Scottsdale, AZ (January 25, 2014) -- Gretsch is proud to release several fresh takes on its classic designs as well as brand new creations for the 2015 NAMM Show.
The gorgeous G6120-1959LTV Chet Atkins Hollow Body is now available in a special limited edition model with beautiful quilt maple top. All the other special touches are still there, too, including trestle bracing beneath the bound arched top, dual TV Jones Classic Filter’Tron pickups with three-way toggle switching, 12”-radius ebony fingerboard with zero fret and mother-of-pearl Neo Classic “thumbnail” inlays, and a nitrocellulose lacquer finish in rich Vintage Orange. Other premium features include a two-piece maple neck with walnut stripe and vintage “V” profile, 22 vintage-style frets and bone nut, bound f holes, gold plexi pickguard with silhouette Gretsch logo and Chet Atkins signpost graphic, three-way master tone switch, “GArrow” master volume control and volume controls for each pickup, rosewood-based “rocking” bar bridge, Bigsby® B6C vibrato tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuners, nickel hardware and deluxe hard-shell case.
The G6122-12 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman12-String still doubles the sound of the classic model with the chiming, jangling sound of the ’60s, and is now available once again in an elegant Amber Stain finish.
The model’s other classic features remain, including the bound double-cutaway hollow body with arched top, parallel tone bar bracing and simulated f holes; maple neck with bound ebony fingerboard, zero fret and mother-of-pearl Neo Classic thumbnail inlays; dual High Sensitive Filter’Tron pickups; three position pickup switch, three-position master tone switch and standby switch; gold plexi pickguard; bound headstock with gold headstock nameplate and gold-plated Grover Rotomatic tuners; and gold-plated hardware, 12-string Adjusto-Matic bridge and “G”-cutout tailpiece. Includes deluxe hard-shell case.
The flagship Chet Atkins Hollow Body has never before been offered in alluring Cadillac Green. Until now. The limited edition G6120 Chet Atkins Hollow Body LTD Cadillac Green is an elegantly verdant version of the quintessential modern 6120, with gold appointments that complete its refined look and style.
All the classic 6120 Chet Atkins Hollow Body features are here too, including the 16”-wide, 2 1/2”-deep single-cutaway hollow body; rock maple neck and ebony fingerboard with Neo-Classic thumbnail inlays; dual High Sensitive Filter’Tron pickups; Adjusto-Matic bridge and Bigsby B6G vibrato tailpiece; Grover Rotomatic tuners and more. Includes deluxe hard-shell case.
The classic 1950s Gretsch New Yorker archtop guitar returns. From casual playing to pro performance, this grand auditorium size archtop will be your new favorite for its excellent tone, effortless playing action and handsome good looks.
Features include an arched solid spruce top, laminated maple sides and arched back, custom wound vintage-style single-coil pickup with rubberized magnet, vintage-style “V”-shaped mahogany neck profile, rosewood fingerboard, 25” scale, compensated rosewood bridge with trapeze tailpiece, nickel hardware, and a stylish antique semi-gloss sunburst finish.
Gretsch presents a darkly alluring take on its classic acoustic model with the G5013CE Rancher Jr. Black. With its all-black look, elegant appointments and onboard electronics, it’s a cool and classic performer with a distinctive Gretsch personality all its own.
The G5013CE has a single-cutaway, 4.5”- deep Rancher Jr. body featuring a spruce top with scalloped “X” bracing, arched mahogany back and mahogany sides for excellent tonal character, projection and balance.
The bound mahogany neck is topped by a 21-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearloid Neo-Classic “Thumbnail” position inlays. Other features include the classic Rancher triangular soundhole, a “red shell” pickguard with the Gretsch logo, multiply body binding, rosewood bridge with compensated synthetic bone saddle, deluxe tuners and a Fishman Isys+ pickup/preamp system with under-saddle pickup, onboard tuner, master volume, treble and bass controls, and phase control.
