Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster special VS Gretsch Electromatic Pro Jet

[ztikmaen]

I've been reading some reviews on that Les Paul but people seem to be on either end of the spectrum. Some say that it's great value, some say that the quality is in fact lacking in certain areas in terms of finish and bits of hardware. Some even say they got a SEVEN PIECE BODY! That's absurd...

[Telerocker]

It's a chambered body and probably 4-piece, however I read reviews about a non-centered 2-piece body. Doesn't mean it has to sound bad. Gibson-site doesn't clear this up. BTW, P90's in this model are on the hot side. Bec quality at Gibson-seriemodels isn't always what it should be, examine the guitar thoroughly. Look for gaps, bad finish, dead spots on the neck, fretbuzz. Get yourself good advice in a shop. Test thoroughly (playing dry, how much vibe is in the body etc). If can you find a good one, then the price is ok.

[ztikmaen]

Ok. Well I'm situated in New Zealand so not much comes down here. The only ones I've seen (and even then it's only through the website) are the 50s tributes, not the 60s. Apparently there are very minor differences but the main one being the neck which is thicker. Some say it feels so much larger that it's like playing classical, but some say there isn't much difference at all. Now I like a neck that fits my hand but my kid that is 10 plays my guitars too. His hands seem to be wrapped fine around acoustic necks and Telescasters, but I'm just wondering how well he'll cope with the 50's neck. I have small hands too.
And if anything, the guitar should be worth more when I'm done with it because apparently stocks got decreased from a flood at the factory??

[Ratrod]

If tou go for the Gretsch, get the one without the Bigsby. It's a B50 and it doesn't look right. So get the one with the tailpiece and install a B70. A B30 would look even better but then it would have too little string angle over the bridge.

There are three gretsch-like pickups I know that will fit in that guitar without surgery: The GFS Retrotron Minitron  Filtertron Style Pickups and the NYII single coil and NYIII humbucking.

[ztikmaen]

Ok.
There are currently two Les Paul 50s tributes in NZ at the moment. There is supposedly going to be a shipment of the 60s coming in, but in the meantime I'll probably try the 50s out. If I do get that guitar, It will then come down to which guitar's pickups to upgrade. The MIA Tele, the Ibbie RG370DX, or the Gibson Les Paul 50s/60s. From what I've read, the Gibson's pickups are okay, but they are far too modern and hot sounding. Apparently they sound more like the P90s in their other Les Pauls. I'll had to see for myself though. I think I'll probably replace the Ibbie's pickups first so that I don't have to do ANYTHING more to it, then I'll have a proper Humbucking guitar. I may go for an Abraxas set with an Irish tour or Slow Hands in the middle.