I'm so grateful for the resurrection of this company after I finally woke up to the excellence of Gretsch! I really MUST say that Gretsch, amid a sea of other guitar models, to this day, are one of the Finest sounding and superbly made instruments still and right down to the Electromatic and Streamliner series, but, so are the Telecasters of our day too even down to the Fender-Squire models. We are fortunate today as guitarists indeed.
Oh yes, yes, and I wish I knew where to even find books on how to set up a guitar and do even very basic maintenance back then because I never noticed those books in the music shops that I can recall and before the "interwebs" too. I was playing poorly made or used guitars that were likely not even setup or maintained properly. Ouch, it was a rael pain. @@AllAboutWorshipGuitar
I have a gretsch and I have to admit Nigel got me into it! I really do think Nigel made gretsches a thing in churches and I love mine! It looks so cool and sounds so awesome like the middle ground between a humbucker and a single coil sound. Great video and great playing bro!
Thank you for the kind words! Nigel Hendroff, the OG guitar influencer. I totally agree with your assessment of it being in the middle ground! I just did a recording for a wedding and it was a Bethel song. There was no other guitar that was suitable for the job...
Great content; great playing. Dare I say, even scholarly in your approach. I am grateful you popped up in my feed. I will be looking for more content from you. Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words! Like all things, try before you buy! And in my case, buy one, sell it, then wait 4 years for the right one to come along...
This is one of the most informative worship guitar videos yet. You have done your homework and are well prepared. Love the tones and I play mostly acoustic at church.
Hi Justin - I just found your channel. Great job! I have been playing worship guitar for about 12 years now. I use all four of my electrics. I have a 2018 Fender Professional Jazzmaster in Sea Foam Green. Next is a 2014/15 ~ Gretsch G5120 in a wine red. Then comes a 1965 Hagstrom II. Finally a 2005 Agile Double-cut Les Paul Copy with a beautiful flame top. I love them all and they all sound great. Praise on!
Hi there! Thank you! I get intimidated by the controls on a Jazzmaster, so I always have mad respect for those who use them. You have a great collection man, and I might have to steal that as a closing line...praise on!
New subs from Kota Jambi, Indonesia. I don't have an electric guitar yet but I'm in a learning mode: how to use electric guitar in a worship session. Thanks a ton for the sharing, Bro.
Thanks for subbing and hello neighbour from across the sea! I hope this has blessed you! It's a wonderful (bottomless) rabbit hole to dig into once you're in electric guitar land...
I jumped on the Gretsch bandwagon years ago. I saw a beautiful orange G5120 Hollowbody and bought it because I liked its looks, and it was different than my Strat and LP I was playing at the time. Fell in love with it and now have 2 high end Gretsch’s that I use at Service. I still live my PRS’s, but I use the Gretsch’s a LOT!
Having PRS and Gretsch is quite a wide variety of tone! I wish I was tall enough to play a hollow body, those guitars dwarf me. How do you decide when to use either guitar?
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I usually go by the set list. If there are some harder “rock” songs, I use a PRS, a lot of washy slower songs; I bring a Gretsch. Sometimes I bring both and just switch guitars. I had the same issue with the full Hollowbody. I sold it and I use a TCB-JR and a duo-jet for Gretsch’s. My PRSs are mostly semi hollows, and I have a Core Starla that is very Gretsch like, with a Bigsby. If you want one guitar for a worship setting, I’d recommend trying out a PRS Starla. I’ve never tried the SE version, but the older Core models (mine is 2008) and the S2’s are great.
Hello I just bought your patch pack and I like the sound of the folder All In ONe but specifically what patch you used in minute 4:00 the lion and lamb song Thanks 🙏
Used to be a worship band guitarist. And yes, I think this fellow's ideas are great. I definitely like his analytic thoughts. And, basically, thinking about the guitar sound with the band is quite different from listening to it while playing home alone. The last time I was playing on a gig, I was using a Mesa/Boogie Express. On the road to the gig I thought it might be too metal sounding. The band was big, and I was very happy having that bright sounding thing with me. I could get my solos audible easily without bothering our mixer/band leader.
Thank you for the kind words. Indeed, the playing environment influences our perception of tone. Fun fact, Nigel Hendroff (the first guitarist I mentioned in the video) used a Mesa Boogie Nomad 55 head and I think it’s perfect for church applications.
I use a Strat and a Tele, but I'm seriously considering a Gretsch. I always preferred a narrow Fender neck over the wider Gibsons, but now I would like a little more finger room. Your video was helpful!
Thanks for the video Justin. I have been considering a Duo Jet lately. But my #1 is my 2000 Fender MIM Telecaster Thinline. I have upgraded it to 1 Meg Bourns pots, a CRL selector switch and Reissue Fender Wide Range pickups. I''ve been using this guitar at Church for 5 years straight now. It has a 7.25 radius, which I'm quite used to. Matter of fact, I'm so used to it that even a 9.5 radius is too much for me and yes I do not "fret out."
Thank you for watching! 7.25" radius sounds really curved! I had that on an old MIJ strat and I always felt like I was fighting the guitar to behave with bends.
Wow I’m intrigued by the Schecter traditional line-up. I have GAS for a PT Fastrack Pro (their tele custom with a Bigsby) but they don’t bring it in Singapore. HSS strats rule!
Thank you! Indeed that was a revelation when I spent more studio time with the Duo Jet. Now my parts can be heard in that dense worship mix (especially with the thick delay and reverb we love putting on, haha).
What an interesting video. I had no idea. I hope worship bands utilize the Duo Jet as it should be played. They're perfect for the sort of Chet Atkins style of playing. Insturmentals like TV themes and twangy country licks. To me, the less effects the better. Great video.
Thank you for the kind words! The modern praise music sound has just enough effects and play at a sufficiently low gain on the amps to let the chimey character of the Jet ring through. And yes, I'm discovering how the Jet defines the country and rockabilly tone!
I was gifted a Player's Edition Gretsch G6118T Anniversary modal a few years before playing in a P&W band and it seems to me God was equipping me for the future. I love it so much. Saving up for the Duo jet you are playing for my next guitar maybe...was going to buy the Electromatic since it's nearly 2k $ cheaper but I want the quality to match up to my other Gretsch and something that will last me a lifetime. I don't like to follow trends but I was sold on it beforehand as a big Brian Molko fan when I was more into secular rock music. It just sounds incredible.
Being gifted a G6118T…what a blessing! Have you considered Streamliners? I know people who take out the Broadtrons and replace them with Filtertrons or DynaSonics for the more traditional Gretsch sound.
I know, it is the most amazing gift I've ever received from a person. I heard it was super difficult to put Dynasonics in any of their other models but I have been thinking about it.
Thanks Justin. Really interesting. I play acoustic while leading vocals in a very small worship team. We now have another member who can do the same so I’ve been thinking of switching to electric. After your explanation, I’ll start looking more at a humbucker guitar for a fuller sound
Thank you for the kind words! Small worship teams rock. There was a period of time I was essentially leading a power trio (before the time of tracks). I had to do this John Mayer Trio/Joe Bonamassa style of playing lead/rhythm while singing! Very fun times. Coincidentally I was doing that with my Strat, but dialled in a beefier tone.
I ended up getting a Harley Benton CST-24. Although it has split coils, I pretty much just use the full humbuckers. Thanks for the link Romeo - what a great video! I find that when singing and playing, one of them needs to be largely on autopilot and if I’m leading the singing, then hopefully it’s the guitar... Recognising that I’m primarily a singer rather than a dedicated electric guitar player is a great clarification as I’ve been struggling to find the balance. Simplifying rather than waiting until I’m the next James Hetfield or Mark Knopfler is the way to go. It also makes it easier to focus upwards.
I don't know about it being popular for worship much, but I can answer the question you asked. Gretsch guitars are absolutely fabulous guitars. Versatile, easy to play, beautiful to look at. Filtertrons give you the clarity of single coils but can be as powerful and thick as a humbucker without the 'mud.' They also give great jazz sounds. You can't go wrong with a Gretsch.
I was trying get my strat and LP to work in the band setting at my church. None of those got the job done. Then I tried a telecaster for the first time ever. I smile and wondered why I purposefully avoided that guitar. I first purchased an Epiphone 335 copy and fell in love with that, but it’s too dark and heavy sounding for that setting. The tele is working perfectly. It’s honestly all I need I bring the 335 only because I love it. lol
Bright and cutting is best in a big mix like in church, although LP’s can also be tweaked to cut; some guitars just naturally land there without much work. And indeed, we all have the guitars we love and make it work, regardless of what they are! (Mine is an Ernie Ball Music Man JP6)
We were playing Gretsch guitars way back in the early 1980's, for P&W music. While many youngsters may think using Gretsch guitars is a recent development in P&W bands, in my own experience, that idea couldn't be further from the truth. But then again, P&W music today, is entirely different than what we were playing way back then. IMO, so called P&W music today, has a very secular feel to it, with lyrics that have a "message" within them. As to back then, the music itself, sounded like praise and worship music, and not secular rock.
Thanks for the historical perspective! Indeed, I see images of various pre-Nigel Hendroff guitarists using Gretsches. But I think with Nigel, we saw what can happen when certain guitar models get the spotlight; interest in the Duo Jet skyrocketed, at least among Singaporean church guitarists (from my memory). Personally I had never heard of Gretsch until that Hillsong DVD came out and watched the guitar workshop section. Separately, can you recommend some music you used to play back then? I'm keen to listen to them, as a student of liturgy and music ministry.
Hey Justin, first time you've popped up in my feed! Thanks for including information for different PW musicians. Most of us aren't in big production bands, but that's generally the only ones doing demos or lessons. I appreciate the perspective! I love the sound of the Gretsch. I'm playing an Epi Prophecy GX Les Paul.
Thank you for watching! I'm glad the video is contributing to an ongoing conversation about gear in worship. Whoa nice Epiphone! How do you like those 490R/498T humbuckers? I'd imagine they're pretty hot.
