Gretsch Guitars - Tech Tips - Optimizing Your G5120 Electromatic Hollow Body

[jerseystringer]

This is not optimizing anything. It's fixing your intonation again after you change it, which happens when you have to remove the foam. This is kind of a weird design. The foam is a petroleum product which will eventually break down into gunk. You need to get it outta there.

[treelifeUK]

How to tune your gretsch.

[SSekhon96]

i'd just leave the foam in there

[TheAndymiranda5695]

would this procedure work the same with the ibanez afs75t?

[xMJ93x]

Arent u scratching the guitar by sliding the bridge?

[majorkeybaree]

can you play metal on it though?

[SpareTimeMusician]

@majorkeybaree I have a G5120 and I have no problem using it with my metal amps. As long as your aren't playing in front of a blaring full stack, or literally facing directly at your amp, you won't have any problems.

[colinmortimore]

Am I the only one wondering why the foam is put there in the first place?? I mean surely Gretch had a reason to fit it. Any ideas??

[jimmyaka]

@colinmortimore probably to prevent scratching during transit if the guitar was to get a knock while floating about in vans and such

[maggot6639]

@colinmortimore THEY dont want to damage or any scratches on guitar, so once you take that off, it might get scratched with the wood or whatever that is

[AAAAtugboats]

what a pain in the ass

[pokesnorlax1]

They usually have the hollow body Gretschs at the top of displays, but today at the Guitar Center they had one down, and they are sweet

[jg0r]

I am getting a lot of buzzing coming from the saddle/bridge area. Anyone have a tip for me?

[jappe434]

@jg0r same problem here!

[PsychoDawg7]

@jg0r Try a Compton Bridge, and fit the bridge base to the arched top. Helped mine a lot. Costs about $50 and she sounds and plays way better. I think the pickups kinda rattle around a bit too. You'll never hear it when you're rockin' out through the big amp, so who cares about a little rattle? It's a rockabilly axe. Keep it dirty.

[mailvilla]

Thank you for the tip, per turning down neck volume. I just never had any other guitar that I needed to do that. Are all G5120 guitars like mine? Also, what do you think about changing the factory bridge with a similar bridge with rollers for each string? I would assume it would help out when using the Bigbsy.

[mailvilla]

Hi, I just bought the G5120, and your demo helped me set it up. But, now I noticed that the neck PU is at least twice as loud as the bridge PU. What can I do to balance (equal volume) both PU's to get a nice clean warm sound from the neck PU and a bright hot sound from the Bridge PU, but maybe the bridge slight lounder then the neck.

Tom, retired in Oralndo, Florida

gorbonso@yahoo.com

[0SevenCarPileUp0]

@mailvilla both pickups have a volume knob. just roll down the neck a little and keep the bridge on full blast.

[Twangabilly]

I did it by lifting one end up and sliding out half the foam, because there's a gap in the wood half way, then putting it back down and lifting the other half and doing the same, then it's left exactly where it was (if you're careful). And when changing strings, change them one at a time, then the bridge can't move :)

Obviously check to see if the intonations is ok afterwards.

[MrVidalete]

una de las guitarras mas hermosas que e visto en mi vida.

[Fukit50s]

im thinking of getting a 'G6120DSV Nashville' off the internet. i think they're discontinued. do you think its worth it or should i get a brian setzer model instead?the guitar has 2 DynaSonic single-coil pickups-Bigsby B6BCDE vibrato tailpiece with 1956 handle. i know th BS MDL DynaSonic single-coil pickups

Bigsby B6BCDE tailpiece with 1956 handledels have TV Jones pick ups. but does it really make that much of a difference? can i still get a rockin' rockabilly sound off those pick ups?

[bulldogkid180]

all you have to do is ask the people you're buying the guitar from to do it for you and when you change the strings change one string at a time it is not a big deal don't have to be a little bitch and not buy the guitar because you're stupid

[bulldogkid180]

all you have to do is ask the people you're buying the guitar from to do it for you and when you change the strings change one string at a time it is not a big deal don't have to be a little bitch and not buy the guitar because you're stupid

[bulldogkid180]

@MrBramDorper then you are missing out on a fucking awesome guitar

[TheTruthRocks]

@mjt11860 Absolutely!

[BayouBluesMan]

man this sucks , nice guitar butwho needs the bridge hassle?

