Gretsch 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod in Candy Blueburst finish
Our review for you is for the Gretsch 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod -
You will be blown away by the 'Blueburst' colour when you see it for yourself
Brian Setzer's partnership with Gretsch since the late 1990's has spawned affordable model editions of his classic 6120 and the modified 6120 Hot Rod guitars.
Blueburst 2022, Lime gold 2005 and Green Sparkle 2022 Hot Rods
Now in the 5th generation era, the Hot Rod series has produced some desirable guitars over the last almost thirty years. One particular favourite of mine was the Regal Blue 6120 Hot Rod, a guitar I have rarely seen for sale on the used guitar market.
the lack of a pickguard is notable here - one is now fitted
When I was aware of the current 6120 in Candy Blueburst, I was interested in one but after seeing it on a video in less than ideal lighting, I did think again. I had seen a 6120 Chet Atkins in blueburst as a used guitar which wasn't in the best of condition for about £500 more, so when an extreme coolant green 6120 came along, it was for me.
The blue paint really sets off the inlaid name
and the chromed hardware
However, I did rethink the Hot Rod in blue recently and I am glad to say I did go for one that was on sale at £1999 and I review it here for you. Like the Anniversary Green guitars, the Candy Blueburst paint is a difficult colour to photograph and to the human eye it really is amazing, the photographs of this guitar don't really do it justice.
Brian Setzer loves his Gretsch 6120 Blueburst too!
It has the Hot Rod 'trick paint' effect in that in certain light sources the colour can change shade. The metallic candy effect certainly contributes to this.
The Brian Setzer decal adorns the rear of the headstock -
Locking machines take care of tuning stability
As with this and the last era Hot Rods, the guitars now do not feature a pickguard, or a pickguard in the case to fit later. I personally prefer the guard fitted for playing and aesthetic reasons, which I have contacted Fender about but they have not responded on this.
I fitted a genuine Hot Rod guard to this guitar, which will make it look like the earlier Regal Blue incarnation of the guitar and improves the playability. If you fit a Pickguard you may find that you need to use the Bigsby plastic spring spacer washer - this is in the bag with the Truss Rod Nut spanner.
Detune the guitar, lift the Bigsby arm and take out the spring, put the washer in the 'well' where the spring sits and put the spring back in - top in first and then let the arm down so the Bigsby seats on the spring, then tune up and you will find that the arm is at the right height for a Pickguard.
One of the best of the Hot Rod 6120 colours ever -
Genuine Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod Pickguard now added
This new edition 6120 Hot Rod also features the single volume control moved nearer to the edges of the lower body horn, not something that I see adds any value and looks a bit out of symmetry with the lower horn. It looks frankly oddly placed when compared to an earlier hotrod.
The placement of the volume pot looks odd compared to a 2012 Hot Rod
Against a standard modern era 6120, the Hot Rod has a 9.5 inch radius neck at the nut, it is a joy to play and for those modern Stratocaster players used to a Player series or a 50's reissue Stratocaster, then you'll feel at home here.
The Korean 5420T has a slightly deeper body and no trestle bracing
These Gretsch Hot Rod guitars are made by the Terada company in Japan and the build quality and finish is superb. The paint on this guitar is difficult to spray as the graduation between the two shades of blue is hard to achieve, the paint is a Candy paint, having that slight metallic look.
The guitar paint to the human eye is like a Kingfisher bird, which has blue plumage that shimmers in the light and reminds me of how this paint catches the light. Of the two shades of blue on this guitar I prefer the darker one, but the guitar is almost like a combination of the recent electromatic series blue shades here Fairlane Blue and Azure metallic. The combo of the shades really works.
The blue finish is hard to capture on film -
it is outstanding and has metallic lustre small candy flakes
The Hot Rod utilises the 59 Trestle bracing construction on the Hot Rod guitars - a fixture since 2004 and has a thinner maple laminate body like a 1960 6120 and is slightly thinner than my 5420T Electomatic in the pictures, but the 6120 is nicely bright sounding too.