Great video! Love it, thank you!! I committed apostasy - I sold my Gretsch 5420T, bought a Fender Player Strat and installed a TV Jones Classic in the bridge. Works for me as I prefer the shape of super-strats! Brass block and saddles fattened up the tone a bit too! 😁
Thank you for the kind words! No apostasy, my friend, it was just part of your tone journey. I haven’t considered putting that kind of pickup on a Strat. Does it come close sonically to your memory of the Gretsch? Actually I do prefer a Strat shape over the Gretsch.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I would say it sounds less “ice-picky” and more “Gretschy”. The growl of the TV Jones comes through the same as on my old Gretsch (I also had a TV Jones Classic in that Gretsch). The Strat ‘nuances’ are still there. So let’s say it sounds 65-70% similar. Changing the block to brass increased the midrange - so that’s up to you if you like that or not. One recommendation I could make is install 5 tremolo springs (I used Raw Vintage but I’m not a brands person so whatever works). It made the tremolo feel more like a Bigsby, so gentle vibratos are easier to do. I digress. The playability of the Strat with the tone of the TV Jones works for me. I usually lead worship but I’m the only guitar player so I like to play electric. The Strat was definitely thinner sounding before the upgrade. I recommend!! Last note - if your Strat pickups are higher output - go with a Classic Plus. I struggled to balance the volume levels as the single coils were actually louder than the TV Jones! Dropped the heights so they are almost flush with the pickguard and it’s fine now.
@@timclaus8313 that makes sense! Actually, I think you’ve answered my 4 year old question as to why my Gretsch felt so different, I thank you! I do actually prefer a flatter radius myself, my Suhr Modern Pro has a compound 10-14” - that’s my favorite! But the lower output pickups on strats and Gretchs just work better for me in worship. Sounds cliché, and I fought that trend for years, but gave in eventually, lol! So it was either I mod my Suhr (heck no!), or buy a much more reasonably-priced instrument to fiddle with...simple choice I guess!
@@chrisventer2970 Low gain pickups give you a lot more flexibility for worship music. I have a Fender MP Jaguar with P90s. I love everything about the guitar, great for rock and all, but it gets nasty to fast. Can't push it too hard, and have to be careful with amp volume too. With a Fender Super Champ it will push tubes to break up very quickly, even with just pick attack. With my Gretschs, you have to work a bit harder to get them out of clean sounds, but then again, it keeps you from getting gritty when you don't want to. By the way, I use a Gretsch G5422-12, it is probably the best electric 12 string I have ever used, fantastic tones at a reasonable price. And never muds up. Also used a Dean Boca 12 string, chambered Les Paul size body, it was also a very good sounding guitar with a fantastic setup right out of the box. Not as good as the Gretsch, but for folks that ares to smaller body guitars, it is a good deal. My Guild Starfire and Manhattan Special (DeArmond Dynasonics) kind of slot in between the Gretsch collection and the Jag, still low gain, but cover a bit more ground tonally. The Guild HB-1s on the Starfire and most Guild electrics, are really nice sounding and versatile pickups; cleaner than the standard hum bucker, but can still get bluesy or snarly, take your pick.
Oh Porter pickups are rad! I have a set of those in my MJT strat and they're the most authentic-sounding strat tones ever. Thanks for the kind words! I actually took a stab in the dark with this one, as I couldn't test out the sound when I was dealing with the previous owner.
Cool video. I go to is my D'Angelico Bedford Premier. But, I received a Gretcsh Steamliner for Christmas and I have been using that more recently. I don't know if its me but my Streamliner doesn't have that chime people always talk about when it come to Gretsch. Yes, I know that are not filtertrons. I would say my Streamliner sound more like my Epiphone LP Standard. It is something different to my collection but. At the end of the day the split coil/coil tap what ever term someone want to call it gives me everything I need to play worship guitar. The clean sound of the single coil and the kick of humbucker when you need to drive the song.
Thanks! That D'Angelico is a nice guitar! And that Streamliner too; I agree about the sound being not as chimey, but that can be compensated somewhat with the choice of amp and effects. I didn't know they come with coil split! I was certainly unaware of that feature when I was trying it out at a store. That makes the guitar super versatile!
Groovy bro....I found my p-90 pups in my 335 work well and twin blade pups but single coil size for Strat...they have bigger sound than single coils but still bright and cut .....
P90's in a 335! That's a sound I'd like to hear in person! I agree about the single coil sized twin blade pickups, I have DiMarzio Cruisers on my MJT strat and it's a beautiful sound! (That MJT strat is an Andy Timmons-inspired build)
Thanks. I am seriously considering buying a Gretsch. I have wanted one since I was a teenager but never got around to getting one. You have named some things for me to check out before pulling out the wallet.
You’re welcome! I watch similar videos for the very same reason. I always need a budget proposal for the minister of finance in my house (aka my wife, haha!).
As a worship leader with a Gretsch, I fully agree with this. Even a lower end Gretsch with Blacktop Filer’trons will give you that clarity, articulation, and uniqueness.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I use a Streamliner G2622T, and changed out their Broad’Trons with some Blacktop Filter’Trons. The original pickups were fine but didn’t quite have that Gretsch character I was looking for.
I'm swinging my newly acquired gold G5438t in worship! Love it, but it does need a few tweeks to sweeten it up like a more stable bridge and a fret polish. Thanks for the Compton bridge idea. Great video! Long live the 'Drof! New subber here!
Thank you for watching! Long live the Droff indeed! Bridges on Gretches do tend to be more finicky since the whole assembly can move. I’ve seen people put some tape to mark the bridge position as a non-permanent solution, and others drill a slot to permanently put the bridge in place.
My go to guitar used to be a Clapton Strat which pickups I changed to alnico 5s and took out the mid boost system. But lately I changed to a Telecaster Squier Vintage Vibe. The quality and sound of the Tele is unbelievable. I enjoy how it sits in the mix. I do own a Gretsch with humbucking pu's which I sometimes use when a song that requires heavier distortion is in the set.
Whoa, I really dig the Clapton strat! There's an uncle in my church with one and it sounded great...when the battery didn't die on him mid-set! Is that why you took out the electronics? And you can't go wrong with a Tele! Another great specimen you have.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I had the electronics in for a long time (since 1995). Two reasons I changed is: 1. The guitar was always much louder than any other guitar even without the mids boosted. So, when changing to another guitar my whole gain structure needed to change. 2. It always sounded compressed to me. I struggled to get the bell like sound characteristic of a strat. It worked great with overdrive and distortion but the clean sound wasn't what I was looking for. I replaced the whole pick guard keeping the old one original if I ever decide to restore it to original.
Started with a Epiphone Les Paul. Moved to a 72 Fender Tele deluxe reissue which I my current guitar. But I’ve always wanted a Gretsch. Have my eye on a Streamliner or Electromatic Jr. I like the duo Jet too but I really want an center block semi hollow.
Cool gear! How would you compare a Les Paul to a 72 Tele Deluxe? It looks to me like Fender's answer to the Les Paul. Streamliners are cool but that neck dive is a real issue for me, and the pickups are more grind than chime.
Cool vid Luv it! Thanks for your post. You sound a bit U2 to my ears. Which is fb! Gretsch, baby. From mtw, Strat and Epiphone jam night (pre covid19) player in L.A. Rock on JC!.
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, that dotted eighth delay from U2 is the quintessential worship sound for electric guitar. Strats are my first love guitars! I feel most at home with one, even to this day. Here's hoping we can get back to jamming like it was pre-covid!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar No, they're the artist's ccustom Seymour Duncan Alpha and Omega pickups. For a guitar made for progressive metal, it actually does clean pretty well
I think gretch guitars are popular in modern worship just because they are so beautiful and someone "important" that wasted a lot of money on strats and gibsons didn't know what next guitar to buy. So he decided to be "original" and try a gretch one. It happened that the sound is also smoother than other guitars so modern ambient worship benefits from. Just look at this is superb beautiful: Gretsch G6128T-57 Vintage Select ’57 Duo Jet. I love all guitars but I am mainly a fender strato fan, though I have a Gibson LP. Fender strato is the most comfortable guitar I think, and provides the widest variety of tones and dynamics (greater variety in sound is found in costly american models like ultras I wish I have one day).
There is some truth to this in that I think “patient zero” (Nigel Hendroff) found a G6128T on eBay for $1k and just bought it without knowing the trend he was going to set. Gretsches were never on my gear radar until Nigel played one, even though historically older musicians like Dave Holmes had a White Falcon in Hillsong.
Thank you! I believe this was a backing track app I bought years ago (I line out from my ancient IPhone 6S to record on my interface) where I can program drum samples. It’s not available anymore though, as it’s really old.
Hi Justin! Would you be able to do a video on Dusenberg Starplayer TV and perhaps comparing it to Gretsch? If not a video, what guitar would you recommend?
Hi Joshua! A fellow SG channel has done precisely that video: ruclips.net/video/VI_t6yY_1aw/видео.html. I'm not familiar with Duesenbergs because my circle of guitar buddies doesn't use them. But from what I gather listening to folks use it (I did do some deep diving on RUclips when I was considering one), the pickup response in providing clean and overdrive tones is very unique. It can do the chime thing like a Gretsch, but it also has the versatility to do syrupy high gain.
My parents bought me a Gretsch Country Gentleman when I was a kid. Wish I still had it! I do have the orange 5420T Electromatic, but since I recently bought a POD GO, mostly prefer to use my TELE Hybrid, which has 3 pickups, a versatile 5-way switch-----the 2 diagonals with a Strat tone, and locking tuners. Great Gtr. Thanks.....enjoy your Vids. PS.....we have a smaller church, and our typical WT band consists of EG, drums, bass, and then the WL plays either AG or digital keyboards, with a real piano sometime by another person, OR the digital piano played by another person. So there's some variety choices there for the WL. I sometimes play AG then the WL does play digital piano. For that, I use either a Takamine Jumbo or Taylor 810ce. ALSO Plus some extra singers. AND the Audio in the church is lower than normal, so people can actually hear themselves think!
Just thinking about that Country Gentleman 🤯 I love Nashville Tele’s! Indeed, very versatile instruments. Thanks for sharing about your church setup, I used to worship in a 100-strong student congregation. It was so small everyone knew each other, and we still rocked it out every weekend with a full band (there was a season I was serving every week!). I wish I had the POD Go for those days. It will have made setup much easier!
So good to see Singaporeans producing videos like this 🇸🇬 Think Michael Guy Chislett was repping Gretsch with the White Falcon long before Hendroff did.
