Richard Hawley

Anyone own a gretsch country? If so have you ever had any problems with the string mutes? I would love one but I heard they can be troublesome. Has anyone had bad experiences with them. I know Richard used to own one. Not sure if he still does. I know gretsch did a reissue called the country classic witthout the string mutes but it has now been discontinued.

I've had five of them over the years, a couple without the mutes, one with a single and one (pictured in my avatar) with the double. Also got a Country Club and Chet Atkins doublecut both with the single mute. I've never had any problems with any of them, mainly because I leave them alone. It's a right contraption inside the guitar - all pivoted metal rods. I believe George Harrison unscrewed one of the mute switches on his first C Gent, which made the mechanism come loose and rattle around.

You see a lot of Gretsches that have had the mutes taken out, leaving a hole. Not good!

The best string mute is the one Hank Marvin used to use - his right hand!

I had problems with mine a while ago,the mute sponges dry out and shrivel and there's nothing you can do i am afraid.......i have only used the mute damper once ages ago i use the palm of my hand

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Would you advise not to get one? I want a guitar thats a good all rounder and was thinking of either a gibson 335 or a country gent. The country gent is a good bit cheaper than a gibson 335. Is a 335 worth the extra dosh?

they're totally different guitars...look let me put it this way what do you want out of a guitar?

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I would love a guitar that can do rock, country, jazz. A good all rounder basically.

Country Gent/Classic or one of the Guild Starfire's gets my vote. The country classic JR is a good guitar too. I've also got a Yamaha SA2200 & I can't praise that highly enough. They're very versatile as you can switch to single coil.
If you wanna save dosh then the Dearmond's were good guitars. 335's are smashing guitars but I think Gibson can let themselves down with quality control.

I'd step in for a 335 - a recent secondhand mint one is a better buy than a new model. I've had a few over the years, but i've settled on a ES 345. The ES 345 always gets overlooked - it's varitone control can get some snappy sounds. Problem is that they're harder to find.






i've never really seen a terrible Gibson - especially from the last 20 years since they were bought from Norlin. No quality control issues with any i've ever played. Amongst my batch, i've got 6 and they are all pretty amazing instruments. I'd say that what they, like Fender and Gretsch, are making now is equal to anything in the past.

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Twang is, as Twang does.

http://www.myspace.com/stevebillybuckley

http://www.myspace.com/thewagontrain

Very nice sir twangalot. Love the gold hardware and the varitone switch.Hank Garland used a 345 when he was playing guitar for Elvis, didn't he? Sadly they are as rare as a hens tooth and a good bit dearer than a normal 335. Your a lucky man to own such a beautiful guitar. Is it quite versatile?

i would go for a 335 with a Bigsby great all round guitars

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Speaking of which - what's happened to yours since it was damaged?




Carlh - I believe Hank Garland used one on 'Fool Such as I' and 'I need Your Love Tonight'. He also used a Fender Jazzmaster on 'Little Sister' Such a sad waste of talent what happened to Hank Garland.

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Twang is, as Twang does.

http://www.myspace.com/stevebillybuckley

http://www.myspace.com/thewagontrain

yes very sad for those interested you can read about a brilliant player here
http://www.hankgarland.com/The_Man/the_man.html

My 335 is now repaired and i am slowly playing it as the repair sadly has no guarantee that it will hold,i have been told to take it easy and play it often as i like but it might take a couple of years for the mend to settle so i can be sure it won't just split while i am playing it,it could be worse it could be fucked forever at least this way it will be heard on recordings.

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Hey RH, how did they mend your 335? Just glue or did they stick a rod in there as well? "2 years to mend"? Ouch!

Hi Richard. I traded my 6120 for a country gent about a month ago. After I took it home I noticed a buzz from the A string around the 7th fret. Took it back to the shop. The shop sent it to a luthier to have a look. The luthier filed down a couple of frets that were high but said the main problem was that the bridge didnt match the radius of the fret board. The radius of the fretboard is 12" but the bridge is flatter. Have you ever come across this with any of you Gretsch's with rollerbar bridges? What type of bridge do you have on your Gent? I know there is a guy on the gretsch forum that makes bridges to match the radius of the neck. Tru-Arc bridges but they are quite expensive.

I really don't like rollerbar bridges,the one on mine is just a standard Gretsch bridge that came with it from the factory in the 60's.When i was working with Duane last he gave me a great bridge that i put on my 6120 but i've forgotten what its called,i met the guy who makes them and he kindly gave a me a couple but they were way too wide for my 6120,i'll ask Duane for you and i'll get back to you,he's the expert on such matters.

Incidentally my 335 was mended in the end by a genius called Gordon Wells
http://www.knight-guitars.com/

He built me a new neck,saved the headstock laminate and logo,the fret board and frets,the edge binding,the pearl inlays,the machine heads and somehow managed to save the serial number....i have NEVER seen craftmanship like it,its actually better than the original neck,the colour is exactly the same as the original.The man is a guitar god i swear,if you ever need a serious repair he is the man i would recommend without hesitation and i will deffo use his skills again when i need them.I cannot tell you how utterly and totally fucked my guitar was,it was basically a pile of wood chips barely fit for lighting a fire with.I couldn't believe what i was seeing when i went with my Mrs to pick it up.He works out of his home somewhere off the M25 i was so nervous about what i would get back my hands were shaking when i went up to the door,he is really really smashing fella too,his history is amazing as well,he made guitars for George Harrison,Clapton,McCartney,Pete Townsend,Jimmy Page and many many more.I was also knocked out about the price too,i was expecting it to be in the £1000's but it was in the high hundreds which i was more than happy to pay.he saved my favourite guitar for me and i will always be eternally grateful to him for it.I play it every day and will continue to do so till the very very end.Gordon Wells.......i salute you sir

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