[bulldogkid180]

@BayouBluesMan all you have to do is ask the people you're buying the guitar from to do it for you and when you change the strings change one string at a time it is not a big deal don't have to be a little bitch and not buy the guitar because you're stupid

[BayouBluesMan]

@bulldogkid180 settle down beavis , it still is a hassle

[TheTruthRocks]

@mjt11860 Sure, you can pin a mandolin bridge too. Don't do this to a valuable guitar or mando because you can de-value it to a future collector. Keep in mind that pinning a bridge affixes it semi-permanently. If you change string gauge later on, you may need to move the bridge foot a bit if the bridge saddles don't have the adjustment range you need to zero the intonation.

[mjt11860]

how do u set the saddles if u have a used guitar? do u have a video 4 that? thanx 4 the info on this video!

[jaypauldini]

thanks for the demo really useful.

[metallica321456]

what is the name of that tuner he is using

[jimmypagefan13]

Ironic that he's using a Fender tuner?

[saintidiot]

@jimmypagefan13 i think fender owns gretsch or something

[blackstreet1]

@jimmypagefan13 saintidiot is right fender has an agreement with gretsch.

[DinoDyl]

insanely beautiful guitar, but that's alot of work!

[Blompcube]

i've heard that the bridge slides around once you've taken the foam strip out from under the bridge. anyone else had this problem? i bought my G5120 a couple of months ago and haven't removed the foam.

also does the guitar really sound that much better without the foam there?

[guitarcreep94]

I never knew that Gretsch bridges weren't attached to the guitar at all. this gives me second thoughts about getting a model like this.

[TheTruthRocks]

No worries! "Pin" the bridge. Once you get the bridge where it needs to be for proper intonation, place tape around the foot. Next, remove the strings. Lift the bridge off the foot (the tape keeps the bridge foot in place). Remove the two height wheels. Drill a 1/16" hole, 1/4" inside each threaded stud, straight down through the foot and through the top.Untape the foot. Drill out the foot to 1/8". Replace the foot on the guitar and drive two small screws through the foot into the top

[mjt11860]

@TheTruthRocks thanx very much 4 the info! would the same method u describe apply to a mandolin also?

[Bukowskal]

Moving around the bridge for proper intonation, is a small price to pay for an overall amazing guitar

[Jojomojo221]

700 aint bad for korea

[hailmasch]

You should be changing your strings one at a time no matter what guitar your using.

[PilotDoofy]

No offense, but this seems to be a really lazy way of setting this guitar up.. you should really set the bridge to the factory scale length of the guitar and then adjust the length of each string individually with the saddles, not just sliding the whole bridge!

Eh :-\

[QuietEthic]

look, could somebody help me?

i bought one of these and i'm having some trouble with the knobs...

i know the knob really close the the neck is master volume, but i can't seem to find what the other knobs are...

sounds like a really stupid problem i know, but i've looked all over the internet for some sort of diagram and can't find anything. ):

[Parsa9]

Um... I'm surprised no one has mentioned this... The stock G5120 comes with an Adjusto-Matic bridge. Can't you just set the bridge to the peaks on the F holes, tune the guitar, then adjust intonation on each string using the screws on the bridge? Isn't that what the screws are there for?

Now if it were a bar bridge, it would be different....

[greenknee]

The saddles are set for intonation from factory? Maybe, but you've put it on the wrong way round!

[fknbrett]

been playing gretsch guitars since 1979 and have found the movable bridge great for not only keeping my guitar, but also my life in tune - if it moves, i drink less beer - simple! -- if you can't figure out how to change your strings without the bridge moving, you're too fknstupid to play an archtop guitar . . .

[museken]

You might want to look at the Ibanez Artcore Series AF75TDG Hollowbody Electric. It comes set up.

[museken]

First the video explaining what intonation was adjusting bridge position sliding on the face of the Gretsch was excellent. Tuning is tuning. This video is well done. Why? is the bridge movable? Why is the bridge not bolted or supported on top or beneath. It's got to go out of tune with some madman Zack Wild Ripping the axe to shreds even acoustically.  God just find the medium and wood glue it or bolt it so you don't have to re-tune it every time(to the manufacturer). Don't do this at home.

