Guitar Reviews 4U - the Cahaya CY0264 Aluminium folding Guitar Stand

 

Reviewing the Cahaya CY0264 Aluminium Guitar Stand 

The Cahaya CY0264 Aluminium Guitar Stand 

A short review of this stand I found on Amazon a few months ago.

I've purchased a few guitar stands over the years, probably the best was an On-Stage brand Japanese made stand in 1984, I still use it today.

I was recently looking for a couple of stands for live work and at home and sadly most of the choice out there was either poorly made or not the style I wanted.

The Pick holder Comb and compartment

I happened to find the Cahaya stand on Amazon and it was around £34.00, higher priced than most stands on the market so I took a punt on one.

I was not disappointed, the stand is really great value for money. It features a comb on the top of the stand where you can store picks on their side for quick selection if one is lost from your hand and also a small compartment on top for picks and thumb picks.

The Guitar Stand rear view -

adjustments are easy to make for height

The Stand can be folded down compactly for transport and is very simple to use.

I certainly trust it to hold expensive guitars! 

The design is nicely done and the way it clips together and is adjustable is well thought out. 

I found another used one on Ebay for 315 and bought that one, as well as two new ones from Amazon, so I have four of them in all.

Get one while you can!

 

Guitar Reviews 4U - The Gretsch 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod Extreme Coolant Green Sparkle guitar

 

Reviewing the Gretsch 6120 Brian Setzer 

Hot Rod Green Sparkle guitar

Well, you'll either like the colour or loathe it! Here we have a review of a used 2021 Gretsch 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod guitar in Extreme Coolant Green sparkle shade.

The Gretsch Hot Rod 6120 in Green Sparkle

I have owned about 3 Hot Rods from the 6120 series over the years and they are nice guitars, from an early Gretsch 'Fred Gretsch 3rd' era Candy Tangerine guitar, a 2008 Candy Apple Red (I should have kept!) and a 2013 Flat black one.

 Sharleen Spitteri of Texas rocking her Gretsch 6120 Green Sparkle  

at Glastonbury in 2023 - a guitar she really likes by all accounts

I was tempted to buy the new Gretsch 6120 Blueburst Hot rod, but this Green Sparkle one came up as a used but like new one for £1999 and much below the £3k as new price they are often on sale for. The new Blueburst was on offer at the same price.

Depending on the light, the sparkle really shows

and like Hot Rod 'Trick' colours it does interestingly vary in shade

Liking outrageous colours, it seemed a good deal to buy the Green one. I wouldn't mind a Regal Blue 6120 Hot Rod as I have a 5420T in Fairlane Blue but they rarely come up, the 6120 Blueburst I didn't totally take to the graduated finish on the example seen, so the Green one it was.

The Headstock of the 'Brian Setzer Hot Rod Model' -

The model description plate now reinstated on this edition.

So, back to the 6120 Hot Rod, Gretsch have worked with Brian Setzer over the years on this model and colours and specifications have changed on these guitars as they have evolved. 

The 2015 lost the model plate but gained 'Hot Rod' 

model engraving to the Truss Rod plate.

The Green Sparkle colour has made a comeback in recent years, previously a set of transparent shades over flame Maple finish has been on offer for a few years. The range seems to have largely gone back to solid colours.

Internally, the 59 Trestle Bracing is still present which makes for a more solid construction and the guitar unplugged is vibrant and bright sounding. The body is standard 6120 depth, I say that, in context with the 6120 TM and 6120 AM guitar body depths.

The Brian Setzer 6120 Signature Pickup

This edition features TV Jone Brian Setzer Filtertrons, which differ from the previous Filtertrons on the Hot Rod guitars. The current signature pickups give a nice full tone on the neck pickup and an all almost single coil sharpness on the bridge pickup.

The stripped down ethic loses the Hot Rod Pickguard - 

I would prefer it being supplied with the guitar as a fit later option.

I may purchase a pick guard for mine.

The neck has been reshaped with a 9.5" radius at the nut levelling out to a 12" radius further up the neck for easier solo playing and reducing the choking of notes higher up the neck. It is a nice neck to play, the Terada company that makes these guitars do a great job at construction of these instruments.  

The previous Serial number decal on the headstock rear has gone -

replaced by Brian's signature on the rear headstock face.

The serial number now is on the label inside the body.

The Sperzl Locking Tuners are now replaced by Gotoh equivalents

So what is the playing experience like? In the hands, the guitar feels just right, the body depth is just there, not too thin or too deep, the neck is easy to play and has a great feel - Terada hand carve theirs.

As you can see from study lighting, the paint shade varies in the light -

part of the 'Hot Rod' ethic of 'trick' paints designed to do exactly that!

As mentioned, the acoustic sound is bright, plugged in the guitar sounds good, the neck pickup is great for swing and jazz playing, the combined pickups gives more treble to the rhythm and the bridge pickup only selected, has a sharp tone, like a single coil.

