As a retired Musician I was so very happy when I accidently came across your demo for The Gretsch ad , I was a big fan of Gretsch and I had the pleasure of owning a 'Country Gentleman' ..Lovely Guitar....But what drew my attention to your demo was the use of Open chord tuning...When I was a slip of a lad (Now83 I was given a small Spanish guitar in a gift...one big problem was that I had nobody to teach me how to tune or play, so I open string tuned it to 'C' Barring at the 5th & 7th frets...I went through a truckload of strings due to breaking so many...I finally found a tutor who taught me the proper way....
I love the binding and pearloid headstock. It's a really nice looking guitar that us regular folks can afford. And sounds great in open D. I think I'll be ordering one now. I was thinking this vs a steel body but I prefer that warmer and looser sound.
Sweet review and great playing. I got one of these as well. I agree it sounds best in open D. They really captured that boxy vintage cheap guitar sound that makes the blues so appealing to me. Keep up the great playing.
Terry Bell My mom could read music and play whatever she wanted on any piano and I didn't want to listen to her sing and play the big band and pop music .I should have gone for the piano and theory and then Guitar .So what shows in your music. Also her sister used to sing opera like,music on the radio. My aunt had the best voice I have ever heard ,Live .
2:23 Let It Shine to Dust My Broom (may become Torrence Parkway Outro) 4:33 Windy And Warm (may become Auten Avenue) 6:199:26 (may become attached Ravenna Street to Gail Drive)
I live in New Zealand, in the Southern Hemisphere, and it's winter here at the moment. It's been pretty cold and I think this might be the reason I had a problem with my Alligator. I pulled it out and played it and it sounded like it was being put through a distorted amp. The bridge was buzzing like crazy, and although it sounded kind of cool, it wasn't a normal sound. I slackened the screws that hold the bracket over the bridge a bit in preparation to have a look and the problem went away. I don't know exactly why the bridge did that but this is the fix I came up with.
Thank you for that. In my opinion the wooden version sounds more traditional than their metal boodied one. String it up with the thickest strings you can (016-056) and you have a hell of a blues or swing baby. Thanks for sharing this, yes indeed!
This is my music stanza: 2:24 1: Let Your Light Shine On Me 2:57 2: Dust My Broom 4:33 3: Windy And Warm (Damn this tuned song is limited for the Auten Avenue.) 6:19 4: United song 9:26 5: Legalized song
I bought one of these about six months ago and the tone is somehow simultaneously 'Cheap and Boxy' and 'Authentic, Funky, and Awesome' - have just guiltily broken it out after a month of no use and am loving it!
+cloud boy Well, it sounds 'authentic' because it has that sound of the old blues guys from way back when. Those players, although they're legends now, were far too poor to afford "good" guitars. Even for their day they played fairly cheap, crappy guitars. It's only in today's society that we equate "expensive" with "good". It reminds me of Duck Dunn's advice on how to make a good sounding record: "Get everybody to play good."
(1) DADGBE is called, " Drop D tuning". You can check this on Wikipedia.(2) I enjoyed your demo so much, I went and got me a Gretsch Alligator, too. REALLY nice guitar. Thank you!
I had a Boxcar (9200) and returned it to get the Alligator. The Boxcar has a very subtle tone - it will sound almost like a standard acoustic unless you really go to town on it. Spider bridges tend to be a lot tighter and you don't get a lot of cone movement. If you play pretty hard tho, you can get a little tone out of them. I had the square neck at first, and it was really built like a tank. If you're gonna strictly play with a tone bar, then I think you can get away with the 9210. If you're more of a bluegrass player and rarely use slide, you'll get better sound out of the 9240. Or you can splurge and get the 9220 (Bobtail).
Just got my Gretsch Alligator Biscuit Cone yesterday...I love it. It plays great. Nice rosewood fretboard. Great for the money. Only thing I'm not really enthused about are the tuners. I'm thinking of having some black Grovers installed. Other than that it is great fun to play. Glad I bought it! Dude you sound great btw.........
Really good review Terry, Demo'd in 3 tunings ( without a tuner too !!..Impressive!) I am in the market for a small resonator .. and this vid may well have pushed me to a Gretsch Alligator ... You play real well..many thanks
I like this tune of the song. It's wide of pink. I like Gretsch resonaators better than the other brand. 4:33, and 6:16 are the best! That second song he played was my song called "Auten Avenue". And the third song he played was "Gail Drive".
UPDATE. I have lowered the nut so now the string tension feels the same capoed or uncapoed. A buddy bought the same guitar, his nut was lower than mine, also his bridge was quite low and cut too round in my opinion. We're going to put a new biscuit in it and probably a new nut.
Something in the first part of your open G playing reminds me a lot of a certain Bo Weavil Jackson in the sort of major/happy feel it has, very good playing!
