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Electromatic G5120 - My first Gretsch, and the one that's modded the most. I've already promised it to my son if he decides
to play.
16" x 2.75" maple body Parallel tone bars and sound post bracing Rosewood
fretboard with Neo Classic (Thumbnail) inlays Licensed Bigsby B60 vibrato GFS Surf 90 pickups Space
Control bridge Custom pickup bezels (courtesy of 68comeback on the Gretsch Pages Forum) Dunlop Strap locks Individual
pickup volumes Master Tone knob Master Volume with treble bleed mod Silver pickguard (original
was clear)
I'm working on getting custom truss rod covers for all my hollowbodies as well.
I
think this is my best playing Gretsch. I tend to use the 5129 more as the pickups suit what I'm playing a little better, but
when I grab one at home it's usually this one.
I had GFS Nashvilles in here for a while, complete
with coil tap (push/pull volume pots) but they just weren't the sound I was looking for.
As
much as I love the Surf 90s, I have a similar sound with my 5124, so I've thought of dropping HS Filtertrons or TV Jones Magnatrons
in here. Maybe once I get some of my other projects done I'll do that, for now I'm pretty happy with the GFS.
I
also had a Gretsch Rocking Bar Bridge on this guitar for a while, but it was a little too mellow for my tastes. The RBB has
to be one of the most comfortable bridges to play though, and one thing toward the top of my list is an Aluminum Tru-Arc bridge
for this, and the other hollowbodies.
Electromatic G5129 -My second Gretsch, and the first guitar I ever bought sight unseen. I trust most of the people
on the GDP, so I wasn't too worried about getting a lemon. Quite the opposite actually. This guitar was about 3 years old
when I got it, and it did not have a single scratch, nick, ding, or dent. The plastic was still on the pickguard, and truss
rod cover!
16" x 2.75" maple body
Parallel tone bars and sound post bracing
Rosewood fretboard with Neo Classic (Thumbnail) inlays
Bigsby V cut B6
Gretsch Dynasonic pickups
Compton bridge
Dunlop Strap locks
Individual pickup volumes
Master Tone knob
I originally dropped a TV Jones Powertron Plus in here, but it was a little too midrange-y for me. I decided to go with Classics
instead, and while they sounded great, just never got the tone I really wanted. I know now there were a few factors I should
have addressed, but I put Dynas in it anyway, and have really been digging those so far.
I did however miss the DeArmond 2000s that came stock in this guitar. So much so that I bought the 5124 to keep stock, but
that's a different section.
I also swapped out the B60 for a Gretsch labeled, V cut Bigsby
B6. Looks a lot better to me, I didn't notice a huge difference in feel though.
I get a lot of looks and comments when I have this guitar out. Most people think I dropped a few grand on it, and their jaws
hit the floor when I tell them it was less than $500. Makes me smile every time.
I need
a pic with the Dynas and new Bigsby, I'll get on that soon.
Electromatic G5124 - As far as I know these were not sold in the US, so I'm pretty happy to have this one. As
I mentioned above, I missed the stock 5129 sound so much I had to get another 512x to leave stock. I was planning on getting
a 5127 (baby blue top) until I saw this one a few hours away. I had to have it, and drove 3 hours each way to pick it up one
Sunday afternoon in October.
16 x 2.75 maple body Parallel tone bars and sound
post bracing Rosewood fretboard with Neo Classic (thumbnail) inlays Licensed Bigsby B60 vibrato DeArmond
2000 single coil pickups Aluminum Bigsby Compensated bridge (rosewood base) Individual volume controls Master
tone control Master Volume control
It's got a few dings and dents, and some paint flaws.
It's also got "USED" stamped in the headstock and some clown scraped off the last 3 digits of the serial number, and painted
over the inside label. Totally unacceptable in my opinion. There is no reason to ever do something like that
to a guitar.
It's a great player, on par with the 5129 in every way. I'm kind of thinking of dropping
T-Armonds, or Gretsch Dynas in here, but I like the sound of the 2000s so much I'm really in no hurry.  
Electromatic 2910 Double Jet - This one is from 1999, before Fender took over production. It's about as close
as you can get to the Malcolm Young model without dropping >$1500.
It was modded with HS Filtertron
pickups by a previous owner. They put gold bezels on it, which I just removed and traded for silver ones like the MYII signature
model has. It also has a tone knob where the tone switch used to be. Apparently the tone switch died, and the guy that had
it last preferred the knob. I tend to slam my picking hand on it a lot, so I'm going to make it a switch again soon. It helps
aesthetics as well I think.
I'm also thinking about getting an overlay for the headstock
as it says Electromatic where it should say Gretsch. I have no issues with this really, just want it to look closer to MYs
Jet. I thought about trying to convert the inlays from dots to thumbnails, but I think it would be cost prohibitive, and a
detail most people won't notice.
It's a little neck heavy, I think probably because of the bolt on
neck, but it's not as bad as some of the Epiphone SGs I've played.
Still have to learn all the specs
on this one. There's not a whole lot of info on it since it's pre Fender. I've actually never seen another one, which is somewhat
disappointing as I'd like to see how it started life.   
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