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, MGC definitely was repping the Falcon. But from the memory of my church in the early 2000's, only after Droff got the Duo Jet for the God He Reigns and Mighty To Save albums did my fellow worship ministry folks want a Duo Jet.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I used to use humbuckers but would find myself not cutting through at all, even without a ton of pads. I moved to using single coils or bright humbuckers, and only recently got a guitar with darker humbuckers again
I hear you man. I have a guitar with a darker pair of humbuckers and I intentionally dial it in really bright on the amp side. By itself it can be ear-piercing, so I’ll be playing a pad with a drum loop on to mimic the band setup to hear the guitar in context. But to take it one step further, you could rope in your sound guy and ask him to dial in a brighter EQ for you?
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar That's a good idea! I usually test my sound playing along to the recording (I use an amp sim so this is easy to do with headphones). The sound guys at my church are excellent, so they totally will make it work in the mix. I personally just wanted brighter sounds myself for a while. I won't get rid of those guitars, but I want to be able to appreciate the darker ones too
We usually have a fairly sparse group - piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar (me), occasionally a keyboardist, bass about half the time - so I'm often filling in the lower end of the spectrum, and (quite aside from the hum and noise) single coils would just be too skinny. I tend toward more "low and smooth" rather than "bright and forward" when I play.
I love my Gretsch G6131T! It covers a wide range of tone and sound. So much that I ended up selling my Les Paul and I rarely pick up my American Strat since buying my Gretsch.
Long time Strat user over here! I use my Tele for some more cliche PnW tones, and some dual humbucker type guitars to compliment when other guitarists use single coils, but playing the Strat is my favourite. I'd love to get a Gretsch one day and run that as another option as well!
I have three wonderful Players Edition Gretsch guitars PE 6128T Jet with Powertron pups, PE Broadkaster with FULL’TRON pups and my PE Anni with HS Filtertron pups.. alas I play acoustic in our very traditional choir at Mass. I think if I were to play electric in our choir though, I think I would start with my PE Anniversary model.. very clean
Cool collection! I'd imagine that would be a supremely classy guitar to start off with, before eventually bringing on the delay/reverb board for heavenly volume swells in a traditional choir setting! But seriously, those semi-hollows could double as acoustic guitars. My guitarist has a Country Classic II and he leads worship on it unplugged at our small group setting, totally audible!
Great tone Justin! You are right on about where the Gretchen sits in the mix. This can be achieved easily wit strats, Tele’s or other guitars with single coil pickups. If you play a guitar with humbuckers, utilize an E Q pedal, and Cut the mids back a little. I stay with one guitar and adjust EQ to suite the songs.Tele and 335 are favorites for worship. 335 ( or dot) work great with mids backed off, With Tele I push the mids a little to fatten it up.
Thank you! And cool tips! I shall try them out. Which part of the mids do you push for the Tele? I use EQ at the end of my chain like a "mastering" stage. I typically cut mids for all guitars, just a measure of how much for each guitar.
Thank you for the kind words! Which model of Jet? :D Whoa that's a nice combination of guitars. Duesenberg is an unexplored frontier in my Pdub tone journey.
Haha, actually I'm influenced more by earlier Nigel Hendroff and Ben Gowell (Paul Baloche)! That and my feeble attempts at channeling Joe Bonamassa/Eric Johnson style lead runs.
Awesome video! I'd love to here a side by side of that Gretsch as well as some other guitars (Strat, les Paul, tele) in the same mix to really hear the difference
Nice vid, and impressive playing, too. I use a 2013 Gretsch 6120 for P&W. I bought it new, influenced by my wife who wanted me to start playing after years of not doing so. I'm lucky to have owned several Gretsch's over the years since 1968 to the present. All have been single-cut Chet Atkins models, and all except the one I have now were Brooklyn made. This modern Chet is easily the equal of (if not better than) those original Brooklyn guitars. That may sound like a bias, but it makes sense if you think about it. I've had this Gretsch tone in my head for decades, and if a new Gretsch couldn't deliver it, I wouldn't be buying. Neither would thousands of other players, and Gretsch might end up back where they were in the late '70s. They don't want that, believe me! The originals are great collectables, but if you want a Gretsch you can play hard and put away wet night after night, get a new (or newer) one. You'll love it. Your Jet is a beauty BTW, the Compton bridge is a great add-on. Many thanks.
Hi there! Thank you for the kind words. Wow, I wish I could try a Brooklyn-made, I watched the 5-Watt World documentary on Gretsch and have been intrigued ever since. It's unfortunate that we don't have much gear stories in Singapore! My Duo Jet's previous owner must have put the guitar through a few gigs cause the hardware's tarnished and the colour of the top has mellowed slightly from what I recall of a mint Cadillac Green. Then again, Singapore's humidity can exacerbate the rate wear & tear!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar It's funny how one just can't tell what may happen. When I got my first Gretsch, they were still popular in rock, and were just used guitars to me, available anywhere. But by the mid-late 70s, their popularity had fallen to zero, you couldn't give them away. It was all Les Pauls and Stratocasters. Then one night in 1981 a group of us were driving around town when out of nowhere comes this searing, high energy song on the radio. It sounded old, like from the 50s, but the DJ said it's brand new. It was called "Stray Cat Strut", and someone was obviously rockin' a Gretsch guitar like it hadn't been rocked in years, as the song goes. Overnight, Gretsch's became red hot. Concurrently, the vintage guitar boom, for better or worse, was also artificially inflating guitar prices. We got a break 1989 when Fred W. Gretsch announced the company would resume production of many of it's iconic models. And thank you, Brian Setzer!! I'd like to have one or two of the old one's back, but mainly for sentimental reasons. I'd still use the newer one for the worship team. The patina on your Jet looks great! For a moment I thought it was an original. I hope you'll pardon my rambling!
I use an Sterling LK100D, that's the first Luke 3 copy from Sterling wich features the same Dimarzio's as on the original Luke 3 and I am totally satisfied with the sound I get from it. It has 2 humbuckers and a 5 way switch with 2 split coil settings. It has a 10" fretboard radius and a V-shape profile neck. In combination with my Helix and mostly the David Hislop preset and WT presets, I can get all the sounds I want.
That's a cool guitar! I didn't know the pickups are the same; that's SO important! I've always been blown away at the versatility of Music Man instruments, so you might have just gotten me interested to search out a Luke...
I bought a 6120 brand new back in 93 or 94 (pre-fender) because of Brian Setzer, it was always just alright although it looks amazing. I put TV Jones in it a couple of years ago and it sounds much better now. I still have other guitars I like better, but the Gretsch is the one I get compliments on when I play it in church. It's just sounds right and again, it looks incredible. If I could do it over I would have bought a PRS CE.
Cool! I need to read up/watch more videos on TV Jones vs other Gretsch pickups. To be honest I took a gamble with my Jet, I didn’t hear it plugged in when dealing with the previous owner! And yes, totally agree about “it just sounds right”; I just did a recording of a Bethel song and there was no competition as to which was the right guitar for the part.
Alembic? You BET I've heard of Alembic. :D Re: where you fit in the mix: That's one reason I love the Dimarzio SuperII (especially in parallel) - dial off the tone and it CAN be solid as any other neck Humbucker, but with the tone wide open it's very bright and articulate, somewhere between a Strat and a P90 (but without the noise and hum - I HATE NOISE). Oh, and I caught the irony of doing ten minutes about a Gretsch while wearing a Fender t-shirt. :) Although I guess it's less ironic since Fender bought Gretsch :D I have to admit, though, I never even considered a Gretsch until I saw David Gilmour playing one on his Gdansk concert video :P My go-to guitar for the last decade, thru thick, thin, and pickup changes, has been an Ibanez ART-420. I fell in love with it 'cause of the spalted maple top and how good it feels to play. Hated the active pickups though, and swapped 'em for first a Duncan Jazz/JB set, then for the JB paired with a Dimarzio SuperII. I installed switches for series/parallel switching on each pickup¸and phase between the pickups. Added a GK3 when I got the GP-10 (now an SY-1000). This guitar does everything I will ever want or need.
Wow your ART-420 sounds like it's your personal signature model with all the mods, super cool! I honestly hold the utility of a piece of gear in equal or higher regard than the tone, and like you I hate noise so whichever pickup gets the job done of being quiet is better than a buzzy "dream" pickup! Ah you caught on to me wearing a Fender shirt while playing a Gretsch! It was intentional, haha. If ever I get a 70's strat, I'll want to wear a CBS shirt (wink)
Have you tried the Dynasonic Flip on your Gretsch? It’s literally rotating the pickups 180 degrees. I found that it gave a nice subtle tone shift that was more noticeable on the neck. (Supposedly puts the pole pieces at the harmonic sweet spot at the “24th” fret) Easy and free mod that’s nondestructive and can be undone.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar might be? But I really enjoy how my dynasonic styled pickups sounded after the flip. And if you don’t like it, it’s easy to put back to stock.
Got an electromatic gretsch, the 5230t, which has the great quality you described of sitting in a different freq range from pads and keys. My other guitar I have had great clarity and chive from is actually an epiphone les Paul with the muddy epiphone pickups swapped out for some lambertones cremas. Stellar clarity and chime with overdrives and delays from both. The lambertones are just a tad less “grunty” than the filtertron style, and they have the lovely humbucker sustain with no 60 cycle hum while sounding single coil-like.
Nice! I am intrigued by Lambertones and the Cremas, having watched many WT videos with their guitars equipped with them. They sound like a good way to get into Chime Land with a Les Paul style guitar.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I was skeptical if I would actually hear any difference esp with the les Paul’s shorter scale length lending itself to lots of low end, but I’m so glad I swapped them out.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar worth trying it out. Their cyber sales in November made wait times explode and they said there probably wouldnt be another sale like that until around June or july if they have one before cyber monday/boxing day again. Really love the clarity from them in a full mix.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar both do the piezo thing. We have an acoustic guy who splits duties between his church and his wife’s church (newlyweds). So when he’s gone I do both electric and acoustic. When he’s back I go electric.
Just found your channel. Good Job! I play on the Gretsch G6129T-59VS vintage select 59 sparkle jet. Love it! I also use a fender signature edition Chris Shiflett telecaster in the white color. I love how it plays but want to swap out the pickups for something less bright. I'd love to put in the Lambertone Cremas.
Thank you for the kind words! Cool guitars too! Will the Crema's be on a similar level of brightness in terms of chime? Or do you mean you want to dial out some of that twang inherent in a Tele? I have a Baja Tele with a Broadcaster bridge pickup and Twisted Tele in the neck and those help me out with Keith Urban/Brad Paisley tunes.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar The Chris Shifflet humbucker pups are a brighter pup with more spank than sparkle. Great for OD rock tones with a country twist but some of the high note stuff can get a little harsh in a worship set. The Cremas i think will give me a more smoothed out tone having the grit I want and a cleaner sparkle when I want it.
