The Delta Snake Review: Musical Gear Review & Article Archive

Review: 2006 Gretsch Wild West Sweetheart Guitar

The new Gretsch limited edition “Wild West Sweethearts” guitar is the logical extension of the baby boomer practice of buying a rare guitar and putting it in a glass case. Gretsch has created a guitar with a collectible box, which like doll collecting, will be an indispensable part of the package. You can buy it and just put it on the pedestal right out of the shopping bag.

You do have to give them credit. After gagging time after time after hearing about the latest Gibson limited edition Les Paul for a measly five thousand dollars, it's refreshing to know that one can get into collecting the “Rowdiest collection of acoustic guitars this side of the Mississippi” for the relatively sane sum of 150.00. Shucks, I've paid more for gas.

This 3/4 size guitar features a “real factory setup” (I know, the term is meaningless), a 24” scale, steel reinforced neck, a red finish that rivals the vintage faded Gibson guitars for drabness, and two of the cutest cartoon gun slinging gals you ever saw on a geetar.

Of course, I had to play it. Any ad campaign that points out that the guitar is made of real wood is bound to fascinate. It reminded me a lot of my first guitar, sort of a rich, resonant, but slightly thin cardboard sound.

Not at all unpleasant. The sound was slightly evocative and had that old-time aura (but then, my acoustic ear had been destroyed by old archtops and resonators). It isn't up to the level of a baby Taylor or even a Martin Backpacker, but there's no denying that when you whip this one out at the campfire, the mosh pit will be in front of the log you're playing at.

There is a serious side, to be fair. Gretsch is reviving an old tradition that was made famous by the old Hawaiian guitars of the 1920s and the cowboy cheapies of the Tex Ritter era. Those guitars made up for the relatively cheap construction by sporting outlandish and colorful illustrations of cowboys, palm trees, and that sort of thing. Many of those do sound decent, particularly when used on slide numbers.

I should also add, that many of those old guitars are highly collectible. Even better, even more, are in such bad condition that for slide players, a cool guitar is often only a hop away from a Salvation Armani or antique shop (avoid the latter, they will charge blue book).

For those who like to read the back of cereal boxes while you eat, the guitar box is a real treat. It has a variation of the famous “Hero of the Beach” ad where the skinny guy gets sand kicked in his face in front of his already gorgeous girlfriend (so why's he worried), takes guitar lessons, and comes back all buff and kicks the bejeesus out of the bully (who was probably a Gibson Les Paul Custom owner to boot).

Rounding out the fun are the ads that promise guitar mastery in just days, various novelty items we all saw in comic books (yes, I know you all read those at one time), and the cool Gretsch Americana front cover. Nice to have something to read while you play, eh?

Also, need I add, it proudly proclaims that the guitar is made of real wood! The words even look like twigs! I don't know if this will be a success, but it's nice to see a fun novelty guitar with some real history behind it sport a reasonable price tag.

I'd certainly recommend to anyone who wants to try out a 3/4 guitar (for travel, etc) to try this one. Sometimes a fun guitar plays better than a more serious one that tries too hard (see Martin Backpacker) or costs too much (see Taylor).

I have to admit, there isn't one of these fun little guitars in my near future. I already have an old beat-up Gretsch archtop featuring indifferent craftsmanship. For me, the past is already the present.

- Al Handa

2006

Note: This review first appeared on the ePinions.com site in 2006. This and other reviews were short takes that accompanied the link to a business that sold the guitar. As a rule, the guitar had to be at least examined and played by the reviewer (and ideally owned). In my case, a severe case of GAS made it possible to have at least owned the reviewed instrument for a short while. I'm reprinting these as having another source on a guitar never hurts, even if the reviews aren't definitive. Other than minor corrections, these short takes are unchanged from the original text. I figure that it might be helpful to keep the older perspective.

The Quitturz by Al Handa