You ol’ Gretsch-head! Where are you?
My bud just brought over his new Gretsch Electromatic and boy does it sound SCHWEEET! He’s a working class joe like me and can’t really pop the big bucks for a “real” Gretsch… but for less than 400 bucks, this baby RAWKS! I gots to have me one o’ deez.
We fired it up through my Carvin Bel-Aire valvulating toober and boy I was impressed. The vintage sound I have been looking for is THERE dude. The clean channel on the amp was clean but had just that right amount of grit to it with the volume pots on the guitar dimed. Backing off a bit and squeaky clean was there.
I remember you telling me to check out the Gretsch Electromatics some time ago but I never got around to it. I gotta figure out what I can hock so I can order up one of those things. THAT is the sound I have been looking for for a loooong time. That thing is a bargain IMO.
D - future Gretsch owner for sure.
Got an email from him today. I’m not telling what he’s doing with one of his Gretsches…it just wouldn’t be right. 
speaking of Gretsch,if i may,my buddys dad just passesd away and i bought his Gretsch Rex Royal Lap Steel and matching amp,plus a Harmony Broadway acoustic with an old DeArmound guitar mic attatched to it,i’ll take some photos soon to show ,these items are are prolly close to 60 yrs old but hardly played,the amp especialy sounds sweet,lil tuber made in chicago,might be a Magnatone,i can only find one refrence to the Rex Royal amp and steel on the net,are these really that rare? 
Hi wozz:
I think you have a rare find there…
Those times may only come along once in a life-time…
Maybe…
TomeS will set us all straight, he’ll find some place up here that’ll give us all the “Lo-Down” on your “Find”…
I’m gonna say your one fortunate person to have acquired this set…
Bill…
Nevermind the new nick, this new board’s been acting up on me too.
Tim - cool plank, glad you like the sound of the dumbuckers
Personally I’d opt for the hollow white 5124 (?) but that’s my problem, not yours. Anyway, go check them ALL out 
wozz - let’s see some pictures of those things.
What phoo’s hinting at is that yesterday I shipped my Gretsch 6120DSW OUT of this house, along with the booteekhandbuiltsnobby Victoria 5112 amp. Why? To finance an even snobbier booteekhandbuiltsnobby amp. Both of those gadgets were all fine & dandy but didn’t really speak to me the way hollow Gretsch #1 and other gear have done, so off they went.
Check this one out: http://storage.rmsnetworks.com/video/6AMPS/65amps_soho_final.wmv
The one that went away:
http://www.vintagegitar.no/content/view/686/56/
Ignore the writing, enjoy the pictures
1,2,1,2,… 2,2… testing, testing 
Hey! Avoid IE7 and all your forum problems will evaporate. Opera is gold
IE7? Boooo!!! Firefox here and NO problems!
Good to “see” you Teryeah. That Projet is something in my price range and sounds fantastic through my Carvin but I’ll check that 5124 out too. I don’t care for the Bigsby… I want a fixed tail-piece. Know what I mean?
D
EDIT: Oooohhh that Nashville looks PURRRTY! You didn’t care for the pickups or what?
The Dynasonics are great. What I didn’t like was the tiny vintage frets.
I think a Bigsby is a really nice option to have. The ones without the tension bar are very responsive in feel. When you don’t use it, swing the arm out of your way. It’s a win-win situation 
i hope this turns out ok,i wasnt sure of how to post pix here anymore,so here goes,these pix are of my new instruments i bought from my friend,they were his dad’s toys since the early 50’s.amp and lap steel are a Gretsch matching set,the amp i ve found was made by valco,who also made amps for supro and some others,although it has marked on the amp Fred Gretsch MFG. brooklyn chicago.the lap steel has no pickup thats visible,its string through body and has a crude kinda bridge,just a flat metal bar with some notches,it dosent have the beef of a fender lap steel of the same time era,but does sound sweet. amp is maybe a 10c watt,6 inch speaker,on/off/volume chicken head knob,no reverb no treble or bass knobs,had 4 tubes in it.the Harmony Broadway has a Rowe /DeArmond “guitar mike” attached to it,nice even sound on all strings,i havent restrung the guitar yet but played through the amp sounds dark and bluesy,real smooth,a little compressed sounding cause of the 6 inch speaker i would think,all in all a unique sounding combo that im glad to own 
heres a shot of the amps backside
Wow, that amp looks too cool
How does it sound with a more normal speaker? Low wattage amps on full tilt are fun
Oh yeah wozz! Cool stuff! That’s not “Retro-Repro”. That’s the REAL deal.
Good score!
D
Hi wozz:
Thanks for posting those photos… That’s nice looking stuff you have…
Bill…
Hey Teryeah ol’ bud… my friend is wanting some better quality tuners for the above mentioned Projet. Do you have any recommendations? Something that will fit the post holes as well as the mounting holes? He says they look similar to Kluson’s kinda like Gibby uses. His axe is not staying tune as well as he thinks it should.
Thanks,
D
You’re sure it’s the tuners? You’ve checked for uneven bridge saddles pinching nut slots?
No… I haven’t. I’m just passing on the request. I’ve played the thing a little through my toob amp is all. Enough to know I dig the sound. I suspect it’s more his playing style than anything else. He’s kinda like that “Gent who ran amok in Kent” if you know what I mean. I searched the web and offered him some suggestions from Stew-Mac. Maybe he’ll find what he wants…
Thanks,
D
The tuners may not be all that hot on such a cheap guitar, but if you string & stretch 'em right they should hold up just fine.
See http://www.gretschguitars.com/resources/gretschmanual42403.pdf page 6
Of course he changed the factory strings?
And no, I don’t have a clue re better quality tuners that will jump right in.