Its probably too late by now but...before you sand down the nut, try tightening the truss rod a 1/2 turn at a time...That should pull the strings down closer to the board.... Trial & error and you'll get it easier than lowering the nut....
Hello, may I please ask you, did you make any upgrades on the guitar? Because I bought the same guitar and when I play slide, there is a lot of buzzing. It doesn't happen when I play fingerpicking or strumming, it actually sounds awesome that way. The buzzing doesn't happen on my old acoustic, so i don't think it is caused by bad technique. Would you please give me any advise? I would be gratefull thanks.
I was going to buy one of these and i was wondering if you use medium strings for slide and have a high action on the guitar as well for playing slide? Thank you
Just bought one! Had a lefty conversion. Can't wait for it to arrive! What strings, medium gauge? Is that why a tone lower, to reduce the stress! Sounds magnificent!
I've noticed after observing 3 different 'Alligator' guitars just like this, that the action varies. These are VERY nice, clean, well built guitars, but the setups are inconsistent. I do believe that by putting 13's on any of these, you'd be happy.
Mine came all set up from the the last owner.. apparently the story is it was 2 years old and lightly used.. and the action was good ... and the action was lower than my Yamaha that I just had set up.. nice action to finger pick on.. but of course a set up is often warranted especially if you buy used.. It is light in weight for a resonator. Im not a pro at slide.. just learning... and the better I get the better this instrument sounds.. I believe I have 11s in the high E string...
I really REALLY enjoyed listening to you play! Thanks for posting this!!! aaaahhh....if only just buying the guitar were enough to get to your sound! oh well I will get there eventually (hopefully!!) ;-) Again thanks for posting......really enjoyed watching you play and I think I learned a thing or two!
terrybellmusician what is the brand/model of slide you are using? It looks to be tapered externally. Great playing by the way, your video convinced me to get this guitar. Thanks
As a retired Musician I was so very happy when I accidently came across your demo for The Gretsch ad , I was a big fan of Gretsch and I had the pleasure of owning a 'Country Gentleman' ..Lovely Guitar....But what drew my attention to your demo was the use of Open chord tuning...When I was a slip of a lad (Now83 I was given a small Spanish guitar in a gift...one big problem was that I had nobody to teach me how to tune or play, so I open string tuned it to 'C' Barring at the 5th & 7th frets...I went through a truckload of strings due to breaking so many...I finally found a tutor who taught me the proper way....
I love the binding and pearloid headstock. It's a really nice looking guitar that us regular folks can afford. And sounds great in open D. I think I'll be ordering one now. I was thinking this vs a steel body but I prefer that warmer and looser sound.
Great playing Sir, Just ordered mine, now to try n find a crossroads somewhere.....;)
Be careful, watch out for them hounds!
Sweet review and great playing. I got one of these as well. I agree it sounds best in open D. They really captured that boxy vintage cheap guitar sound that makes the blues so appealing to me. Keep up the great playing.
You have a natural beat that is outstanding . Made for resonator
thanks. A drumset was my first instrument. I grew up listening to my dad play piano and slide guitar and in a very rhythmic style.
Terry Bell My mom could read music and play whatever she wanted on any piano and I didn't want to listen to her sing and play the big band and pop music .I should have gone for the piano and theory and then Guitar .So what shows in your music. Also her sister used to sing opera like,music on the radio. My aunt had the best voice I have ever heard ,Live .
2:23 Let It Shine to Dust My Broom (may become Torrence Parkway Outro)
4:33 Windy And Warm (may become Auten Avenue)
6:19 9:26 (may become attached Ravenna Street to Gail Drive)
Great tutorial! Thanks so much. My husband just ordered me one for my birthday. Its the G 9241 with the fishman pickup. Can't wait to get it.
I live in New Zealand, in the Southern Hemisphere, and it's winter here at the moment. It's been pretty cold and I think this might be the reason I had a problem with my Alligator. I pulled it out and played it and it sounded like it was being put through a distorted amp. The bridge was buzzing like crazy, and although it sounded kind of cool, it wasn't a normal sound. I slackened the screws that hold the bracket over the bridge a bit in preparation to have a look and the problem went away. I don't know exactly why the bridge did that but this is the fix I came up with.
Your blues put me in a great mood for the rest of the day! Great review
Thank you for that. In my opinion the wooden version sounds more traditional than their metal boodied one. String it up with the thickest strings you can (016-056) and you have a hell of a blues or swing baby.
Thanks for sharing this, yes indeed!
Sounds absolutely fantastic!
You've made my mind up, I want one.Great playing.
Fantastic demo and playing, thanks for taking the time. Regards from Australia.
Thank you for the beautiful demonstration.
I feel in love with it the moment I heard it... I'm gonna buy it and learn how to play it
Windy and warm sounds like a good song to learn.
