My impressions after only one day:
The pinned bridge is great, but in typical "historically accurate" fashion, it's a 12" radius bridge on a 9.5" radius neck. I knew it would be going in. The effect is that if the outside strings are setup right, the middle two strings buzz. Brian Setzer sets the action high and the bridge helps to keep the high strings from fretting out. Doesn't work for me - I hate it (as do many others), so I'll order a TruArc bridge to replace the rattle-trap bridge on there now.
Between the Guild and the Gretsch:
I like the neck better on the Guild (Guild=C, Gretsch=V)
I like the fretboard better on the Gretsch (Ebony)
I like the fretboard radius better on the Guild (12" vs. 9.5" on the Gretsch)
I like the pickups better on the Gretsch (Fender-esqe craptastic "HB1s" suck on the Guild)
I like the finish (lacquer) better on the Gretsch
I like the wood (flamed) better on the Guild (but still dig the Gretsch)
I like the headstock better on the Guild
I like the tuners (locking spretzles) on the Gretsch
I like the case a LOT better on the Guild
I like the controls better on the Guild, though I love the MV on the Gretsch
I have to say, I like the dice.
The body is a bit smaller on the Gretsch. No opinion either way.
The Gretsch gets that Gretsch spank that the Guild just can't deliver. That, is IMO, 100% the pickups. Unplugged they sound VERY similar, though the Gretsch might be a tad brighter with the Ebony board.
The Guild is (IMO) classier looking
The Gretsch is (IMO) more classic rockabilly looking, mostly thanks to Brian Setzer in my mind at least.
So where do I stand? As many of you may remember, I have a self-imposed rule of "only one type of guitar at a time", hence the title of this thread. From a looks standpoint, they're pretty darn similar, especially to a non-player. My wife said, upon seeing the Gretsch, "Don't you already have one of those?"
Plugged in though, the pickups make all the difference. Even though I'm no fan of the Fender HB1s, they're thicker than the TV Jones enough to make a real difference. I could convince myself to keep them both. But I bet you knew that didn't you.
Will I keep them both? I don't know. My main goal in a hollow body of this type is playing Setzer tunes, and the Gretsch is the winner there. For Jazz, I could use my Starfire II, which has the ever so much sweeter SD1 pickups and warm sounding mahogany body. There is just something sexy about the X170T though. Something I can't quantify. I think a part of it is that I'm just flat-out a sucker for a pretty Guild, and this is a damn pretty Guild. I've always been a sucker for a pretty redhead, and they've always gotten me into trouble.
This is the first step in my shaking up my guitar collection a bit. My goal is to have every guitar I've dreamed of (within financial reason), and the Gretsch is one of them.