I typically use my American Stratocaster and our other electric player a Gibson Les Paul (wonderful combination) but occasionally I’ll use a custom built tele or my Les Paul if he reaches for a tele. Both of us are going through a Helix into the board now.
Love my 59 silver sparkle duo jet with TV jones pickups. Sounds fantastic in church. The ebony v shaped fretboard is great. Only thing is bigsby guitars need to be strung carefully with less wraps and I use big bends nut sauce. Helps it stay in tune
Sparkle Jet! I'd love to try my hands on one, but wife says it's too bling for church haha. Is the V shape very pronounced like on vintage strats? Thanks for the tip with less wraps, I will try it out when I eventually restring my Jet.
This was great Justin. Excellent content. I am using a Music Man Cutlass RS with HSS configuration most of the time. Nice to see someone playing Lion and the Lamb the way I play it! Just added a Timmy and Tumnus to my rig and they pair very well. Your making me want a Duo Jet and Big Sky though! I use a Washburn HB35 for more of THAT sound, with Collider and H9.
Thank you for the kind words! I've been GASing for a Cutlass for a long time, it looks like the perfect blend of traditional twangy tones with Music Man playability (I have a JP6 and it's my favorite guitar ergonomics-wise). I wish I had a Timmy and Tumnus too! I sold my Timmy years ago and it's one of my regrets.
In your opinion I’m in between a tele and a gretsch I love both and also the sound of both. I’m stuck needles to say. For a smaller worship team of 5 which one would you lean to?
If it's a smaller team, you're likely going to have to be more versatile with your tones. I think a Tele will suit you more, if you need to handle both rhythm and lead duties over a wider repertoire. That being said, that hasn't stopped ACDC and The Living End from playing high gain rock on a Gretsch!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar thank you brother I appreciate you taking the time to reply! I enjoy your videos and hope to see many more! God bless and have a good day!
Hey great video.. been looking at the cheaper pro jet with the blacktop filtertrons. Any experience with those for worship? Could I get a comparable tone by replacing them with TV Jones' or are the guitars too different? Thanks!
Hi there! Thank you for the kind words. I haven't had the chance to play one, but I've heard many folks through their recordings and they sound great! Best to hear one in person and determine if the pickups need changing. From what I gather, most people don't need to change the pickups out.
I have 3 Gretsch's, a White Falcon with TV Jones, tow Sparkle Jets, one with Dynas and the other with Filtertrons. They are all great guitars for worship. About 50% of the time however, I play my Duesenburg Starplayer TV. The trem is unsurpassed and the GrandVintage bridge humbucker is one of the best for clarity and drive. I also use a Kauer Titan with Lambertone Cremas that is a nice guitar.
That is a nice collection! My wife won't let me get Sparkle Jets cause it looks too bling (considering my congregation is on the more conservative side). Duesenburg is an unexplored frontier for me, I'd really love to get my hands on one to demo! I've considered installing their trem on my Les Paul for that extra smooth warble.
Hi Antonio, thanks for the kind words! For one, it's less pokey than the stock synchrosonic bridge. No problems with it so far. The Gretsch high-end zing is reduced with the Compton and makes it sounds more towards a strat/tele.
I also love the Gretsch sound and use one as well in worship as my #1....but my model of choice is a 2013 6120 Brian Setzer Hotrod (in the Lime Gold finish). I use a Helix for my effects board as well.
That’s a pretty guitar! I like the simplified controls on the Brian Setzer, to be honest, I haven’t played with the tone control on my Jet, it’s all been at 10 so far!
Some of what you said sonically makes sense, and I like Gretsch’s sound, but the main reason is because it’s a trend. It is now popular to play Gretsch guitars in worship so that’s what people are doing. In a few years it will be the same with another guitar. These things are trends. The sounds that these guys get aren’t based around the core tone of any instrument. They are based mostly around the effects. Strat, Teles, Les Pauls and whatever can get sounds that do the same job processed in the same way.
Indeed, the trends come and go. I've been around the block (in Singapore) long enough to remember when folks wanted Tom Andersons and Les Pauls. I agree, there is a way to get the guitars to sit 90% in the same ballpark with effects and similar processing post-production. I certainly do this when I'm on a time crunch and need to push out guitar tracks quickly.
Hello I'm planning to buy a new guitar that I can use in our sunday worship service. Considering that our church is not that big 🤔 A. Gretsch G5230T B. Gretsch G5655TG CB C. Gibson guitar?
I'd say, what does your repertoire or song pool look like? Are you playing diverse genres from different eras? I think the Gretsch does well with clean to semi-dirty, but not particularly with high gain. A Gibson is potentially a more versatile guitar if you get a model that has coil tapping to get single coil sounds, whereas a Gretsch is always going to be in-between a single coil and a humbucker sound. Between the 5230T and the 5655TG CB, go with which form factor suits you. A Jet is going to be easier to carry around and play for long periods of time.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Thank you Sir! God bless! This information is a lot to me. sometimes experience, that I am the only Guitarist in the Church but what I am doing are some lead lines and voicing. Though yeah my skills are still in progress 😅 Sir which pickups are the best for the Gretsch? I saw that the Grestch G5230T has Filter'tron and the G5655TG has Black top broad'tron. 🤔
Check out JET Pedals here and get 10% off with my code ALLABOUTWORSHIPGUITAR:
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I'm so grateful for the resurrection of this company after I finally woke up to the excellence of Gretsch! I really MUST say that Gretsch, amid a sea of other guitar models, to this day, are one of the Finest sounding and superbly made instruments still and right down to the Electromatic and Streamliner series, but, so are the Telecasters of our day too even down to the Fender-Squire models. We are fortunate today as guitarists indeed.
I wish the access to quality gear could have been there when I was learning!
Oh yes, yes, and I wish I knew where to even find books on how to set up a guitar and do even very basic maintenance back then because I never noticed those books in the music shops that I can recall and before the "interwebs" too. I was playing poorly made or used guitars that were likely not even setup or maintained properly. Ouch, it was a rael pain. @@AllAboutWorshipGuitar
Thats it great grace sound and explanation..Justin ! Thanks
Thank you for the kind words!
I have a gretsch and I have to admit Nigel got me into it! I really do think Nigel made gretsches a thing in churches and I love mine! It looks so cool and sounds so awesome like the middle ground between a humbucker and a single coil sound. Great video and great playing bro!
Thank you for the kind words! Nigel Hendroff, the OG guitar influencer. I totally agree with your assessment of it being in the middle ground! I just did a recording for a wedding and it was a Bethel song. There was no other guitar that was suitable for the job...
I am not a Christian. But I love the happier vibe of worship music. Subscribed by the way
Thank you for subbing! All are welcome here, music is the universal language of emotion.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Music is what feelings sound like :D
Great content; great playing. Dare I say, even scholarly in your approach. I am grateful you popped up in my feed. I will be looking for more content from you. Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words! Indeed I shall endeavor to keep on!
You have a very nice sense of melody. Enjoyed listening to your comments about adjusting to a Gretsch.
Thank you for the kind words!
Greatly enjoy your videos, and your awesome, chill demeanor, in narrating all the useful information you give us all!!!! Cheers!
Thank you very much for the kind words! I'm glad the video was helpful!
great and technical. love the great analysis
Thank you for the kind words! It’s an occupational hazard since I have an engineering background, haha.
The duo jet with dynasonic pickups have that gentle yet powerful sound, full of presence... Remind you of anyone? 😏
Like the Lord Jesus? :D Yes, Christ is in all, even through our guitar tones.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Bingo!
I've been meaning to reply to this comment for 6 months. That's what happens when you pray for patience I guess!
Thanks Justin, this was such a helpful video
Thank you for watching! I’m glad it was helpful to you!
I think you’ve talked me in to it! I don’t have a Gretsch right now. Great video!
Thank you for the kind words! Like all things, try before you buy! And in my case, buy one, sell it, then wait 4 years for the right one to come along...
am not a guitarist but i appreciate this post. thumbs up.
Thanks for the thumbs up! That’s still cool, what instrument do you play?
Thanks for your very educational video! God bless
You're very welcome! I'm glad it was useful to you :) God bless you too!
This is one of the most informative worship guitar videos yet. You have done your homework and are well prepared. Love the tones and I play mostly acoustic at church.
Thank you for the kind words! I hope to be helpful to anyone who watches my content.
Hi Justin - I just found your channel. Great job! I have been playing worship guitar for about 12 years now. I use all four of my electrics. I have a 2018 Fender Professional Jazzmaster in Sea Foam Green. Next is a 2014/15 ~ Gretsch G5120 in a wine red. Then comes a 1965 Hagstrom II. Finally a 2005 Agile Double-cut Les Paul Copy with a beautiful flame top. I love them all and they all sound great. Praise on!
Hi there! Thank you! I get intimidated by the controls on a Jazzmaster, so I always have mad respect for those who use them. You have a great collection man, and I might have to steal that as a closing line...praise on!
Great playing !
Thank you for the kind words!
New subs from Kota Jambi, Indonesia. I don't have an electric guitar yet but I'm in a learning mode: how to use electric guitar in a worship session. Thanks a ton for the sharing, Bro.
Thanks for subbing and hello neighbour from across the sea! I hope this has blessed you! It's a wonderful (bottomless) rabbit hole to dig into once you're in electric guitar land...
Beautiful sounds my friend!
Thank you for the kind words!
What a lovely guitar
Thank you! Wife approved of the choice, so I know it will pass in the aesthetics department, haha.
Keep up the awesome work!! God bless you and your ministry!!!
Thank you for the kind words! God bless you too!
I play a Gretsch G6139CB Black Falcon Semi-Hollow Body Single-cut. Hence, why I clicked on your video.
Thanks for clicking and watching! I wish I had the height and body for a falcon. Those guitars are huge on me!
I jumped on the Gretsch bandwagon years ago. I saw a beautiful orange G5120 Hollowbody and bought it because I liked its looks, and it was different than my Strat and LP I was playing at the time. Fell in love with it and now have 2 high end Gretsch’s that I use at Service.
I still live my PRS’s, but I use the Gretsch’s a LOT!