Of course there is no tone control circuitry on this stripped down variant of the 6120 and this does give you a more direct sound from the pickups.

Having owned the variations of the Hot Rods, this does not disappoint. Previously one could choose a Hot rod with Standard or TV Jones Filtertrons, however, Gretsch now only offer the Hot Rod with the Brian Setzer Signature pickups. 

Perhaps their market research figures and customer feedback has shown people upgrade the standard units to the TV Jones units and from a manufacturing perspective, it simplifies matters just to fit those upgrades in the first place to unify the specification.

Improved with a Hot Rod Pickguard which I removed the paint from

The Hot Rod series shows no signs of deletion, with changes abounding on each variance of the continuing basic model. As we have noted across the years, this long lived model line has changed colour shades, hardware and specifications across time. The true nature of Hot Rodding in essence, moving away from the original stock offering.

You can hardly see the guard from here -

the addition of the guard has made the guitar easier to play

Buy if you want that earlier Brian Setzer Hot Rod sound - however, I have seen an earlier previous specification Hot from the 2000's I may also go for as I miss the old Candy Red one! 

The Pickguard was quite an easy fit and well worth doing.

Guitar Reviews 4U - D'Addario EZ890 85/15 Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings

                  

Guitar Reviews 4U - D'Addario EZ890 85/15 Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings

More great Strings from D'Addario

I was more than pleased to find out recently that D'Addario make a 9 set for Acoustic Guitar. So why did I want these?

Two reasons, D'Addario strings are lower tension than their competitor brands so on a guitar that isn't played often and left in tune, under tension, then these strings will be kinder to the guitar.

I have two acoustics that are infrequently played so these strings will do the job, one is a Gretsch Rancher from about 2008 ands the other is a Martin D28 clone that I have owned for 40 years.

Noting on the D'Addario EXL Electric Strings the difference in tension loading between a set of 9's and 10's, got me thinking, do they make 9's for acoustic?

Well, I am glad to say they do. I fitted a set to the Rancher at the weekend and they sound superb, very clear and defined and easy to play.

They are slightly lighter sounding than a 10 set but are easier to play and less string tension on the guitar, so if you have a guitar tuned up you don't play that often it is much better for the guitar/

In my view, heavier strings only load the guitar more, I never use heavier than a 10 top and often read about people loading 13 top string sets on a guitar. 

Not for me!

I have used D'Addario strings for 40 years now and they are my string of choice for acoustic and electric.

Guitar Reviews 4U The Gretsch 6120 DE Duane Eddy signature model from 1997 Terada Japan made

Reviewing the Gretsch 6120 Duane Eddy signature model guitar

The recent sad news of the passing of guitarist Duane Eddy one of the lifelong influences on my music came a few weeks back before this review. I was just one of countless players that were inspired by that great sound Duane created. A Gretsch 6120 Duane Eddy signature model recently came up for sale and I now have it as seen here.

The Gretsch 6120 Duane Eddy neck and headstock -

Ebony board, Pearl Tombstone markers and flame Maple veneer.

This is wider than the 6120AM and similar '1959/60/ pattern headstocks.

This is a 1997 Terada made Gretsch and is a superb guitar in 

about as near mint condition as you can get for a 27 year old guitar!

I have been a long time fan of Duane Eddy's guitar style, having heard him on Top of the Pops in around 1975 when he performed 'Play me like you play your old guitar'. As an aspiring and very junior player then, I liked what I was hearing.

Duane Eddy with one of the 1997 Signature guitars -

it sounds just like the guitar on the Camden cassettes!

It even has the Space Control Bridge fitted!

Moving on to 1983 and now playing electric guitar, my uncle gave me a pair of Camden Records Cassette Tapes of Duane Eddy hits and this was immediately something I started to play along to and copy. The cassette inlay card showed Duane and his original 1957 6120 on the cover and that was a guitar I wanted to own.

A 1974 Gretsch Viking came up for sale around this time and I purchased that in 1985 for £750, it was not really the guitar I was really wanting but it was a very important guitar and almost 40 years on I am still playing and enjoying Gretsch guitars.

The Dearmond Dynastic pickups and Bigsby vibrato -

the superb Gretsch Western Orange stain is intact on this guitar

When Fred Gretsch III bought back the Gretsch company in 1985, it needed a facility to build guitars or subcontract the work until it could produce again in-house. The US companies approached to build the guitars lacked interest and the Japanese Terada company stepped in as they had much experience in building these types of guitars.

 The sealed tuners are an improvement over the open backed originals -

The neck side dots are black not red as on the later edition

In 1997 with Chet Atkins under contract to other guitar brands, Fred Gretsch looked to other notable Gretsch players for signature model Gretsch guitars. The obvious Gretsch players for signature model guitars at the time were Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats and instrumentalist Duane Eddy, both Gretsch 6120 players.

Terada being the ideal factory to produce the 6120 signature models, Fred Gretsch had to then borrow original vintage models to measure up for the new 6120 reissue and signature series instruments. 