Okay, I'm sold. Also a good lesson here as I can mostly see what your hands are doing.
You are a great player! The guitar looks and sounds amazing!
Amazing guitar matched with impeccable playing! you killed it dude loved that take on Windy And Warm
This is my music stanza:
2:24 1: Let Your Light Shine On Me
2:57 2: Dust My Broom
4:33 3: Windy And Warm (Damn this tuned song is limited for the Auten Avenue.)
6:19 4: United song
9:26 5: Legalized song
Pretty sure there's some Red Rooster around 7:00 too
Like the tone of the Gretch. Mellow with just enough twang. Bought one myself. Great playing bud.
I bought one of these about six months ago and the tone is somehow simultaneously 'Cheap and Boxy' and 'Authentic, Funky, and Awesome' - have just guiltily broken it out after a month of no use and am loving it!
+cloud boy Well, it sounds 'authentic' because it has that sound of the old blues guys from way back when. Those players, although they're legends now, were far too poor to afford "good" guitars. Even for their day they played fairly cheap, crappy guitars. It's only in today's society that we equate "expensive" with "good". It reminds me of Duck Dunn's advice on how to make a good sounding record: "Get everybody to play good."
Played one today going to buy it tomorrow morning! You play great 👍 very inspirational!
walter whiting SAME!
I do own one and is the best " on the rack " below a thousand $$$.
The Honey dripper is something unique.
Thank you sooo much for demonstrating this reso . I have just ordered one . Thank you again and hello from Australia 😁
Thanks for taking time to share your experience and your playing.😅
I'm thing of buying myself a resonator guitar and looking at reviews and your post is very helpful, Thanks for outing this on.
(1) DADGBE is called, " Drop D tuning". You can check this on Wikipedia.(2) I enjoyed your demo so much, I went and got me a Gretsch Alligator, too. REALLY nice guitar. Thank you!
Just ordered one... great demo. Nice job. You killed it. Thanks.
You’ve got a great touch and tone going on - very inspiring to this old Blues dog!
Congratulations 👍
I'm a fan of the old school tuners myself.
"Waverly" makes some nice old school tuners.
I have the Gretsch G9200 Spider Resonator, Now I'm going to get this thanks to your AWESOME demo. Sounds excellent.! Thx Terry.
+Michael Wilson How would you compare the sound of your G9200 to this one here? Brighter?
I had a Boxcar (9200) and returned it to get the Alligator. The Boxcar has a very subtle tone - it will sound almost like a standard acoustic unless you really go to town on it. Spider bridges tend to be a lot tighter and you don't get a lot of cone movement. If you play pretty hard tho, you can get a little tone out of them.
I had the square neck at first, and it was really built like a tank. If you're gonna strictly play with a tone bar, then I think you can get away with the 9210. If you're more of a bluegrass player and rarely use slide, you'll get better sound out of the 9240. Or you can splurge and get the 9220 (Bobtail).
Started. I was a little unsure what to expect..Then Bam hit those baby E's...Nice guitar im going to buy one now..
Thanks Sir.
Just got my Gretsch Alligator Biscuit Cone yesterday...I love it. It plays great. Nice rosewood fretboard. Great for the money. Only thing I'm not really enthused about are the tuners. I'm thinking of having some black Grovers installed. Other than that it is great fun to play. Glad I bought it!
Dude you sound great btw.........
+mike Braxus What did you find wrong with the tuners? Do they not stay in tune? Or do you just not like open tuners?
Could listen ta ya play all day...Brilliant
I just bought one on the strength of this review. Thanks.
Came for the review, stayed for the tunes... nice!
Death letter blues? Awesome playing. I'm buying one of these ASAP!
savage demo man! thankyou. Im picking this up now. superb playing well done!!
Thanks for the review. Mighty fine playing also.
Nice job....Gretsch are a great guitar....I have a honey dipper that was given to me by a great friend....I love it!
Thanks for the review. Wasn't sure if I was going to get the Fender F50 or the Gretsch 9200 Series. I think you've made my mind up.
Very helpful review and nice playing :-) I think, I might get one for my self.
This guitar is wonderful. It has a big sound. Gretsch did a great job.
Really good review Terry, Demo'd in 3 tunings ( without a tuner too !!..Impressive!) I am in the market for a small resonator .. and this vid may well have pushed me to a Gretsch Alligator ... You play real well..many thanks
Nice review and excellent playing!
Just bought this guitar today, sounds great!
Nice playing, thanks for the review i'm about to order mine :)
I am picking mine up in the morning.
Lovely
Awesome playing !
I am surprised Freddie" Roach has the time to teach us slide guitar with all the work he puts the boxers thru at the gym! :)
O.K., I can kinda see it... :-)
I enjoyed watching, very nice guitar , and thank you for sharing ..
very nice playing, i love your style. great review pretty looking and sounding res.