Having PRS and Gretsch is quite a wide variety of tone! I wish I was tall enough to play a hollow body, those guitars dwarf me. How do you decide when to use either guitar?
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I usually go by the set list. If there are some harder “rock” songs, I use a PRS, a lot of washy slower songs; I bring a Gretsch. Sometimes I bring both and just switch guitars.
I had the same issue with the full Hollowbody. I sold it and I use a TCB-JR and a duo-jet for Gretsch’s. My PRSs are mostly semi hollows, and I have a Core Starla that is very Gretsch like, with a Bigsby.
If you want one guitar for a worship setting, I’d recommend trying out a PRS Starla. I’ve never tried the SE version, but the older Core models (mine is 2008) and the S2’s are great.
Hello I just bought your patch pack and I like the sound of the folder All In ONe but specifically what patch you used in minute 4:00 the lion and lamb song Thanks 🙏
Hi! Thank you for downloading and supporting, it means a lot to me! I believe I used the AIOChime_SC in the Phase 1 (OLD) folder.
Awesome playing and super informative. This was great
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad it was informative.
Used to be a worship band guitarist. And yes, I think this fellow's ideas are great. I definitely like his analytic thoughts. And, basically, thinking about the guitar sound with the band is quite different from listening to it while playing home alone. The last time I was playing on a gig, I was using a Mesa/Boogie Express. On the road to the gig I thought it might be too metal sounding. The band was big, and I was very happy having that bright sounding thing with me. I could get my solos audible easily without bothering our mixer/band leader.
Thank you for the kind words. Indeed, the playing environment influences our perception of tone. Fun fact, Nigel Hendroff (the first guitarist I mentioned in the video) used a Mesa Boogie Nomad 55 head and I think it’s perfect for church applications.
Blessings Justin awesome video! I use many guitars for worship but I always go back to my 52 tele. But I do love me a gretch. Great patches🤙🏽
Thank you for the kind words! Ah yes, my 2010 Baja Tele is my go-to for the Sunday service.
I use a Strat and a Tele, but I'm seriously considering a Gretsch. I always preferred a narrow Fender neck over the wider Gibsons, but now I would like a little more finger room. Your video was helpful!
Thank you, I'm glad it was helpful! Oh yeah, this neck is going to feel wider than the Fender for sure.
These dynasonics sound SO good!
They do! Totally love them over the previous Duo Jet I owned which had Filtertrons.
Thanks for the video Justin. I have been considering a Duo Jet lately. But my #1 is my 2000 Fender MIM Telecaster Thinline. I have upgraded it to 1 Meg Bourns pots, a CRL selector switch and Reissue Fender Wide Range pickups. I''ve been using this guitar at Church for 5 years straight now. It has a 7.25 radius, which I'm quite used to. Matter of fact, I'm so used to it that even a 9.5 radius is too much for me and yes I do not "fret out."
Thank you for watching! 7.25" radius sounds really curved! I had that on an old MIJ strat and I always felt like I was fighting the guitar to behave with bends.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I bend very well on a 7.25 radius. I'm so used to it.
I have an HSS Nick Johnston Schecter Strat, a Schecter PT90 Telecaster, a Gretch Duo Jet, and an Alvarez Masterworks BG Acoustic. Love 'em all.
Wow I’m intrigued by the Schecter traditional line-up. I have GAS for a PT Fastrack Pro (their tele custom with a Bigsby) but they don’t bring it in Singapore. HSS strats rule!
Great video! I didn't think about the guitar as being made to fit that very specific hole in the mix!
Thank you! Indeed that was a revelation when I spent more studio time with the Duo Jet. Now my parts can be heard in that dense worship mix (especially with the thick delay and reverb we love putting on, haha).
What an interesting video. I had no idea. I hope worship bands utilize the Duo Jet as it should be played. They're perfect for the sort of Chet Atkins style of playing. Insturmentals like TV themes and twangy country licks. To me, the less effects the better. Great video.
Thank you for the kind words! The modern praise music sound has just enough effects and play at a sufficiently low gain on the amps to let the chimey character of the Jet ring through. And yes, I'm discovering how the Jet defines the country and rockabilly tone!
My Gretsch white falcon with these same pickups you have here rocks, but I also like my duesenberg tv and my 52 telecaster! Just amazing guitars
Whoa, you have the cream of the crop!
I was gifted a Player's Edition Gretsch G6118T Anniversary modal a few years before playing in a P&W band and it seems to me God was equipping me for the future. I love it so much. Saving up for the Duo jet you are playing for my next guitar maybe...was going to buy the Electromatic since it's nearly 2k $ cheaper but I want the quality to match up to my other Gretsch and something that will last me a lifetime. I don't like to follow trends but I was sold on it beforehand as a big Brian Molko fan when I was more into secular rock music. It just sounds incredible.
Being gifted a G6118T…what a blessing! Have you considered Streamliners? I know people who take out the Broadtrons and replace them with Filtertrons or DynaSonics for the more traditional Gretsch sound.
I know, it is the most amazing gift I've ever received from a person. I heard it was super difficult to put Dynasonics in any of their other models but I have been thinking about it.
Thanks Justin. Really interesting. I play acoustic while leading vocals in a very small worship team. We now have another member who can do the same so I’ve been thinking of switching to electric. After your explanation, I’ll start looking more at a humbucker guitar for a fuller sound
Thank you for the kind words! Small worship teams rock. There was a period of time I was essentially leading a power trio (before the time of tracks). I had to do this John Mayer Trio/Joe Bonamassa style of playing lead/rhythm while singing! Very fun times. Coincidentally I was doing that with my Strat, but dialled in a beefier tone.
Stephen, this worship leader also agrees on humbuckers for playing while singing
ruclips.net/video/E6n-eH_60SE/видео.html
I ended up getting a Harley Benton CST-24. Although it has split coils, I pretty much just use the full humbuckers.
Thanks for the link Romeo - what a great video! I find that when singing and playing, one of them needs to be largely on autopilot and if I’m leading the singing, then hopefully it’s the guitar... Recognising that I’m primarily a singer rather than a dedicated electric guitar player is a great clarification as I’ve been struggling to find the balance. Simplifying rather than waiting until I’m the next James Hetfield or Mark Knopfler is the way to go. It also makes it easier to focus upwards.
@@stephenbeck8753 :) that’s awesome bro, you inspire me to pursue the same
God bless you bro
God bless you too!
I don't know about it being popular for worship much, but I can answer the question you asked. Gretsch guitars are absolutely fabulous guitars. Versatile, easy to play, beautiful to look at. Filtertrons give you the clarity of single coils but can be as powerful and thick as a humbucker without the 'mud.' They also give great jazz sounds. You can't go wrong with a Gretsch.
I second that about the Filtertron being thick without the mud, I'm experiencing this now with a Country Classic II on loan!
May God bless you! Love your tone brother
And God bless you too! Thank you for the kind words!
I was trying get my strat and LP to work in the band setting at my church. None of those got the job done. Then I tried a telecaster for the first time ever. I smile and wondered why I purposefully avoided that guitar. I first purchased an Epiphone 335 copy and fell in love with that, but it’s too dark and heavy sounding for that setting. The tele is working perfectly. It’s honestly all I need
I bring the 335 only because I love it. lol
Bright and cutting is best in a big mix like in church, although LP’s can also be tweaked to cut; some guitars just naturally land there without much work. And indeed, we all have the guitars we love and make it work, regardless of what they are! (Mine is an Ernie Ball Music Man JP6)
You are really good wow , you inspire me !
Thank you for the kind words!
We were playing Gretsch guitars way back in the early 1980's, for P&W music.
While many youngsters may think using Gretsch guitars is a recent development in P&W bands, in my own experience, that idea couldn't be further from the truth.
But then again, P&W music today, is entirely different than what we were playing way back then. IMO, so called P&W music today, has a very secular feel to it, with lyrics that have a "message" within them. As to back then, the music itself, sounded like praise and worship music, and not secular rock.
Thanks for the historical perspective! Indeed, I see images of various pre-Nigel Hendroff guitarists using Gretsches. But I think with Nigel, we saw what can happen when certain guitar models get the spotlight; interest in the Duo Jet skyrocketed, at least among Singaporean church guitarists (from my memory). Personally I had never heard of Gretsch until that Hillsong DVD came out and watched the guitar workshop section.
Separately, can you recommend some music you used to play back then? I'm keen to listen to them, as a student of liturgy and music ministry.
Hey Justin, first time you've popped up in my feed! Thanks for including information for different PW musicians. Most of us aren't in big production bands, but that's generally the only ones doing demos or lessons. I appreciate the perspective! I love the sound of the Gretsch. I'm playing an Epi Prophecy GX Les Paul.
Thank you for watching! I'm glad the video is contributing to an ongoing conversation about gear in worship. Whoa nice Epiphone! How do you like those 490R/498T humbuckers? I'd imagine they're pretty hot.
Great video! Love it, thank you!!
I committed apostasy - I sold my Gretsch 5420T, bought a Fender Player Strat and installed a TV Jones Classic in the bridge. Works for me as I prefer the shape of super-strats! Brass block and saddles fattened up the tone a bit too! 😁
Thank you for the kind words! No apostasy, my friend, it was just part of your tone journey. I haven’t considered putting that kind of pickup on a Strat. Does it come close sonically to your memory of the Gretsch? Actually I do prefer a Strat shape over the Gretsch.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I would say it sounds less “ice-picky” and more “Gretschy”. The growl of the TV Jones comes through the same as on my old Gretsch (I also had a TV Jones Classic in that Gretsch). The Strat ‘nuances’ are still there. So let’s say it sounds 65-70% similar. Changing the block to brass increased the midrange - so that’s up to you if you like that or not. One recommendation I could make is install 5 tremolo springs (I used Raw Vintage but I’m not a brands person so whatever works). It made the tremolo feel more like a Bigsby, so gentle vibratos are easier to do.
I digress. The playability of the Strat with the tone of the TV Jones works for me. I usually lead worship but I’m the only guitar player so I like to play electric. The Strat was definitely thinner sounding before the upgrade. I recommend!!
Last note - if your Strat pickups are higher output - go with a Classic Plus. I struggled to balance the volume levels as the single coils were actually louder than the TV Jones! Dropped the heights so they are almost flush with the pickguard and it’s fine now.
I'm the opposite, started with acoustics for many years, so I prefer the flatter crown of Gretschs and Guilds.