The Brian Setzer signature TV Jones pickups are bright and sound great, I used my 6120 Green Sparkle Hot Rod version with a jazz band recently and it sounded great.
Against a TV Jones 6120 Hot Rod from around 2005, the newer Brian Setzer Signature pickups are noticeably brighter sounding and have a slightly higher output volume.
These new signature pickups fall between Filtertrons and DeArmonds in sound, having a nice woody sound on the neck pickup and at the same time clarity and a clear treble sound on the top strings. On the Bridge pickup these guitars have a real cutting Treble sound. The neck pickup gives an unmistakeable Gretsch sound.
A Vanson Roller Saddle Tunamatic was installed -
With a Pickguard fit the plastic space washer under the Bigsby Spring
as the 'no guard' Hot Rods have a shorter Bigsby Spring -
the washer will bring the arm up to the right height with the guard fitted
The neck is a nice slim feel and to it and is superbly crafted by Terada. Topped off with Gotoh locking machines, which make string tuning and stability when using the Bigsby much more secure. The Bigsby design here is my favourite type, the B6C 'V' type. It has an easy action and contributes to the great sound.
For preference, I swapped the original Tunamatic rigid 'knife edge' saddle bridge for a Vanson roller saddle Tunamatic, which helps keep the guitar in tune when the Bigsby is used a lot. I've used the Vanson roller saddle bridge on about 8 Gretsches and the unit is inexpensive but an improvement over the knife edge Tunamatic fitted as standard.
Pickguards improve the playing experience
Both these 2022 6120 Hot Rods have guards fitted
Strap locks are equipped on this guitar and it is an improvement to have these for ease of strap fitting and removal.
The guitar sits well on a strap and does not 'dive' as it is equally balanced. Across a number of playing styles it is versatile and playing is easy and you are not having to fight the guitar to get a good playing experience.
The Japan necks are really a joy to play, once the guitar is set up you can just get on with enjoyable playing and not find yourself struggling to play. This guitar is a delight to play and I have not been disappointed with any of the ones I have played. Mostly I use one for Swing or Jazz and the sound and the playing experience is great.
The B6C Bigsby is such a good unit -
far superior to the one that came with the 5420T originally
This particular 6120 Hot Rod example is particularly nice to play, that said I have owned 6 Hot Rod 6120's in all over the years and have found all of them to be very nice players.
I have over the last 40 years owned around 20 Gretsch guitars and the Japan made ones are the best in my view, that includes owning 60's and 70's American made Gretsch guitars.
I definitely recommend one of these great guitars!
If you're considering a 6120 Hot Rod, the Blue one is fantastic, I did look at the Candy Magenta and Magenta Sparkle guitars too but wasn't totally swayed by the colour which was a bit pink - having owned a candy apple red one before I should have kept!
I understand that the Hot Rod model is difficult to keep evolving with colours, finishes, guards or no guards and flamed tops or solid paint colours, but we do get a really good guitar at the end of it. I do think they should include a guard in the case with the guitar even if not fitted as a production process.
The 6120 is supplied with a Gretsch hard case with purple faux fur lining, the interior case pocket has a set of Grover Strap Locks included, Truss Rod spanner and a plastic packing washer for the Bigsby to increase the arm height, the washer sits under the Bigsby spring as described earlier.
Quality of build and finish is superb on these Japanese made guitars. This guitar was new but somewhat old stock, not set up and the Rosewood fretboard was dry, hardly acceptable from a guitar shop calling itself a leading retailer.
That aside, a new set of D'addario 10's, an oil or two and a set up and it sounds as fantastic as it looks.
With a list price of £2499, at £1999 in a summer sale it was a great deal although I had been considering it for some months I am glad I did go for it.
As I have been setting up guitars for many years, having to do this job wasn't a big issue but for a guitar of this ticket price the guitar should have been ready to play out of the box.
Try one and see for yourself! You will want one. Buy one before they are gone!
