Gretsches made in Japan, Korea, and China.

I haven't played a USA-made Gretsch since the '72 Roc Jet that I let get away. And that was Bladwin-era anyway. But I want another one!

I've got a 2008 MIJ G6128TCG, a 2005 MIK G5125, a 2005 MIC G5135 Corvette, and I'm accumulating parts to complete a 1980(?) MIM G7176 Southern Belle.

They are all very well made. Fit, finish, and quality of the woodworking is excellent on all of them. The Southern Belle was being built in Mexico during the Baldwin era, but was never completed due to shutdown of MIM production. Pity; it's a beautiful piece of the luthier's art.

The most obvious difference is the quality of the electronics and hardware.

The G51xx series is notorious for having shoddy switches and control pots. There have been some tuning stability issues reported, but a careful setup, including proper adjustment of the nut slots, allows these guitars to impress.

There's not a lot of love around here for the stock GretschBuckers. But my G5125 has the now-discontinued DeArmond 2000 single coil pickups, which are really, really nice single coils. The Corvette has the MegaTron pickups, which to my ears, just slay any HB-loaded SG out there. The newer Electromatics are still getting very favourable reviews, with the switch and control issues noted.

The MIJ Pro Line models are stellar! Consistently high quality - enough that I bought my Caddy Green DynoSonic Duo Jet from a dealer thousands of miles away, and I love it. I would do so again, with confidence.

Gretsch seems to have done a very good job of selecting their production facilities, and fostering Quality Control with those partners.

This is probably the best possible time to buy a Gretsch!

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This "Rock Music" you speak of, is it music about rocks? Music from rocks? Singing fossils, perhaps?

Source: http://www.gretsch-talk.com/forum/gretsch-discussion-forum/75511-gretsches-made-japan-korea-china.html

troy miracle andy whitfield kennedy demi moore roy oswalt kevin martin