Some guitars of this new Gretsch era were issued with unusual model features for the eras they were suggested to represent, some liberties were taken with 'originality' and features such as early block fretboard markers on a guitar with a later Bigsby and Filtertron pickups are an example, although these do make these guitars collector's pieces today however. In later years, the models moved to having more correct 'stock' specifications and away from the rather 'unusual' equipment. 

The early signature pick guard - later the signature was placed more centrally - 

Dynasonic Pickups and 3 way switching with Tone Controls are the order of the day.

The 1997 Duane Eddy signature guitar sought to establish a general representation of Duane's original 1957 guitar, some 40 years on from his original purchase. Featuring Dearmond Dynasonic pickups, Bigsby original pattern vibrato unit, space control bridge (which came later than when Duane's guitar was made and was not an original fixture on his 1957 6120), ebony fretboard, tombstone fret markers, sealed machine heads with a better gear ratio than the original open back ones, brass nut, classic Gretsch orange finish and the unique strap buttons.

Superbly crafted work means it stays together better

The Terada build quality is superb, I have to say. I have owned a number of Terada made Gretsch guitars and they are way better than the old USA ones I owned or played. The 6120 DE is slightly deeper than a standard 6120 but that doesn't bother me.

The 6120DE is a super guitar -

this 1997 one is exceptional and in near new condition

The playability is superb, the pickups have a great sound and the simplified switching of pickups with the bonus of Tone Control knobs is useful and something you also get on the Electromatic 5120 and 5420 series guitars. 

This guitar was purchased second hand from a well known guitar store, however they obviously didn't check it before shipping it as the Bridge was in the wrong place and the intonation was way out, however a few moments of careful adjustment and all was well and it was playing in tune.

The Bridge was also set up too high, so with a few minutes well spent it was more playable. The string height at the nut was a touch high so I left that to do later. I tried the guitar out against some pop videos and found it sounded very like Duane's 6120. Having owned Dyna Gakki and Fuji Gen Gretsches which I still have, I was not going to be surprised by anything unusual here. In fact, it was business as usual - great guitar, great feel, great sound.

Since my initial play of the guitar, I have now set the guitar up properly, the string height at the Brass nut was a little high so that has been adjusted by some very careful bridge slot filing. 

I had not filed a Brass guitar nut and it was approached with a great deal of caution, using Swiss Jewellery files to very carefully do the job. It was time well spent and the cautious approach did pay off as it is much better. It is not ultra slick but it will be quite sufficient for my needs and is now 2mm lower at the first fret than it was.

I graphite powdered the nut slots and fitted a set of new D'Addario 10's which has improved matters, the strings on it were the same make but likely 11's. 

It now sounds a lot brighter, is easier to play and really has a very close sound to Duane's original 1957 guitar. I used a Fender Bassman amplifier model on my Tonelab set up as a Rockabilly scenario with a slight reverb and echo and it is edited to a more guitar like sound, giving a sound that was very close to Duane Eddy's old Magnatone on some of the tunes.

The 6120DE in this old pre-Fender ownership era version is a very nice guitar, I had a 6120 Hot Rod from this Fender era and it was also a superb player. The Duane Eddy is slightly under 16 inches wide and about 2.8 inches deep, so is in the general area of authenticity measurement wise. It is slightly deeper than my 6120AM & TM but that isn't an issue for me.

The 1997 Duane Eddy 6120 does take a few liberties away from the total originality of Duane's 1957 guitar, but this is small beer, the guitar looks and feels like it should and plays like a dream now. The sound is right, good and the Bigsby works nicely. This 6120DE fulfils the objective for those who can't stretch to an original and on that note as such, these Japan made guitars are just so well made they are likely to still be great in decades to come.

This 6120 has a Space Control Bridge, one of the 'liberties' taken on this model when they were introduced in 1997 but I really like this model of bridge. I have a Space Control Bridge on my 6120AM and that works fine, it is about my favourite bridge and with a Bigsby it helps keep things in tune as the string moves the wheel and doesn't 'hang up' on a saddle like it can on a standard Tunamatic. Talking of Tunamatics, on my 6120TM I have a Vanson Tunamatic with roller saddles and that is a great upgrade and not expensive either.

Away from the obvious Duane Eddy playalong tunes, the Dynasonics do sound different to the Filtertrons I am more used to playing on my other 6120s. I tried this one solo and against backing tracks, it really sounds nice and the front pickup has some very nice jazzy tones. 

Overall, this was a superb buy at £2300, with the new correct models at around £3300+(£3,700 in some stores), the condition of the guitar is almost mint, more closet classic than anything and I am very pleased with it. It needed about half an hour in all to put it to where it should be for easy playing but that was something I can do and the end result is well worth the time spent.

The only danger with buying a Gretsch is that you will soon want another. And another...

Maybe a Coolant Green 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod next!

Or the Blueburst 6120 Hot Rod..... who knows!