Gibson CG vs Gretsch 59 NC

[JeffS]

I, like many of you, have been an avid fan of Chet's since I began learning guitar at age 9; I'm now 50, so I have been listening to Chet on an almost daily basis for 40 years. I grew up dreaming of owning a guitar like his CG, but knew an exact replica was not available. I was delighted when I learned that Getsch, with the guidance of Paul, would actually offer a true replica of Chet's 59 CG. I was able to purchase one in 2006, and have been playing it exclusively since.

After purchasing the 59 NC, I stored my 1990 Gibson CG away and haven't played it in 5 years. Since purchasing the NC, I have also purchased a new 65 Reissue Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Music Man RD50 112. The 59 NC sounds very good through both amps, but I have never played my Gibson through either.

After watching some of my Chet dvd's (the videos from the early 90's Doc and Merle Watson Festival in particular), I was inspired to unpack my Gibson and play it some. Needless to say, when I plugged the Gibson up to the MM RD50, I was blown away by the sound I heard. The chimey sparly highs, tight bass notes, clarity, and note separation is amazing. Before last week, I would have said that the Gibson's would never sound as good as the Gretsch 59 NC, but I've changed my mind. My Gibson, paired with the MM or the Fender, is an awesome guitar and every bit as Chet-like in tone as the Gretsch. Looking back now, I think Chet and Gibson did an exceptional job in creating a new guitar that still sounded like Chet. Also, in these trying economic times, it's nice to see 'Made in the USA' on the back of the head stock.

I guess, at least for the immediate future, the Gibson will see most of my playing time. I would say that I like it at least as good - probably better than my Gretsch.

I thought this was interesting, and would like to hear ya'll's thoughts.

Have a Merry Christmas!

[albertgen]

I'm with you there Jeffs. I love my Gibson every bit as much as the 59. Al

[smokymtguitar09]

I'll go along with that. They both have a distinctive different sound of their own. My Gibson CG is a '93 model with some modifications from previous years and I exchanged the neck pickup for a Ray Butts model which further enhanced the sound. The Gibson has more of that traditional Gibson hum-bucking sound which Chet got on most of his Columbia recordings, and the Gretsch '59 sounds similar to the CG of Chet's earlier recordings. I have only played them through the MM RD 50 (w JBL K120 spkr); however, they both sound the best with my '66 Fender Pro Reverb amp hooked to a JBL 15" K130 extension speaker.

[David Elliott]

Over the course of several years there were many comparisons of the Gibson Country Gent and the Gretsch NC/'59 CG, and frankly a lot of them would have left the impression the Gibson was a piece of junk, at the time! I never did buy this, as I had a '93 Gibson CG, and it was a fine guitar indeed. I once inquired of Paul Yandell, (who of course was the person most responsible for the RE-issue of the Gretsch Country Gentleman), as to his opinion about this, and here is his reply, regarding the differences between the Gibson and the Gretsch:

Posted by Paul Yandell (65.136.123.5) on March 14, 2005 at 16:34:32:
In Reply to: Re: Country Gentleman going back to Gretsch? posted by Paul Yandell
on March 14, 2005 at 16:23:25:

"The Gibson CG is a great guitar I played one for close to 10 years I have 3 of
them one of them a thick one, the NC is a great guitar with a great sound and a
great neck, it's a matter of taste, thanks Paul"...

David Elliott

[JeffS]

David, based on my experience this weekend, I would definitely agree with that. It's as though I've reconnected with an old friend. I had forgotten how playable my Gibson was; the neck is very similar to the NC in width and profile, but it is slightly slimmer - at least up to about the 7th fret. After playing it all weekend, my left thumb is sore, and I'm developing a calous farther down my thumb. I can more easily reach around the neck of the Gibson than I can my Gretsch. Most people disagree with me when I say this, but I like the feel of the unbound finger board better than the bound fingerboard. I seems to give a nice sharp corner to hook your thumb on when fretting the bass strings.

[srgntschultz]

Jeff I also have 2 Gibson country gents and a gretsch CGP. I had a gretsch 59 for a little less than a week,and it sounded good but it seemed to me that the neck pickup, the supertron was too loud and powerful. When i put the pickup switch in the middle the neck pickup drounded out the bridge,not even sounding at all. So i ended up trading it back in and buying the cgp,which us the shorter scale,but sounds as great as any guitar i have ever plugged into an amp! One of my gibsons has the original pickups and the other has the tv jones classics in it. They both sound great,and the gretsch is also great but the gretsch has a hollow sound that the gibson acnt get. But the Gibson can get a great or heavy bass tone that the gretsch cant get, and the neck on both are almost the same,very very close. So i think thta its a matter of opinion but both the gretsch and gibson chet guitars are truly a work of art and especially for the money. Paul told me a few times that the gretsch and gibsons are great guitars,but his cgp was his favorite. God bless you Paul, you were one of the greatest!

[guitarchuck]

I think it's a matter of what tone you are looking for. If you are looking for the mid 50's Chet tone then go for the CGP. If you are looking for 60's-70's Chet tone, then go for the Gretsch 59 CG. If you are looking for 80's-90's Chet tone then go for the Gibson CG. If you can afford it, have one of each. There was one particular Gibson CG that I wish I had never sold. Since I can only have one right now, I prefer the Gretsch 59 CG, but I wish I could have all three!

We all have "that tone" that we are looking for in our head and we set our amps and guitars controls accordingly. Most of the non-guitar playing public probably wouldn't notice the difference between those three guitars. No matter how much I try to sound like Chet, I always end up sounding like this guy named Chuck Schwickerath.

[JeffS]

Thanks for responding Chuck and srgntschultz.

I too have struggled with the volume of the neck pickup on my NC - especially the 2nd string. My NC has a very loud, harsh, almost metallic sound at the 8th, 12th, and 15th frets on the second string. I've learned to control it by picking the strings as far as possible from the bridge, but still those notes are hard to control. Gretsch and TV Jones have offered things to try to resolve the problem, but I think it is just 'one of those things'. I played it through a Victoria Victoriette and much of the harsh sounds were lessened if not completely eliminated. My guitar with that amp was probably the best I've ever had the chance to play. Unfortunately, I was out of work at the time and unable to purchase the amp. I have been unable to find another Victoria of this model to try, so I don't know if the amp I tried was unusally good in combination with my guitar or all of them would be similar. So, it may be my guitar in combination with my two amps that is causing the issues.

I guess what I'm enjoying and rediscovering about my Gibson is there are fewer 'things' to think about while I'm playing. I can concentrate more on what I'm playing and trying to get the best tone, and not those notes that require special attention as to how and where you pick the string.

I'm glad to learn that it's not just me that has experinced this (or something similar). I guess misery does love company. Based on what you said about the CGP, I would like to try one of those. Maybe I can run across one and try it out.

And yes, Paul was a special person, and all of us Chet fans and fingerstle players benefitted much from his generosity and willingnes to share information and his time. I never knew Paul personnally, but I emailed him several times with questions. He was always quick to respond and made me feel like he enjoyed talking with me and sharing his thoughts. He will surely be missed.

Jeff Stovall