Gretsch- Grass Root Series, I think they have a winner!

blue_knight_usa

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Hi All, I am sure some of you have seen that Gretsch is back in the uke business. Anyone buy one? I had a 200.00 gift card from Amazon and thought "I wonder if I can a uke in this price range" and the hunt began...just before Amazon's sales tax kicked in for us California folks. I picked up a Grass Roots cut away with the new Kula pickup by Fishman. The built in tuner is so so but it will get you close, however the Kula pickup really amazed me.

Played through my Crate amp, there is no noise, it is extremely clean and runs on the watch style thin battery rather than a massive 9v and is externally accessible with a slide out slot.

The uke is in perfect intonation which really did surprise me, up to the 14th fret. Who plays on the 15th-18th frets often anyhow? No big deal here. After the 14th fret it's a few cents off but for what I paid (199.00 free shipping and no tax) It sounds really good. "MADE IN CHINA" but I have to tell you this is not what I thought it would be. It is beyond what I expected for this price. I had a Pono Tenor I sold which was a 450.00 uke and this one plays equally as well and sounds maybe a bit better acoustically and I can really adjust it nicely with 3-way EQ, yes you can control the bass, mid and high's with separate adjustment knobs. Seems people are started to get dialed in with China manufactures and they are turning out some decent instruments from there. This is one for sure that did not dissapoint me.

Inside the uke is super clean, no glue, no visible issues, and outside is decent with a stain job.

Comes with Aquilas which I do not like and I put on a set of Living Water strings and it sings. Great sustain, it's Mahogany (they also have a Deluxe non-cut away 100% Mahogany (NOT LAMINATE). Also comes with Grover geared tuners and mop fret markers on the fretboard and side markers on the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 14th frets. This makes a fantastic upgrade from a first uke to something more substantial which you could play anywhere including plugged in.

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I'll be doing a video review soon and will post a note once the review is ready. For 199.00 I think it's worth it if that's the price range you are looking at and are looking for a nice playing tenor. Gretsch did a decent job. My only question is will they be consistent. Only time will tell.
 
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Nice! They're great, I love the tone I get with the soprano I got. I'm still so surprised that this thing retails for less than $100! If that uke sounds as impressive as the one I bought, you're in for a treat!
 
I've heard lots of good things about Gretsch's new ukes, but not as much about Gretsch's new mandolins.
 
I agree...I had one and gigged with it a bit...really nice looking and sounding...should have kept that one! I've seen the mandolins and played the new banjo's too. The Mando's are nice looking a good sounding, the basic open back banjo is a lot like the Epi version, but a steal at the price they are asking...and the 6 string banjo is a blast!
 
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