Customer Reviews

Gretsch: The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Co. (Guitars of Fred Gretsch Lo)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Poorly edited book by an individual who is very knowledgeable on the subject. Book would benefit greatly by the use of color photos (why black & white in this day and age?).

Fraught with misspellings and generally a good cure for insomnia. The info is there, but it's not an enjoyable way to get it. Book has interesting testimonials from famous Gretsch owners. As a reference work, it stops too soon. Later company history and products not covered. The author obviously knows his subject, but a decent editor would have made a "ho-hum" book a real "Must Read".

Jay Scott's excellent book gives a comprehensive run down of almost the entire Gretsch lineage. Packed with detailed model descriptions, great pictures and a healthy dose of humorous wit, this book is a must read for anyone interested in Gretsch guitars. The book is let down however, by frequent typographical and grammatical errors throughout. Some pictures are also unnecessarily reproduced throughout the book. If edited more fastidiously, this book would be almost perfect.

This book is an enjoyable, informative look into a classic, American Guitar company, Gretsch. Its picure gallery alone will keep you reaching for it again and again. Jay's passion with Gretsch guitars shows. Of particular interest is the section on the Duo Jet, and its sister, the Silver Jet. The only book like it on the market today. Five stars.

I was initially disappointed by the predominantly black and white photos. But given the fact that the company is so old, color photography just wasnt around yet. This brings me to my comment about the material being dated. The materials timeline seems to stop around the 70s. Thusly, there was no information about the new 6120 variants, Japanese reissues, Korean Jets, the 512x variants, or the work done by Fender FMIC. This is disappointing as these are the main points of something of a modern resurgence for Gretsch. Owners of contemporary Gretsch guitars may be somewhat disappointed as they wont find any information on their guitars here. Still, it does a good job of documenting the past.

If you are interested in Gretsch history, especially the early "Golden Years", you need this book. Its about 13 years old now, but I have constantly referred to my two copies over the last decade plus. It has information that the Bacon book doesn't have. Jay Scott was a nutty guy, and a Gretsch nut on top of that. His business "Nutty Jazz Guitars" seemed to disappear after he wrote this book, maybe he got it out of his system. At the time it was the only comprehensive history of Gretsch. Yes a modern book would likely have more color photos, but if you are interest in the subject matter and not just pretty pictures you'll find this book helpful.

As a collector of all books guitar, I have to recommend this book. Jay Scott
has done a great job. The best history book on Gretsch hands down. For another slant,check out the Dan Duffy book. Like having a conversation with a friend in the local bar,who just happened to work at the Gretsch factory when it happened.

As the former owner of a Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman, I have been fascinated by the history of this Brooklyn instrument maker. Mr Scott is very thorough in his research and provides photos of nearly every model of guitar and electric bass that Gretsch produced, up through the first years of the recent offshore-built models.

The flaws? Poor photo reproduction -- most illustrations look as though they are photocopies of newsprint reproductions -- and a too-clever narrative, which gets wearing after a few pages.

Otherwise, this is an excellent book.