@@timclaus8313 that makes sense! Actually, I think you’ve answered my 4 year old question as to why my Gretsch felt so different, I thank you! I do actually prefer a flatter radius myself, my Suhr Modern Pro has a compound 10-14” - that’s my favorite! But the lower output pickups on strats and Gretchs just work better for me in worship. Sounds cliché, and I fought that trend for years, but gave in eventually, lol! So it was either I mod my Suhr (heck no!), or buy a much more reasonably-priced instrument to fiddle with...simple choice I guess!
@@chrisventer2970 Low gain pickups give you a lot more flexibility for worship music. I have a Fender MP Jaguar with P90s. I love everything about the guitar, great for rock and all, but it gets nasty to fast. Can't push it too hard, and have to be careful with amp volume too. With a Fender Super Champ it will push tubes to break up very quickly, even with just pick attack.
With my Gretschs, you have to work a bit harder to get them out of clean sounds, but then again, it keeps you from getting gritty when you don't want to. By the way, I use a Gretsch G5422-12, it is probably the best electric 12 string I have ever used, fantastic tones at a reasonable price. And never muds up.
Also used a Dean Boca 12 string, chambered Les Paul size body, it was also a very good sounding guitar with a fantastic setup right out of the box. Not as good as the Gretsch, but for folks that ares to smaller body guitars, it is a good deal.
My Guild Starfire and Manhattan Special (DeArmond Dynasonics) kind of slot in between the Gretsch collection and the Jag, still low gain, but cover a bit more ground tonally. The Guild HB-1s on the Starfire and most Guild electrics, are really nice sounding and versatile pickups; cleaner than the standard hum bucker, but can still get bluesy or snarly, take your pick.
Gretsch electromatic with porter h90 in the neck and porter wrh in the bridge. Love the sound of those dynosonic pickups you got there
Oh Porter pickups are rad! I have a set of those in my MJT strat and they're the most authentic-sounding strat tones ever. Thanks for the kind words! I actually took a stab in the dark with this one, as I couldn't test out the sound when I was dealing with the previous owner.
Cool video. I go to is my D'Angelico Bedford Premier. But, I received a Gretcsh Steamliner for Christmas and I have been using that more recently. I don't know if its me but my Streamliner doesn't have that chime people always talk about when it come to Gretsch. Yes, I know that are not filtertrons. I would say my Streamliner sound more like my Epiphone LP Standard. It is something different to my collection but. At the end of the day the split coil/coil tap what ever term someone want to call it gives me everything I need to play worship guitar. The clean sound of the single coil and the kick of humbucker when you need to drive the song.
Thanks! That D'Angelico is a nice guitar! And that Streamliner too; I agree about the sound being not as chimey, but that can be compensated somewhat with the choice of amp and effects. I didn't know they come with coil split! I was certainly unaware of that feature when I was trying it out at a store. That makes the guitar super versatile!
Groovy bro....I found my p-90 pups in my 335 work well and twin blade pups but single coil size for Strat...they have bigger sound than single coils but still bright and cut .....
P90's in a 335! That's a sound I'd like to hear in person! I agree about the single coil sized twin blade pickups, I have DiMarzio Cruisers on my MJT strat and it's a beautiful sound! (That MJT strat is an Andy Timmons-inspired build)
That intro riff 😍😍😍
Thank you! Yes, that tone in the guitar is 🔥
Thanks. I am seriously considering buying a Gretsch. I have wanted one since I was a teenager but never got around to getting one. You have named some things for me to check out before pulling out the wallet.
You’re welcome! I watch similar videos for the very same reason. I always need a budget proposal for the minister of finance in my house (aka my wife, haha!).
As a worship leader with a Gretsch, I fully agree with this. Even a lower end Gretsch with Blacktop Filer’trons will give you that clarity, articulation, and uniqueness.
Cool stuff! What model do you have?
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I use a Streamliner G2622T, and changed out their Broad’Trons with some Blacktop Filter’Trons. The original pickups were fine but didn’t quite have that Gretsch character I was looking for.
I tried that model at a shop! I did feel the same way about the stock pickups, very PAF in character.
I love the Blacktops in my G5422TG!
Would love to get the patch for a pod go.
I haven't gotten that piece of hardware yet! I should put it as a goal on my Buy Me A Coffee page...
I'm swinging my newly acquired gold G5438t in worship! Love it, but it does need a few tweeks to sweeten it up like a more stable bridge and a fret polish. Thanks for the Compton bridge idea. Great video! Long live the 'Drof! New subber here!
Thank you for watching! Long live the Droff indeed! Bridges on Gretches do tend to be more finicky since the whole assembly can move. I’ve seen people put some tape to mark the bridge position as a non-permanent solution, and others drill a slot to permanently put the bridge in place.
Nothing beats dynasonic chime.
I had a penguin with em and thru matchless dc30 it was glorious
Cool! I can hear that glorious chime even in my imagination!
My go to guitar used to be a Clapton Strat which pickups I changed to alnico 5s and took out the mid boost system. But lately I changed to a Telecaster Squier Vintage Vibe. The quality and sound of the Tele is unbelievable. I enjoy how it sits in the mix.
I do own a Gretsch with humbucking pu's which I sometimes use when a song that requires heavier distortion is in the set.
Whoa, I really dig the Clapton strat! There's an uncle in my church with one and it sounded great...when the battery didn't die on him mid-set! Is that why you took out the electronics? And you can't go wrong with a Tele! Another great specimen you have.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I had the electronics in for a long time (since 1995). Two reasons I changed is:
1. The guitar was always much louder than any other guitar even without the mids boosted. So, when changing to another guitar my whole gain structure needed to change.
2. It always sounded compressed to me. I struggled to get the bell like sound characteristic of a strat. It worked great with overdrive and distortion but the clean sound wasn't what I was looking for.
I replaced the whole pick guard keeping the old one original if I ever decide to restore it to original.
What were the details of the guitar you used in the video. Pick ups and bridge and model .
There so many variations of the duo jet
Hi there! This is a G6128TCG, with DynaSonic pickips, and a 3rd party bridge (Compton brass I believe).
Started with a Epiphone Les Paul. Moved to a 72 Fender Tele deluxe reissue which I my current guitar. But I’ve always wanted a Gretsch. Have my eye on a Streamliner or Electromatic Jr. I like the duo Jet too but I really want an center block semi hollow.
Cool gear! How would you compare a Les Paul to a 72 Tele Deluxe? It looks to me like Fender's answer to the Les Paul. Streamliners are cool but that neck dive is a real issue for me, and the pickups are more grind than chime.
Cool vid Luv it! Thanks for your post. You sound a bit U2 to my ears. Which is fb! Gretsch, baby.
From mtw, Strat and Epiphone jam night (pre covid19) player in L.A. Rock on JC!.
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, that dotted eighth delay from U2 is the quintessential worship sound for electric guitar. Strats are my first love guitars! I feel most at home with one, even to this day. Here's hoping we can get back to jamming like it was pre-covid!
I play a PRS SE Mark Holcomb for worship . . .
it's all I have lol
And that’s a perfectly fine axe to serve the Lord! That looks fantastic btw. Are those EMG pickups?
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar No, they're the artist's ccustom Seymour Duncan Alpha and Omega pickups. For a guitar made for progressive metal, it actually does clean pretty well
Ah, I had assumed based on the color of the pickups. Great name for pickups btw, Alpha and Omega!
Dude totally wanting to get one of those just to play in church😂 Such a killer axe!
@@daunteferguson4098 I wouldn't just to play for church 😂 but it sounds pretty sick for progressive metal and pretty good for worship
I think gretch guitars are popular in modern worship just because they are so beautiful and someone "important" that wasted a lot of money on strats and gibsons didn't know what next guitar to buy. So he decided to be "original" and try a gretch one. It happened that the sound is also smoother than other guitars so modern ambient worship benefits from. Just look at this is superb beautiful: Gretsch G6128T-57 Vintage Select ’57 Duo Jet. I love all guitars but I am mainly a fender strato fan, though I have a Gibson LP. Fender strato is the most comfortable guitar I think, and provides the widest variety of tones and dynamics (greater variety in sound is found in costly american models like ultras I wish I have one day).
There is some truth to this in that I think “patient zero” (Nigel Hendroff) found a G6128T on eBay for $1k and just bought it without knowing the trend he was going to set. Gretsches were never on my gear radar until Nigel played one, even though historically older musicians like Dave Holmes had a White Falcon in Hillsong.
Nice Video. How do I get all the loops you used in the video
Thank you! I believe this was a backing track app I bought years ago (I line out from my ancient IPhone 6S to record on my interface) where I can program drum samples. It’s not available anymore though, as it’s really old.
Hi Justin! Would you be able to do a video on Dusenberg Starplayer TV and perhaps comparing it to Gretsch? If not a video, what guitar would you recommend?
Hi Joshua! A fellow SG channel has done precisely that video: ruclips.net/video/VI_t6yY_1aw/видео.html. I'm not familiar with Duesenbergs because my circle of guitar buddies doesn't use them. But from what I gather listening to folks use it (I did do some deep diving on RUclips when I was considering one), the pickup response in providing clean and overdrive tones is very unique. It can do the chime thing like a Gretsch, but it also has the versatility to do syrupy high gain.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar awesome thank you so much Justin!! :)
Hallo Bro your my guitar hero for demo this jet 😀
Hi! Thank you for the kind words. I owe it to my guitar hero Nigel Hendroff who inspired me to get one!
My parents bought me a Gretsch Country Gentleman when I was a kid. Wish I still had it! I do have the orange 5420T Electromatic, but since I recently bought a POD GO, mostly prefer to use my TELE Hybrid, which has 3 pickups, a versatile 5-way switch-----the 2 diagonals with a Strat tone, and locking tuners. Great Gtr. Thanks.....enjoy your Vids. PS.....we have a smaller church, and our typical WT band consists of EG, drums, bass, and then the WL plays either AG or digital keyboards, with a real piano sometime by another person, OR the digital piano played by another person. So there's some variety choices there for the WL. I sometimes play AG then the WL does play digital piano. For that, I use either a Takamine Jumbo or Taylor 810ce. ALSO Plus some extra singers. AND the Audio in the church is lower than normal, so people can actually hear themselves think!