[Vermillion2176]

I perceive this video to be more of a quick and dirty way to get the Guitar set up in an OK manner for OEM strings and not necessarily to fine tune the intonation for each string which most of us would certainly want to do. We learned that you take the foam strip out from under your bridge and put it back where it was. A couple of pieces of blue non-stick masting tape will mark the original location just fine.

Big Ron

[Mightypaul]

"The factory has set the saddles at the beginning so you shouldn't have to make any adjustments there." Never in my life have I gotten a new guitar where the intonation was correct from the factory, he is either full of shit or didn't feel like messing with it.

[itreanor]

Can you tell me where is this g5120 model made ? US , China or Korea ?

[Parsa9]

@itreanor Korea

[4321micro]

why 5120 gets out of tune?

after a few chords it goes out of tune quickly.

[davemis40]

Why not just fix the bridge ?

[junkattackjunk]

hey im wondering, is the whammy bar removeable on this guitar?

[veitchy88]

@junkattackjunk It is possible to replace it with a trapeze tailpiece, but on many models you have to drill new holes, which would likely be the case with the 5120. A stop bar tail would likley be out of the question, as there is no centre block for it to mount on. They are full hollow on the inside.

[gageman70]

does this work on banjo too cause my banjos intonation is fuuuucked

[cosmogang]

Just think, what if they ACTUALLY CAME optimized?!

[MegaCesarM]

what type of tuner does that guy have cause it tell's you what the note ur hitting on the string

[veitchy88]

@MegaCesarM It's a Fender model. It's actualy a rack mount model.

[MegaCesarM]

@veitchy88 idk if your talking about the guitar tuner

[veitchy88]

@MegaCesarM If you mean the long one at the back of the table, then it is a Fender rack mount tuner. I'm not sure if fender still make them though.

[MegaCesarM]

@veitchy88 oh ok thanks buddy :)

[fershmonkey3211]

if you really think about it..its anelectric cello lol

[9crazy9white9boy]

I wonder how many people watched this and went oh crap i just ripped that foam out.

[winterlandboy]

Brian here is a master Gretsch technician.This isn't somethning I would prefer to do myself in my spare time,or in between watching Eastenders and The Daily Show( for example)

I presume that s why people like him are around ,so that people like me can take my guitars to them for this sort of thing.

I can play,but I can't fix much.

I can however wire a plug.

[Xerces88]

I always have an ugly G-string. It always sounds like crap.

[thebeerbaron666]

Isn't the guy who sells you the guitar suppose to do the intonation for you ???

[biggfingger5]

@thebeerbaron666 Sometimes they will..but a lot of the chains(G.C.,S.A.) have kids that have no clue as to what they're doing.Besides,with a moveable bridge it could get knocked out while being hauled around in it's case.,so it's probably a very good idea to know how to do it.

[veitchy88]

@thebeerbaron666 A man can dream...

[bluesun1989]

Great video, Very helpful!

[nirson123]

I found an acoustic gretsch that looks like a gibson hummingbird...anyone knows something about it? like the model or whatever?

[winterlandboy]

@nirson123 Sounds like your talking about the Gretsch Rancher.

What do you mean.."I found an acoustic Gretsch".What? Laying in a waiiting room of a Drs office or something??

I love the Rancher and they're hard to find these days.

[nirson123]

@winterlandboy

in a yardsale for 100 bucks

[winterlandboy]

@nirson123

Go onto ebay.co.uk and typoe in Gretsch Rancher. Theres a 1990s one going for £895 which is about 1300 US dollars.

The only other Acoutstic that I'm aware that Gretsch did or still do is the Synchomatic Acoutsic wich sells over in the UK for about £1400.Sounds like you found a valuable guitar if it's good shape.

[alisterhrae27]

If you break one string, the bridge shoudn't move, so you dont have to intonate all over. When you change strings, do it one at a time.

[blackdeathgrind]

it's too bad there's so many trendy fashion victims playing and representing Gretsch these days.

[Italienstallion14]

How would a 5120 electromagnetic compare to a lespaul studio?

[veitchy88]

@Italienstallion14 Gretschs are more airy, less midrangey guitars. You willfind that the pickups wont drive the amplifiers as hard, but with a gainy amp or some pedals you can coax some great overdriven sounds out of them (Who's Next and Quadrophenia were both recorded using a Gretsch). Also, they tned to be very transparent and clear, even when overdriven, as opposed to gibson-type humbuckers, which some feel can get 'muddy'. It depends on what sort of sounds you are after really.

