Old 10-01-2020, 07:48 AM   #1
Jae.Thomas
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Default New Guitar Day!

Another foray into deeper waters - this time a

Gretsch G5265 Jet Baritone

I have a Bari Gretsch.
I am wondering about string action.
The action SEEMS kinda high and I'm wondering what the feel normally is for a bari.
according to my ruler, it's a little under 3mm on the bass side and a little over 3 on the treble side. No buzzing.
It does feel higher than a guitar, but wouldn't that be totally expected?
intonation seems good with plenty of adjustment possible.

here are some pics:








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Old 10-01-2020, 08:05 AM   #2
martifingers
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Yes a very fine looking instrument that really looks like it wants to be played.

OT and I don't wish to hijack this thread but I misread the title as New "Guitar Day" as if it had become a thing like Shrove Tuesday or MLK Day. So daft of me... or is it such a bad idea?
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Old 10-01-2020, 08:34 AM   #3
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Sweet.

Love that Bigsby!!!
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Old 10-01-2020, 09:44 AM   #4
martmix
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nice guitar Jae


here is mine bought last year
GRETSH G2622

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Old 10-01-2020, 09:55 AM   #5
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Nice, congratulations!
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Old 10-01-2020, 10:34 AM   #6
Glennbo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jae.Thomas View Post
Another foray into deeper waters - this time a

Gretsch G5265 Jet Baritone

I have a Bari Gretsch.
I am wondering about string action.
The action SEEMS kinda high and I'm wondering what the feel normally is for a bari.
according to my ruler, it's a little under 3mm on the bass side and a little over 3 on the treble side. No buzzing.
It does feel higher than a guitar, but wouldn't that be totally expected?
intonation seems good with plenty of adjustment possible.
I dunno if there is a specific action feel for a bari, but with every guitar I buy, the first thing I do is play with the action and tweak the bridge so that it feels nice playing, and plays in tune when strings are struck open, chimed and fretted at the octave with no fret buzz. I use a Korg chromatic rack mount tuner to check the intonation.

Another question is, does a baritone guitar use a wound G string? I use heavier gauge strings with a wound G on my semi-hollow jazz guitar, and it does have an effect on the action and intonation when tweaking the bridge.
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Old 10-01-2020, 10:37 AM   #7
Jae.Thomas
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it is wound, yes.
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Old 10-01-2020, 10:51 AM   #8
Philbo King
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She's a beauty! It's be a monster machine for slide work.

Re: Action & Setup - I'd check Gretsches website.

I know when I put a GK2 synth pickup on my Strat, it never worked well till the action was set to factory specs.
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Old 10-01-2020, 12:07 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jae.Thomas View Post
it is wound, yes.
The higher action might be normal then to prevent fret buzz. My jazz guitar with a wound G is set a little higher and requires a bit more force to fret, but the more rounded tone of the heavier strings makes it sound more legit, so I put up with it.

BTW, I've wanted a Jet Jr. for a LONG time because I have the matching Gretsch Electromatic Jet Jr. bass, so I'm envious of your new guitar, even if it is a bari!
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Old 10-01-2020, 12:16 PM   #10
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OT: Pro tip... vintage staggered pole pieces are staggered with a wound G in mind because that's how early strats et al were built. That means the G string is way off volume wise (and or b) on modern guitars using that "coveted" staggered poles.

Which drives me fking nuts and have had manually adjust pole pieces on 3 of my strats to get the string volumes even - I don't care if some famous player did that with non-wound strings, I want my volumes even FFS.
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Old 10-01-2020, 12:55 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by karbomusic View Post
OT: Pro tip... vintage staggered pole pieces are staggered with a wound G in mind because that's how early strats et al were built. That means the G string is way off volume wise (and or b) on modern guitars using that "coveted" staggered poles.

Which drives me fking nuts and have had manually adjust pole pieces on 3 of my strats to get the string volumes even - I don't care if some famous player did that with non-wound strings, I want my volumes even FFS.
Dood, you made me dig my investment Strat out of the back of the closet to see if the Custom Shop Fat 50s are staggered! They are, but I'm going to live with it, even if the string volume isn't really balanced. I bought that guitar largely as an investment and am keeping it 100% original and with all the tags and docs stuff.

I also liked the brighter sound of those old style pups with fewer coil wraps, but didn't know that they were geared for a wound G.
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Old 10-01-2020, 01:06 PM   #12
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You can toss on a wound G and it should even up. I never noticed until lately when I started playing half my shows 100% teeth chipping clean, when distorted not so noticable.
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Old 10-01-2020, 01:08 PM   #13
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Might try that at some point, but I love the way it plays with the lighter strings I have on it now.
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Old 10-02-2020, 11:02 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Philbo King View Post
Re: Action & Setup - I'd check Gretsches website.
When he first posted, I checked around for specs on the Gretsch website, but didn't find much, didn't spend a great deal of time looking though, but yes, finding out what the factory setup specs are is a good place to start.

Just an overall observation, based on how I set up my guitars, but when you're talking about string height as it pertains to action on the fret board versus height above the pickups, that's two different things. Adjusting the bridge adjusts the string height as it applies to "action", after that, you adjust the pickup heights for tone and intonation.

Most critical part for setting action is the neck and frets. If the neck has problems or the frets aren't level, it might be difficult to get the action very low. Also, proper height and cut on the nut affects action as well, but messing around with the nut is something I let my guitar tech do. Real easy to screw up a guitar by getting the nut wrong.

I like a little relief in the neck of my guitars, then I adjust the bridge by lowering it until I start picking up a little fret buzz, then I raise it a bit. Some people don't mind a little fret buzz if it gives them the action they like, but I prefer a little higher action over fret buzz. To each his or her own.

After you have the bridge set where you like it, then you adjust the pickup height based on factory specs and tonal preferences. Once you have the pickups where you want them, then you have to check intonation because the distance between the pickup magnets and the strings will affect intonation in some cases.

That's just how I do it. I'm sure there are many other ways to do it.

In the end though, it's about how well the guitar plays for you. The old "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of thing.

A beautiful guitar. I hope it brings you years of enjoyment.
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Old 10-03-2020, 03:05 PM   #15
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Still in love with my orange G5120, but MY baritone is one of the first reissue Danelectro ones. The crucial part on those is getting one with the original wooden bridge piece, as the modern metal bridges cant get that Ennio Morricone spaghetti western sound.

Fantastic beast, but it too has a pretty high action compared to a guitar guitar.
I tried lowering mine & it lost a lot of its guts and definition.
Absolutely and completely iconic sound.
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