Just thinking about that Country Gentleman 🤯 I love Nashville Tele’s! Indeed, very versatile instruments. Thanks for sharing about your church setup, I used to worship in a 100-strong student congregation. It was so small everyone knew each other, and we still rocked it out every weekend with a full band (there was a season I was serving every week!). I wish I had the POD Go for those days. It will have made setup much easier!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitarThanks for your comment again. I'm used to playing every Sunday and either on AG or EG, mostly EG lately.
So good to see Singaporeans producing videos like this 🇸🇬 Think Michael Guy Chislett was repping Gretsch with the White Falcon long before Hendroff did.
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, MGC definitely was repping the Falcon. But from the memory of my church in the early 2000's, only after Droff got the Duo Jet for the God He Reigns and Mighty To Save albums did my fellow worship ministry folks want a Duo Jet.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar So true. To be honest I ended up getting a LP and PRS because of Nige 🤷🏻♂️ Now I have a Jet FT on the way 😂
Me too! I have a 2019 LP classic and a 2007 PRS Custom 24 all due to my chasing after the early Droff tones. What do you have?
My go-to is my Fender 72 reissue Telecaster Thinline.
Cool! Humbuckers on Tele's do make for versatile instruments!
Great explanation why a lot of P&W guitarists use super bright guitars these days! It's all about filling the open spots in the mix
Thank you for the kind words! Yes, especially when the 2nd keys player has a thick pad droning on....
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I used to use humbuckers but would find myself not cutting through at all, even without a ton of pads. I moved to using single coils or bright humbuckers, and only recently got a guitar with darker humbuckers again
I hear you man. I have a guitar with a darker pair of humbuckers and I intentionally dial it in really bright on the amp side. By itself it can be ear-piercing, so I’ll be playing a pad with a drum loop on to mimic the band setup to hear the guitar in context. But to take it one step further, you could rope in your sound guy and ask him to dial in a brighter EQ for you?
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar That's a good idea! I usually test my sound playing along to the recording (I use an amp sim so this is easy to do with headphones). The sound guys at my church are excellent, so they totally will make it work in the mix. I personally just wanted brighter sounds myself for a while. I won't get rid of those guitars, but I want to be able to appreciate the darker ones too
We usually have a fairly sparse group - piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar (me), occasionally a keyboardist, bass about half the time - so I'm often filling in the lower end of the spectrum, and (quite aside from the hum and noise) single coils would just be too skinny. I tend toward more "low and smooth" rather than "bright and forward" when I play.
Schecter C1 classic. Dark and warm. Not ideal for worship but it’s what I have 😂
Great video!
That's cool! Some situations need dark and warm, and dialing out warmth is easier than trying to dial it in. Thanks for tuning in!
I have one of those! Also a Gretsch G5422TG Limited Edition in Midnight Sapphire in the electric dept.
I love my Gretsch G6131T! It covers a wide range of tone and sound. So much that I ended up selling my Les Paul and I rarely pick up my American Strat since buying my Gretsch.
Player's Edition, cool stuff! Please keep your strat (although that's just me as a primarily strat player talking haha)!
I hear you. The filtertrons are awesome.
Long time Strat user over here! I use my Tele for some more cliche PnW tones, and some dual humbucker type guitars to compliment when other guitarists use single coils, but playing the Strat is my favourite. I'd love to get a Gretsch one day and run that as another option as well!
A fellow Strat Slinger! I feel most at home with a strat. As an enabler, I have to say...go get the Gretsch!
You won't regret adding another flavor to your musical arsenal!
Cheers!
I have three wonderful Players Edition Gretsch guitars PE 6128T Jet with Powertron pups, PE Broadkaster with FULL’TRON pups and my PE Anni with HS Filtertron pups.. alas I play acoustic in our very traditional choir at Mass. I think if I were to play electric in our choir though, I think I would start with my PE Anniversary model.. very clean
Cool collection! I'd imagine that would be a supremely classy guitar to start off with, before eventually bringing on the delay/reverb board for heavenly volume swells in a traditional choir setting! But seriously, those semi-hollows could double as acoustic guitars. My guitarist has a Country Classic II and he leads worship on it unplugged at our small group setting, totally audible!
Great tone Justin! You are right on about where the Gretchen sits in the mix. This can be achieved easily wit strats, Tele’s or other guitars with single coil pickups. If you play a guitar with humbuckers, utilize an E Q pedal, and
Cut the mids back a little. I stay with one guitar and adjust EQ to suite the songs.Tele and 335 are favorites for worship. 335 ( or dot) work great with mids backed off, With Tele I push the mids a little to fatten it up.
Thank you! And cool tips! I shall try them out. Which part of the mids do you push for the Tele? I use EQ at the end of my chain like a "mastering" stage. I typically cut mids for all guitars, just a measure of how much for each guitar.
For the Tele Try pushing the 200, 400, 800 a little to fatten it up. My EQ looks like and upside down smile.
To replicate a gretsch sound with humbuckers try cutting the 200,400,800 to thin it out a bit. A Smile shape
I have my trusty duesenberg starplayer tv and a tele but....i have a duo jet coming next week. your tone sounds awesome
Thank you for the kind words! Which model of Jet? :D Whoa that's a nice combination of guitars. Duesenberg is an unexplored frontier in my Pdub tone journey.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar your sound is awesome, I wish i can dial in mine like that. i'm getting a g6218t. try a duesenberg, you wont regret it
Finally someone thats not scared to play pentatonic runs in worship music.
Heard of Lincoln Brewster?
Haha, actually I'm influenced more by earlier Nigel Hendroff and Ben Gowell (Paul Baloche)! That and my feeble attempts at channeling Joe Bonamassa/Eric Johnson style lead runs.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I wish Eric Johnson would do some worship music! I bet it'd sound like heaven! Well you know what I mean...
I just had a picture in my mind of EJ taking forever to set up that monster rig of his!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar but once it was set, Lookout! Subbed...
HANDS OFF THE DROFF! HE'S MY GUITAR HERO! >:( Great tones btw!
Oh yeah he’s my guitar hero too! No disrespect meant! Thanks for the kind words.
Awesome video! I'd love to here a side by side of that Gretsch as well as some other guitars (Strat, les Paul, tele) in the same mix to really hear the difference
Thanks for the kind words! I think you just gave me a future video idea!
Darrell Braun did a comparison between a Les Paul and a Duo Jet that really showcased the expanse of what a Gretsch can do.
I prefer the Gretsch double jet and I use a Boss GT1k instead of line6. Great video please keep up the great work. 🤙🏾
Thank you for the kind words! You’ve got cool gear too! That Boss multi-fx looks really nice, I’ll check it out.
They’re awesome guitars for all styles. Just got myself a new one
Cool! Which model of Duo Jet did you get?
Nice vid, and impressive playing, too. I use a 2013 Gretsch 6120 for P&W. I bought it new, influenced by my wife who wanted me to start playing after years of not doing so. I'm lucky to have owned several Gretsch's over the years since 1968 to the present. All have been single-cut Chet Atkins models, and all except the one I have now were Brooklyn made. This modern Chet is easily the equal of (if not better than) those original Brooklyn guitars. That may sound like a bias, but it makes sense if you think about it. I've had this Gretsch tone in my head for decades, and if a new Gretsch couldn't deliver it, I wouldn't be buying. Neither would thousands of other players, and Gretsch might end up back where they were in the late '70s. They don't want that, believe me! The originals are great collectables, but if you want a Gretsch you can play hard and put away wet night after night, get a new (or newer) one. You'll love it. Your Jet is a beauty BTW, the Compton bridge is a great add-on. Many thanks.
Hi there! Thank you for the kind words. Wow, I wish I could try a Brooklyn-made, I watched the 5-Watt World documentary on Gretsch and have been intrigued ever since. It's unfortunate that we don't have much gear stories in Singapore! My Duo Jet's previous owner must have put the guitar through a few gigs cause the hardware's tarnished and the colour of the top has mellowed slightly from what I recall of a mint Cadillac Green. Then again, Singapore's humidity can exacerbate the rate wear & tear!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar It's funny how one just can't tell what may happen. When I got my first Gretsch, they were still popular in rock, and were just used guitars to me, available anywhere. But by the mid-late 70s, their popularity had fallen to zero, you couldn't give them away. It was all Les Pauls and Stratocasters. Then one night in 1981 a group of us were driving around town when out of nowhere comes this searing, high energy song on the radio. It sounded old, like from the 50s, but the DJ said it's brand new. It was called "Stray Cat Strut", and someone was obviously rockin' a Gretsch guitar like it hadn't been rocked in years, as the song goes. Overnight, Gretsch's became red hot. Concurrently, the vintage guitar boom, for better or worse, was also artificially inflating guitar prices. We got a break 1989 when Fred W. Gretsch announced the company would resume production of many of it's iconic models. And thank you, Brian Setzer!! I'd like to have one or two of the old one's back, but mainly for sentimental reasons. I'd still use the newer one for the worship team. The patina on your Jet looks great! For a moment I thought it was an original. I hope you'll pardon my rambling!
I use an Sterling LK100D, that's the first Luke 3 copy from Sterling wich features the same Dimarzio's as on the original Luke 3 and I am totally satisfied with the sound I get from it. It has 2 humbuckers and a 5 way switch with 2 split coil settings. It has a 10" fretboard radius and a V-shape profile neck. In combination with my Helix and mostly the David Hislop preset and WT presets, I can get all the sounds I want.
That's a cool guitar! I didn't know the pickups are the same; that's SO important! I've always been blown away at the versatility of Music Man instruments, so you might have just gotten me interested to search out a Luke...
I bought a 6120 brand new back in 93 or 94 (pre-fender) because of Brian Setzer, it was always just alright although it looks amazing. I put TV Jones in it a couple of years ago and it sounds much better now. I still have other guitars I like better, but the Gretsch is the one I get compliments on when I play it in church. It's just sounds right and again, it looks incredible. If I could do it over I would have bought a PRS CE.
Cool! I need to read up/watch more videos on TV Jones vs other Gretsch pickups. To be honest I took a gamble with my Jet, I didn’t hear it plugged in when dealing with the previous owner! And yes, totally agree about “it just sounds right”; I just did a recording of a Bethel song and there was no competition as to which was the right guitar for the part.
Alembic? You BET I've heard of Alembic. :D
Re: where you fit in the mix: That's one reason I love the Dimarzio SuperII (especially in parallel) - dial off the tone and it CAN be solid as any other neck Humbucker, but with the tone wide open it's very bright and articulate, somewhere between a Strat and a P90 (but without the noise and hum - I HATE NOISE).