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MXR Rockman X100 Recreates Tom Scholz's Iconic Boston Guitar Sound | First Look
But just as decades of advances in listening technology make the Walkman now seem clunky and dated, modern guitar tech makes the Rockman look like old news. Multi-effects units, modelers, and portable interfaces all surpass the convenience of the Rockman in form factor as well as in sheer number of sonic options. But while there are any number of ways to dial up an ’80s-style guitar tone these days, nothing’s better than the real thing. The Rockman’s analog tones are still as legit as it gets. Though Dunlop continues to produce the Guitar Ace, Metal Ace, and Bass Ace headphone amps (for a cool $99 street), a pedal version with the functionality of the original would be the ultimate modern package for ’80s fetishists, right? Enter the MXR Rockman X100.
With Tones Like These, Who Needs Options
After the release of the original Rockman, Scholz continued to develop the product, spawning a whole line. But for its pedal resurrection, the MXR team set their sights on the Rockman X100, which used hard-clipping LED diodes for its two distorted settings. The new stompbox version recreates all four modes from the original: cln2 is the default setting, cln1 in the second position is EQ’d with a mid-boost, edge delivers moderate clipping, and dist is high-gain. All are switchable via a small LED-lit mode button, and a control input allows for external mode switching. Another button activates an analog chorus circuit using MN3007 bucket brigade chips, as in the original.
To drive home the ’80s aesthetic, MXR used sliders for volume and input gain controls. Volume determines output, while input gain is tied to compression. Higher input gain means more compression, which is tuned for slower release on the two clean modes, and a fast release on both dirty modes. The X100 works in both mono and stereo, but to change between them, you have to pop off the back to access an internal switch. Just make sure a TRS cable is used for stereo mode, or else the output will be muted while the pedal is bypassed.
The only things I noticed that are missing from the original’s simple set of features is the headphone output and the echo settings. I don’t know how many players would find value in the headphone jack, and considering that would add circuitry, it’s probably best for cost and space savings that it was excluded. As for the echo, you can argue that it’s canon, but I find it to be the least essential feature and don’t miss it, personally.
(Much) More Than a Feeling
Since I do not have an original Scholz X100 sitting on my desk, I’m using YouTube videos and records—Def Leppard’s Hysteria, Huey Lewis and the News’ Sports, and Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien, for example—as my reference points. Those are high bars to clear, and the MXR gets there.
The default cln2 setting delivers instant gratification, with a full-bodied, sparkly tone, no matter what guitar I played through it. And though it provides loads of ’80s fun, it’s much more versatile than that, offering a great all-round clean tone that requires no additional processing. Though it might seem odd that cln2 is the default, switching to cln1’s thinner, more mid-focused sound makes the design decision clear. I can imagine situations where I’d need to cut through a mix and cln1 would be preferred, but I found myself sticking with the default mode for all my clean needs.
The distorted modes are differentiated mostly by how much gain they offer. Edge tones live just beyond the point of overdrive, and the input gain control adds a range of extra texture. The dist mode is full-on, pick-squeal-inducing high-gain saturation, with loads of everlasting sustain. These modes lean into the aesthetic much harder than the clean modes, making it a less versatile tool, but for ’80s rock excess, I can’t imagine a better option.
On a couple recording sessions, I plugged the X100 right into an interface and board to deliver spanky direct clean tones as well as tight, saturated distortion. In doing so, I discovered that direct recording is my preferred use for the X100. That’s not to say it doesn’t sound great through an amp—it does. But plugging into a front end of an amp yields less classic and authentic Rockman sounds, as the amplifier’s preamp colors the tone. Plugged through a few Fenders, I found that the treble needed taming, a problem I didn’t have when forgoing the amp. For live playing, I might explore plugging the X100 into the return input on an amp’s effects loop or right into a powered speaker to deliver an unadulterated Rockman sound more in line with the original.
The Verdict
MXR nailed it with the Rockman X100 pedal by focusing on the limited options of the original unit and getting them just right. For $229, you not only get a great ’80s rock tone, you get what is arguably the ’80s rock tone, with no other gear required, unless you want to add a little ’80s-vintage reverb too. As a performance tool, it’s probably best to think less like you’re using a pedal and more like you’re using the original in a different form, which is to say that plugging straight into an amp isn’t the only way to get the sound you want—and, in fact, it’s probably not even the best way. For recording, it’s a perfect tool. PG