[nicosfi]

wow, cool tuner

[bearsafetyus]

do u have to fix the intonation everytime u re tune?

[RyderGuy007]

Okay you guys I really Like Gretsch Guitars but i gotta ask, What Guitar do you guys Prefer?

[sully676]

@RyderGuy007 i'm a fan of deans

[RyderGuy007]

@sully676 Like Dean Dragontails? I saw one in a shop one time and i fooled around with it and i really liked it, it was awesome.

[sully676]

@RyderGuy007 no but i've used different vendettas and razorback explosion

[RyderGuy007]

@sully676 Sweet.

[Hugoow16]

what will happen if you don't do this??

[DangerousBastard]

You'll just sound like shit basically.

[Hugoow16]

haha oke.

[roaringwaterbay]

what about the intonation on the other strings?

[unorthydox]

My guitar teacher puts a strip of fine grit sandpaper under the bridge on his Gretsch guitars ... keeps them from moving pretty well.

[eatthemoon13]

Ive got this same guitar i love it so much. But can someone tell me some better pickups i can put in it?? the stock humbuckers seem realy lo fi 2 me i want more sound with my picking ,some people are saying the tv jones are not much better,

[69marius]

@eatthemoon13

I replaced the stock 5120 pups with tv jones classics. Do it. You wont regret it.. Damn hard to pick the difference. (in tone) between 5120 and a 6120 with tvj's. I cant, and I have both.

[thehyperchondriac]

I really want an electromatic but I dont fancy having to reset the bridge and intonation every time i snap a string. There must be an easier way of doing this.

[stonefreak1962]

@thehyperchondriac you can have the bridge pinned to the body once the intonation is set thats what i did i on my ibanez ,heritage and gretsch

[TheSchoolsux345]

how do you go about doing that? and what if the intonation comes out again? please help

[stonefreak1962]

take it to a shop and ask if they can do that, if not they can prolly tell you where to go if they cant. they set the intonation and then pin it so its pretty much a fixed bridge

[ww2corsair]

@thehyperchondriac tape it down :P... not the most pratical solution but you can proably hide a lil piece of tape under so it stays absolutely still... or as my friend taught me... replace one string a a time there the bridge stays and nothing moves :D

[hundanth]

@thehyperchondriac Double sided tape ;) That's what I use just cut it to the right width it will fall off after about 2 years but it works.

[bilbomarks]

@thehyperchondriac Gets very easy after about the third time.

[veitchy88]

@thehyperchondriac Unles you're using strings for faries, it's unlikely that the bridge will move an apreciable amount when a string breaks. Thre pressure of the other 5 will keep it in check pretty well. When restringing, just go one at a time (which you should be doing anyway, if you're not). also, as it has a tune-o-matic bridge, you can always fine adjust each string anyway.

[dumadave10]

@thehyperchondriac You could put a piece of double sided tape under it, thats what i did and it stays in place fine for string changes.

[PackOwolflets]

@thehyperchondriac Perhaps marking the position of the bridge BEFORE you take it off, someway, then all you have to do it put it back where it was?

Perhaps Gretsch could use something like that. Some sort of groove or something, the bridge would just click into it.

[SteveVayne]

@thehyperchondriac There is only one: Get a different guitar. With these you just have to do it, no way of sticking ob the bridge for every stings type have different intonation qualities and the guitar itself ages as well.

[Metalhead001122]

@thehyperchondriac You could possibly screw or glue the bridge into place.

[dharmapunkchick]

@thehyperchondriac just tape the bring down.

[TheVictimsX]

@thehyperchondriac change one string at a time. the other strings will keep it in place.

[PilotDoofy]

@thehyperchondriac replace one string at a time and the bridge never moves.

[neepathius]

@thehyperchondriac i know that is retarded!!!! now i don't like gretsch

[VenicesKurt]

@thehyperchondriac You don't have to reset the bridge when/if you break a string. You only have to reset the bridge *IF* you remove ALL the strings.

the other 5 strings will hold the bridge where it belongs. so feel free to change the first 3, the the last 3 and no problem with the bridge.

[peder0204]

is a gretsch better than epi's and gibsons on hollowbodys? why? and on e other thing, shouldi buy an epi les paul or gretsch 5120( 5122 not sure)

[almostfm]

peder--every guitar has it's own sound and feel, so it's not so much that one guitar is "better" than another, but one might be a better "fit" for a player and type of music. I've got a 5120 in black, and I love it.