Oh, and I caught the irony of doing ten minutes about a Gretsch while wearing a Fender t-shirt. :) Although I guess it's less ironic since Fender bought Gretsch :D
I have to admit, though, I never even considered a Gretsch until I saw David Gilmour playing one on his Gdansk concert video :P
My go-to guitar for the last decade, thru thick, thin, and pickup changes, has been an Ibanez ART-420. I fell in love with it 'cause of the spalted maple top and how good it feels to play. Hated the active pickups though, and swapped 'em for first a Duncan Jazz/JB set, then for the JB paired with a Dimarzio SuperII. I installed switches for series/parallel switching on each pickup¸and phase between the pickups. Added a GK3 when I got the GP-10 (now an SY-1000). This guitar does everything I will ever want or need.
Wow your ART-420 sounds like it's your personal signature model with all the mods, super cool! I honestly hold the utility of a piece of gear in equal or higher regard than the tone, and like you I hate noise so whichever pickup gets the job done of being quiet is better than a buzzy "dream" pickup!
Ah you caught on to me wearing a Fender shirt while playing a Gretsch! It was intentional, haha. If ever I get a 70's strat, I'll want to wear a CBS shirt (wink)
Have you tried the Dynasonic Flip on your Gretsch? It’s literally rotating the pickups 180 degrees. I found that it gave a nice subtle tone shift that was more noticeable on the neck. (Supposedly puts the pole pieces at the harmonic sweet spot at the “24th” fret)
Easy and free mod that’s nondestructive and can be undone.
I haven't! Thanks for the suggestion! I'm not a pickup expert but will that cause the middle position of both pickups to be phased differently?
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar might be? But I really enjoy how my dynasonic styled pickups sounded after the flip. And if you don’t like it, it’s easy to put back to stock.
Got an electromatic gretsch, the 5230t, which has the great quality you described of sitting in a different freq range from pads and keys. My other guitar I have had great clarity and chive from is actually an epiphone les Paul with the muddy epiphone pickups swapped out for some lambertones cremas. Stellar clarity and chime with overdrives and delays from both. The lambertones are just a tad less “grunty” than the filtertron style, and they have the lovely humbucker sustain with no 60 cycle hum while sounding single coil-like.
Nice! I am intrigued by Lambertones and the Cremas, having watched many WT videos with their guitars equipped with them. They sound like a good way to get into Chime Land with a Les Paul style guitar.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I was skeptical if I would actually hear any difference esp with the les Paul’s shorter scale length lending itself to lots of low end, but I’m so glad I swapped them out.
Haha, now I REALLY want a set on my LP Studio!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar worth trying it out. Their cyber sales in November made wait times explode and they said there probably wouldnt be another sale like that until around June or july if they have one before cyber monday/boxing day again.
Really love the clarity from them in a full mix.
My Gretsch of choice for worship is a White Falcon. My guitar of choice for most worship services is my Gibson SG Supra or PRS P22.
Nice guitars! You cover both acoustic and electric duties on the worship team with that P22?
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar both do the piezo thing. We have an acoustic guy who splits duties between his church and his wife’s church (newlyweds). So when he’s gone I do both electric and acoustic. When he’s back I go electric.
Just found your channel. Good Job! I play on the Gretsch G6129T-59VS vintage select 59 sparkle jet. Love it! I also use a fender signature edition Chris Shiflett telecaster in the white color. I love how it plays but want to swap out the pickups for something less bright. I'd love to put in the Lambertone Cremas.
Thank you for the kind words! Cool guitars too! Will the Crema's be on a similar level of brightness in terms of chime? Or do you mean you want to dial out some of that twang inherent in a Tele? I have a Baja Tele with a Broadcaster bridge pickup and Twisted Tele in the neck and those help me out with Keith Urban/Brad Paisley tunes.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar The Chris Shifflet humbucker pups are a brighter pup with more spank than sparkle. Great for OD rock tones with a country twist but some of the high note stuff can get a little harsh in a worship set. The Cremas i think will give me a more smoothed out tone having the grit I want and a cleaner sparkle when I want it.
I typically use my American Stratocaster and our other electric player a Gibson Les Paul (wonderful combination) but occasionally I’ll use a custom built tele or my Les Paul if he reaches for a tele.
Both of us are going through a Helix into the board now.
Indeed, a nice combination! You guys share a Helix?
Love my 59 silver sparkle duo jet with TV jones pickups. Sounds fantastic in church. The ebony v shaped fretboard is great. Only thing is bigsby guitars need to be strung carefully with less wraps and I use big bends nut sauce. Helps it stay in tune
Sparkle Jet! I'd love to try my hands on one, but wife says it's too bling for church haha. Is the V shape very pronounced like on vintage strats? Thanks for the tip with less wraps, I will try it out when I eventually restring my Jet.
Yes very pronounced. Love it.
This was great Justin. Excellent content. I am using a Music Man Cutlass RS with HSS configuration most of the time. Nice to see someone playing Lion and the Lamb the way I play it! Just added a Timmy and Tumnus to my rig and they pair very well. Your making me want a Duo Jet and Big Sky though! I use a Washburn HB35 for more of THAT sound, with Collider and H9.
Thank you for the kind words! I've been GASing for a Cutlass for a long time, it looks like the perfect blend of traditional twangy tones with Music Man playability (I have a JP6 and it's my favorite guitar ergonomics-wise). I wish I had a Timmy and Tumnus too! I sold my Timmy years ago and it's one of my regrets.
In your opinion I’m in between a tele and a gretsch I love both and also the sound of both. I’m stuck needles to say. For a smaller worship team of 5 which one would you lean to?
If it's a smaller team, you're likely going to have to be more versatile with your tones. I think a Tele will suit you more, if you need to handle both rhythm and lead duties over a wider repertoire. That being said, that hasn't stopped ACDC and The Living End from playing high gain rock on a Gretsch!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar thank you brother I appreciate you taking the time to reply! I enjoy your videos and hope to see many more! God bless and have a good day!
Hey great video.. been looking at the cheaper pro jet with the blacktop filtertrons. Any experience with those for worship? Could I get a comparable tone by replacing them with TV Jones' or are the guitars too different? Thanks!
Hi there! Thank you for the kind words. I haven't had the chance to play one, but I've heard many folks through their recordings and they sound great! Best to hear one in person and determine if the pickups need changing. From what I gather, most people don't need to change the pickups out.
You are preaching to the quier...
Thank you for posting...
Haha, I hope it at least is useful for those of us who haven’t considered Gretsches yet. I used to be a non-Gretsch player for a long time.
I have 3 Gretsch's, a White Falcon with TV Jones, tow Sparkle Jets, one with Dynas and the other with Filtertrons. They are all great guitars for worship. About 50% of the time however, I play my Duesenburg Starplayer TV. The trem is unsurpassed and the GrandVintage bridge humbucker is one of the best for clarity and drive. I also use a Kauer Titan with Lambertone Cremas that is a nice guitar.
That is a nice collection! My wife won't let me get Sparkle Jets cause it looks too bling (considering my congregation is on the more conservative side). Duesenburg is an unexplored frontier for me, I'd really love to get my hands on one to demo! I've considered installing their trem on my Les Paul for that extra smooth warble.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Hi 3 years later!! If you haven't, you should do it. They are so smooth, and the tuning stability is second to none.
Beautiful guitar, bro! 🙌🏻 What is your experience with the compensated bridge? Does it gives you any trouble?
Hi Antonio, thanks for the kind words! For one, it's less pokey than the stock synchrosonic bridge. No problems with it so far. The Gretsch high-end zing is reduced with the Compton and makes it sounds more towards a strat/tele.
I also love the Gretsch sound and use one as well in worship as my #1....but my model of choice is a 2013 6120 Brian Setzer Hotrod (in the Lime Gold finish). I use a Helix for my effects board as well.
That’s a pretty guitar! I like the simplified controls on the Brian Setzer, to be honest, I haven’t played with the tone control on my Jet, it’s all been at 10 so far!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Yep! Just a pickup switch and a volume control....that's all I need! Hahah The TV Jones pickups are really nice as well
I used to use a PRS Starla but now it’s a Gretsch White Falcon.
Cool! That must have been a big change, especially from a solid body to a hollow body. What happened to the Starla?
at 3:50 from what song riff is that? :)
Hi! It’s the solo from Bethel’s “Deep Cries Out”, but I ended it with a triplet 3-note-per-string pattern.
I have been to many many churches in southern california and I haven't ever seen a Gretsch.
Interesting! So what guitars have you encountered there?
I like your guitar sound :-)
Thanks! I really like it too, much more than the first Duo Jet that I traded off!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I just bought the G5622 and can't wait to use it in P&W :-)
Some of what you said sonically makes sense, and I like Gretsch’s sound, but the main reason is because it’s a trend. It is now popular to play Gretsch guitars in worship so that’s what people are doing. In a few years it will be the same with another guitar. These things are trends. The sounds that these guys get aren’t based around the core tone of any instrument. They are based mostly around the effects. Strat, Teles, Les Pauls and whatever can get sounds that do the same job processed in the same way.
Indeed, the trends come and go. I've been around the block (in Singapore) long enough to remember when folks wanted Tom Andersons and Les Pauls. I agree, there is a way to get the guitars to sit 90% in the same ballpark with effects and similar processing post-production. I certainly do this when I'm on a time crunch and need to push out guitar tracks quickly.
Hello I'm planning to buy a new guitar that I can use in our sunday worship service. Considering that our church is not that big 🤔
A. Gretsch G5230T
B. Gretsch G5655TG CB
C. Gibson guitar?
I'd say, what does your repertoire or song pool look like? Are you playing diverse genres from different eras? I think the Gretsch does well with clean to semi-dirty, but not particularly with high gain. A Gibson is potentially a more versatile guitar if you get a model that has coil tapping to get single coil sounds, whereas a Gretsch is always going to be in-between a single coil and a humbucker sound. Between the 5230T and the 5655TG CB, go with which form factor suits you. A Jet is going to be easier to carry around and play for long periods of time.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Thank you Sir! God bless! This information is a lot to me. sometimes experience, that I am the only Guitarist in the Church but what I am doing are some lead lines and voicing. Though yeah my skills are still in progress 😅
Sir which pickups are the best for the Gretsch? I saw that the Grestch G5230T has Filter'tron and the G5655TG has Black top broad'tron. 🤔