Every guitar player started out as a beginner. While some were fortunate enough to have mid-range guitars right off the bat, most (me included) struggled to play on a crappy old beaten guitar.
It does take some time to build calluses and it doesn’t hurt after a couple of weeks, but the guitar I had was a stubborn one, and it was bent on giving me a hard time. Somehow, the strings were pretty high and I didn’t know any better, so I thought I was not good enough yet.
Even after a year of playing, I couldn’t do a barre properly.
That was my first clue.
I do like the memories I have with that guitar but it was painful (trust me, no other word fits better) to play it.
Years later, I have gotten a bit wiser and would recommend anybody starting out to start on one that is decently set up and is known to have a good Brand reputation. I was very curious to know if the cheap entry-level G9500 is fit for a beginner.
In this article, we take a look at the inexpensive G9500 Acoustic to see whether these are worth buying. We are also going to take a look at the construction choices in detail and how they affect the playability and tone.
Table of Contents
Overview of Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy Acoustic
Gretsch Guitars Jim Dandy Flat Top Acoustic Guitar 2-Color Sunburst
Specification
- Excellent quality and playability
- Portable
- Agathis wood, rosewood frets
Our Verdict
In terms of playability and tone, the Gretsch G9500 does a solid job at being a serious entry-level acoustic. If you need a quality instrument that sounds great and lets you learn without cutting yourself or being a pain, definitely go for one!
Gretsch, widely known to be a high-quality guitar manufacturer with the exceptional build quality, is also great at innovative ideas. The Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy is a parlor guitar (just means that it is smaller than normal-sized ones).
It is ¾ scale in length.
Scale length for a guitar is just the length between the nut and the bridge where the string eets. 25” scale is considered to be full scale and anything less, like say, three-fourths of that, is considered to be of a smaller scale.
Many guitarists shy away from anything but full-scale guitars but a smaller scale is just as playable and amazing as a full-scale one. It’s just different.
Shorter scale guitars compromise on the bass and sound brighter and punchier than their counterparts. Being smaller also means that it takes up less room and will fit right in with your other guitars.
It could be an ideal guitar to take on holidays and trips with you.
Build materials
Given that it’s an entry-level guitar, it’s obvious that the materials used in the build are definitely not exotic woods. In fact, the wood used is Agathis.
Agathis is pretty cheap and resembles basswood. It is said to be not as strong and have less sustain than other tonewoods.
Makers opt for other woods thinking it is not worth the trouble but that is certainly not the case with Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy. The G9500 sounds and feels great.
The nut is a plastic one, and it’s easy to see why. They simply couldn’t manage to scrape a bone nut at the price. You can always change that with something you like if that’s something that bugs you.
The fretboard is a surprise as it’s made out of rosewood, which is unusual on an inexpensive guitar like this one. The rosewood is ornate with pearl-like inlays.
The neck is built out of Nato- which is also pretty cheap. It is widely used in many Epiphones and feels nice, so that’s also nice. On the headstock is the classic Gretsch logo.
The hardware has a chrome and gold finish which is a nice touch.
It is a good beginner’s guitar and pretty well-made. Personally, I don’t see a reason for experienced players to not have one of these.
Tuning
There is nothing fancy going on with the chrome tuning heads. They are simply geared mechanisms that do their job.
The guitar stays in tune quite well.
Neck
The neck on G9500 has a slim profile with a 12” radius for easy fretting. It has vintage-style frets which just means narrow frets, which is also due to the shorter scale length and this certainly makes playing barres easier- so nobody is arguing about that!
The neck on this guitar is a beauty. It also has an adjustable truss-rod fitted in, so you can fix neck warping with a simple Allen key.
Body
There isn’t a cutaway top but that’s probably okay since pretty much nobody uses any frets below the 12th on an acoustic. The beginners trying to learn a C major on G9500 certainly won’t mind not having a cutaway!
The top is fitted with X-braces. The top and back of a hollow-body acoustic have sticks glued onto them that affect what a particular guitar sounds like. Here, it just sounds brighter.
Like the fretboard, the bridge is also made out of rosewood. Talk about quality!
The bridge setup is actually more surprising than the wood choice. Most guitars have a through-bridge setup of strings where the strings pass through holes in the bridge and bridge pins hold the ball ends secured in place.
The Gretsch G9500 has opted for a strung-through type of configuration where the ball ends are secured right under the bridge and clearly visible. The beautiful pickguard with the letter ‘G’ on it adds a subtle shade of whitish tint to the otherwise dark and earthy sunburst finish.
How the pickguard looks on top of the body is one of the things about this guitar that I really like.
The finish is semi matt with hints of gloss. For a cheap guitar, it looks and feels pretty great.
There are no sharp untrimmed edges on the fret wires and there are no hints on the finish that suggest it being of a cheaper make.
The stock strings are D’Addario Phosphor Bronze 12 gauge. They are too heavy for my taste and the sound doesn’t sit well with me but you might grow to have a liking for them.
For me, a quick swap with a fresh set of Martin Light ones is an easy fix!
How does it sound?
Could you gig with the Gretsch G9500? If you’re in a pinch- yes! After all, most blues musicians were poor and couldn’t afford expensive instruments.
It sounds crunchy and would make a great instrument for blues or slide. You could fit a pickup in the soundhole and set it up for your next gig. It’s not the instrument- but the artist, remember?
The only major concern on this would be intonation. The G9500 is set up well for a beginner, but as you progress beyond the first positions and into lower portions of the fretboard, the intonation issues are there.
A proper setup will probably cost more than the guitar itself, so it’s not ideal for somebody who has played for quite some time.
Score
The Verdict
Gretsch G9500 absolutely nails the goal of being an awesome guitar for beginners and casual guitarists alike. It is almost a steal at this price.
It is definitely something you could use to sharpen your skills or learn your first chords. It is excellently made and even has a rosewood fretboard and bridge.
It doesn’t have a solid body top but that’s probably too much to ask in an entry-level guitar for beginners. Though the guitar is intended to be beginners, casual players can also take advantage of its portability and price.
True to the Gretsch name, it is seriously one of the ideal guitars for beginners out there. But if you are looking for an alternative, the G5420T Electromatic Hollowbody also offers a great deal.
FAQ
I am new to guitars. Is a laminated top a bad thing?
A lot of players believe that a solid top is more resonant than a laminated top. But solid tops usually cost more than laminated tops. In fact, it’s rare to find laminated tops in the higher price ranges.
Since solid tops come at high prices, better playability and tone of acoustic guitars are not just something that depends on the solid top. It depends on all sorts of things like the workmanship, tuners, strings, intonation, action, and bracing as well.
Does it matter? For aesthetic purposes, sure.
Is the tone noticeable? Not to most people.
For a beginner, being picky about wood and finishes is like arguing about cell phone schematics after taking a basic class in high school electronics.
Can I learn songs and play acoustic gigs on this?
Yes, you can. For a beginner, the choices of wood and what fancy decor your fretboard has are not necessary. In fact, it’s something you should not think about.
The Gretsch G9500 is an investment that will help you learn about music and guitar itself. As a well-setup yet cheap instrument, it’s more than enough for learning and playing local gigs.