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Hammertone is correct about the qualities of the 50s Streamliner. Binding isn't an issue. Necks typically will need resetting, but it's stoopid easy on that model, compared to later Gretsches.
Plus...the pickup and the Melita bridge are both very special items.
The Streamliners that I've played from the 50s were special guitars. Lots of fun for all kinds of music. I really like the sunburst finish, too.
I definitely would not let a reset deter me. I owned a '50 Synchromatic for years that got a neck reset. Easy peasy. The guitar was loads of fun. I really liked the assymetric neck carve, i.e., different depth carve on the treble/bass sides. Made for really fast rhythm playing. Also, the loudest acoustic laminate body archtop guitar I ever played.
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01-04-2019 12:57 PM
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The deed is done. I'm weak. So weak...
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Enjoy!
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i didn't realize that many people here were this cool. with all the 175s and rolled down neck pu sounds, sometimes it feels like you're yelling into a void when you plink away on your gretsches, as i do. congratulations to all of you. keep us apprised of the situation, please.
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My Streamliner setup was:
Streamliner #1 through Ampeg Echo Twin (4x6V6, tube recifiers)
Streamliner #2 through Ampeg Super Echo Twin (4x7591, ss rectifiers
That was when I was with the Rockin' Beethovens.
My name in the group was Mel.
Mel Baythoven.
I have a photo around here somewhere....Last edited by Hammertone; 01-05-2019 at 01:12 AM.
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Mel,
Streamliner plus Super Echo Twin is a great rig.
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Dutch jazzer Anton Goudsmit plays his vintage Gretsch exclusively. I’m not too familiar with Gretsch guitars so I don’t know the model.
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i'm not an expert, but it looks like a 70s country club. sort of l5-ish. a baldwin area, which i think are the least popular of the gretsches.
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Goudsmit's Gretsch is a late-70s Gretsch Country Club. I have played (and coveted) quite a few Country Club Gretsches. They all were excellent guitars.
Many people aren't especially fond of the 70s-era, Baldwin-ownership, Boonesville-made Gretsches. I, OTOH, like the 70s Country Club model a lot. I prefer it to the 60s version. The 50s version with the DeArmond pickups are also quite nice.
Goudsmit sounds great on the clip, to me.
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This is the only Gretsch that made my knees buckle...
Gretsch Black Cadillac. What a sexy beast. I spotted a used one several years ago at Dave's Guitar Shop. It disappeared before I could whip out my credit card.
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I hope this is the case with mine! I absolutely love asymmetrical neck profiles!
Originally Posted by Greentone
I got into them when I was working at EB/MM...they have some asymmentric guitar necks.
And I just put a partscaster together with the Warmoth Wolfgang profile which is asymmetric. Also has a TV Jones Filtertron. Lots of fun. I have thread about it elsewhere so I won't bother posting another pic....just kidding, here's a pic...
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Originally Posted by feet
Most Gretsches have either tone controls or tone switches, to get the "darker/jazzier" tones that most people associate with gibsons/humbuckers (please, let's not start THAT debate again, about "what is a jazz tone LOL)...
I actually installed a tone switch in my Gretsch Hot Rod for just that purpose. To get smokier tones out of the Filtertrons when wanted.
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Plus- regarding the Dynasonic/Dearmond pickups.... in modern day TV Jones makes the T-Armond, with different mounting options, so if you wanted to try them in a Gibson or Filtertron-routed Gretsch, you can do so easily.
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What cap do you use for the tone switch? And any advice on pot/cap values for Filtertrons would be much appreciated. I'm still trying to get that stuff dialed in on that partscaster. Originally Posted by ruger9
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honestly? no clue. i went through all for that tv jones offered. never found a "dark" cap i truly loved. its always more of an effect that a usable tone to me. the two that aren't stock are what i have in mine. what i ended up doing was putting a treble bleed on the master volume and using the individual volumes as ersatz tone controls. so i hit the tone switch one way and use that to shave off just a touch of highs. further than that, i just roll back that volume pot and it darkens up for me. that's how i handle it 90 percent of the time.
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I use the modern Grestch values. The vintage Grestch values were WAY too dark, imo.
Modern Gretsch values:
.0039
.012
Vintage Gretsch values:
.1
.047
Here's a good summary, written by someone over on the Gretsch Discussion Page:
- "Gretsch’s attempt at ‘tone control’ in the 50s and 60s was the ‘mud switch’, so called because both settings rolled off so much treble. Vintage tone capacitors were 0.1mf and 0.047mf but modern Gretsch spec is 0.012mF and 0.0039mF, finally making the tone switch into something very useable. The smaller cap skims off the twang, giving the Filtertrons a convincing Gibson PAF style grind and the bigger cap gets the neck pickup into clean Bebop jazz mode or even a ‘woman tone’ with added distortion.
So the sounds you get from the tone switch just depend on the value of the capacitors. As I understand it, TV Jones suggested the new values to the FMIC. I changed the original caps in my '63 Tennessean and I now use the tone switch quite a bit."
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I have owned a 60s clipper, a 57 dearmond streamliner, and 58 fleetwood. All were great playing and sounding guitars. The fleetwood needed a neck set.
I give the streamliner an edge over its Gibson competitor (the 175) because of its thinner body, and its unique tone circuit (every position of the tone knob sounds great with no mud; wish I had a schematic, it is definitely not Gibson style). It did not have a tone (mud) switch. Lots of these guitars have been converted to 6120s.
The (extremely rare) fleetwood was their L5C level guitar; 17" carved top, lots of binding, carved top, gold hardware, very cool stair step bridge. For a short time fleetwoods were cataloged as eldorados, but most eldorados are 18".
The clipper is their student line, but I think that the body and neck are similar if not the same as the streamliner, just different inlay and binding. The 50s dyna clipper used to be a real bargain, but people have figured that out and driven the price up.
Personally, I would look for a dyna streamliner or clipper that has already had a neck reset. I would avoid gretches made before the mid fifties (they did not have truss rods).
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It's been here for a few days, and it's great! It's in great shape, considering the age. Unplugged, it's loud and thumpy. My teacher was doing some cool walking bass stuff on it and commented on the bass response.
The pots have seen better days, and cleaning didn't help much. I'll probably just replace the complete harness with the same values and throw the old one in the case.
Anyway, I was nervous, but I'm very happy with the outcome. I was afraid it would feel cheap and I would be bummed, but it's as well made as any 175 that I've worked on.
I might do a NGD thread when I can get some better pictures. It's pretty gray today and I need better light.
Thanks for all the advice and insight.
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Morroben,
Awesome NGD. Enjoy.
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those beautiful brooklyn made vintage gretsches never felt cheap...idiosyncratic, for sure... but never cheaply built...later they ran into issues with binding rot and neck angles..but that was more about the materials used (i.e. glues, plastics), than the actual woodworking.they used good dried old wood!!!
congrats & most definitely enjoy
cheers
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