Very nice demo. I'm glad I tuned in.
I like this tune of the song. It's wide of pink. I like Gretsch resonaators better than the other brand. 4:33, and 6:16 are the best! That second song he played was my song called "Auten Avenue". And the third song he played was "Gail Drive".
WOW! Excellent playing! Best wishes
Sounds great - the tone of the instrument is good, and your picking sounds great. Thanks!
UPDATE. I have lowered the nut so now the string tension feels the same capoed or uncapoed. A buddy bought the same guitar, his nut was lower than mine, also his bridge was quite low and cut too round in my opinion. We're going to put a new biscuit in it and probably a new nut.
Muchas gracias por el vídeo, es muy útil para hacerse una idea exacta de las características del resonator. Like y suscribe. Saludos desde España!
Very nice playing! Great demo
Excellent 👌 THANK YOU 🌟😀👍
Great playing.
These are amazing guitars,I improved mine withe the NRP Cone wich is much better imo
Chinese or not, the result is important.
very nice licks ...the tone on that guitar is very nice indeed
Loved the video. Great playing.
Nice playing Terry. Think I might get one myself.
I have one of these....I love it.nice playin
Enjoyed the review. Thanks!
Can you put a guide sheet up that tells your exact tunings on each string? Thx
Wow! nice technique, nice review. The guitar's nice too;)
I bot a Gretsch Boxcar today...humm, now I want both !
Oh, I tried that Boxcar. That's a sweet guitar. I'd like to have a Boxcar in G and the Alligator in D.
Something in the first part of your open G playing reminds me a lot of a certain Bo Weavil Jackson in the sort of major/happy feel it has, very good playing!
Great vid. Really enjoyed it.
again this rocks! I am now in the market.
got one . its fabulous
Its probably too late by now but...before you sand down the nut, try tightening the truss rod a 1/2 turn at a time...That should pull the strings down closer to the board.... Trial & error and you'll get it easier than lowering the nut....
Wow. I enjoyed this
Good info. What is the difference between the the Alligator & Boxcar?
Add my thanks to all the others! I’ve been unable to try one, hoping to compare this with the boxcar but this review may just make up my mind.
Excelente,magnifico !
Hello, may I please ask you, did you make any upgrades on the guitar? Because I bought the same guitar and when I play slide, there is a lot of buzzing. It doesn't happen when I play fingerpicking or strumming, it actually sounds awesome that way. The buzzing doesn't happen on my old acoustic, so i don't think it is caused by bad technique. Would you please give me any advise? I would be gratefull thanks.
beauty lies in the simplicity
great review. just what i want in a review Thanks !
SOLI DEO GLORIA
(To The Glory Of God Alone)
Father, Son & Holy Spirit
-Ronnie
Nice guitar & great review....
Please, tell me what is the song you play in "standard tuning" ?
Windy And Warm. Chet Atkins 1954.
Terry Bell Thanks :)
I was going to buy one of these and i was wondering if you use medium strings for slide and have a high action on the guitar as well for playing slide? Thank you
Just bought one! Had a lefty conversion. Can't wait for it to arrive! What strings, medium gauge? Is that why a tone lower, to reduce the stress! Sounds magnificent!
Great video and playing !
I've noticed after observing 3 different 'Alligator' guitars just like this, that the action varies. These are VERY nice, clean, well built guitars, but the setups are inconsistent. I do believe that by putting 13's on any of these, you'd be happy.
Mine came all set up from the the last owner.. apparently the story is it was 2 years old and lightly used.. and the action was good ... and the action was lower than my Yamaha that I just had set up.. nice action to finger pick on.. but of course a set up is often warranted especially if you buy used.. It is light in weight for a resonator. Im not a pro at slide.. just learning... and the better I get the better this instrument sounds.. I believe I have 11s in the high E string...
Thank you for this video, you play really well!
Thanks for the review, very helpful!
Great review. Does sound great for blues.!
Nice playing.
What is the name of the song you are playing at 2:20?
I really REALLY enjoyed listening to you play! Thanks for posting this!!! aaaahhh....if only just buying the guitar were enough to get to your sound! oh well I will get there eventually (hopefully!!) ;-)
Again thanks for posting......really enjoyed watching you play and I think I learned a thing or two!
There are so many great slide players on RUclips !!!! Have fun.
Good golly 2:57 I do this on my Gretsch G9200 Boxcar Roundneck Resonator Guitar.
SOLD
amazing skills
The open D was very Ry Cooder. Luv it!
terrybellmusician what is the brand/model of slide you are using? It looks to be tapered externally.
Great playing by the way, your video convinced me to get this guitar. Thanks
Much better demo/playing than the one Gretsch has...
Great playing !