ibanez, let the Gretsch go, and get my $130 down payment back? The Gretsch will cost me about $499 - nearly twice as much as the Ibanez. And, it's not like I really use a tremolo but I just think a hollow body should have a Bigsby - which the Gretsch has but the Ibanez doesn't. The Ibanez has enclosed tuners which the Gretsch doesn't have, but that may not really matter. Fret markers aren't that big a deal. I mean, most guitars don't have a marker on the first fret, which is sort of a "thing" for me, and neither the Ibanez nor the Gretsch have first fret markers so that one's a wash. I guess it'll come down to how much I like playing one versus the other. I may have to pay off the Gretsch early and play the hell out of both for a week or two and then decide which one to return.

Unless, of course, somebody wants to donate some cash so I can keep both!

2 comments:

  1. The easy answer is to go with whichever one plays the best for you, assuming the Gretch is in your budget.

    If they both play and feel exactly the same, then i would probably get the gretch b/c i think it will hold it's value better than the Ibby. If you think the Ibanez will hold it's value better for whatever reason, then i would buy that.

    I always loved the look and feel of a bigsby.... just feels so beefy and '50s. Couldn't tell you if it is worth having or how to use it, but it looks sweet.

    Tim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's pretty much how I feel about it, too. I rarely use a tremelo bar at all, but a hollowbody just screams out for a Bigsby. Not having one would be like driving a Jaguar without a cat hood ornament!

      Delete