The "best" guitar is the one that you like, and will actually play. Try a bunch, and get the one that fits you--if you're a beginner, take somebody with you who plays--they'll be able to spot problems with a guitar that you might not notice.

[peder0204]

thanks dude!

[surrealevolution]

hey couple of quick questions,

i have the g5129 and when your adjusting the intonation its easy to just move the bridge with your hands going into this will this effect tuning stability being its so easy to move the bridge? im having horrible tuning issues it just wont stay in tune im thinking cause its the bridge moving? would tapeing the bridge down hold it? or heavier strings like 11-52s? any tips ?

[gfmgma]

god, that looks like an inconvenient work for someone who have just bought a brand new guitar

[moriscengic]

If you had aligned the bridge to the F holes correctly from the begining you didn't have to move the bridge, just adjust the saddles with the screwdriver.

[bojangles285]

I love my electromatic. I got the sunburst and it goes great with my Fender accoustisonic amp.

[man31x]

Hey what is the tuner you are using?

[edgelett]

ta guys, i ended up getting it set up in the shop, the truss rod WAS out a bit after the fligth but now it's prefect!

[lilJohnnyWestern]

anybody know were i can get that new G5120 pickguard?

[VinylRecords60]

Gretsch = best guitars on the planet

[TheRroocckkeerr]

how do i get HIS job. Lucky dude.

[checkoss]

Yeah dude after watch this video i want to leave my job and work in guitar shop like him

[sul1961]

this has helped a lot... always had probs before setting up Thanks!!!!

[rlta04]

Hey.Gretsch guitars are awsome.

One question:

I have a G5246T Electromatic Double Jet Electric Guitar (Silver Sparkle)with the mini himbucking pickups.Would I be able to replace the stock pickups with filtertron pickups?Would the filtertron pickups fit in the pickup cavity in the guitar body?

[RythmTR]

if you look on youtube someone did it...

[edgelett]

i bought my guitar from the USA, and after shipping it back to Australia the intonation is a little out on the A string. I've done exactly what this video recommended, but it's still out. Any tips on how to fix this? note that the bottom E string is fine

[RythmTR]

maybe because united breaks guitars... what is intonation? it seems a little too much to only make sounds, I mean the old gretsch bridges have less adjustment and the acoustic guitars have straight bridge and we buy and play them too.

[keryadams]

If you have a single string with bad intonation, you can move the individual saddles with a screwdriver. If it's all the way at the end of its range of motion and it's still off, you might conside moving the whole bridge and then adjusting the other 5 saddles.

Since the climate is so different from the US to Australia, the guitar may need to bet set up on arrival. That is, the truss rod may need to be adjusted before it's optimally playable.

[dayone54]

hi,

will this do for my g3161? as i just bought one and s/b rec'g this tues. (9/8).

do i set the atonation up the same as the g5120?

thanx,

debs

keep strumming:)

[3638954]

Considering the gretsch has a hollow body, and regular electric guitars are generally solid, can anyone recommend/suggest what kind of strings could be used? (If different from a solid body)

[derekswan144]

You should still use electric guitar strings dude. You can use 9's if you're used to them but to get a fatter tone from it I recommend moving up to 10's or if you're really brave 11's! They WILL kill your fingers at the beginning but the tone will be alot richer!

[awesomeness23456]

use twelves!

[aohcg51202]

The bridge on my g5120 is always moving out of place, sometimes with just a bend the bridge moves out of place and its a pain in the ass to do the intonation setup again and again... doesanyone knows how to keep the bridge in place in regular playing??

[chris6120]

Hey aohcg51202,

A small piece of double sided scotch tape under each "foot" of the bridge works perfectly. Some people actually pin their bridge in place, but ive found thats not necessary at all. Just a few pieces of double sided tape and the bridge won't move at all...even when using the bigsby a lot.

Chris6120

[TwoTones]

well, you can either pin down the bridge (involves drilling, non reversible) or you can do as Brian Setzer did and use some electrical tape to tape it down (doesn't look too hot but it's more of a rock and roll solution).

[Jimbowholivesinsoup]

Nice video, need more of G5120.. (ordering one now, will help to set up (: )

[Blustercastr]

Thank you!that's been very useful to me!!