| Build Quality: |  |
| Hardware: | |
| Sound: | |
| Value: |  |
| Average: | |
Pros:
- Sturdy
- Beautiful
- Great Sound
Cons:
- Not so affordable
Steel body guitars are marvelous instruments with unique sound and playing technique. While there are not many producers of resonator guitars, the few that are produce so many models that it is easy to get confused in what you should be buying. There are many great models, and one of these is the Gretsch G9201 Honey Dipper Metal guitar, designed to be affordable, powerful and almost legendary at this point. Let’s take a closer look and see what makes this guitar so good.
Body Quality
When building this guitar, Gretsch wanted to create something that was easy to play and unique in sound. Which is why they made the body and neck of the guitar as similar to an acoustic guitar as they could. As a result you have a resonator guitar that can be played just like an acoustic guitar, making it a very good entry level slide guitar for those who already know how to play a normal acoustic guitar.
The body of the guitar is nickel plated brass. Brass is one of the best metals out there for resonating with sound. It has a beautiful range and is especially well suited for bass oriented guitars. The nickel plating is reminiscent in the material used in the strings of steel string guitars. Overall what you get is very powerful projection and beautiful resonation with all of the tonal range. The sound is beautiful, but we cannot say enough about the design of the guitar. There are several sound holes etched into the metal that look badass, while the pure metal finish of the guitar gives it a distinct silvery look.
The neck of the guitar is round for comfortable play just like your everyday, average acoustic guitar. Made of mahogany, it allows the guitar to be both sturdy and lightweight. The neck might be a little thick, but the rosewood fretboard remains easily accessible to all levels of players.
Hardware
The most important part of this guitar is the resonator. The traditional biscuit shaped resonator produces a great sound, picking up the vibrations from the brass bridge and amplifying them in a beautiful, typically steel body guitar sound.
The nut of the guitar is high, as with all resonator guitars, for metal slide playing. To make it even easier to pick the strings the nut is extra wide. The material is solid and creates beautiful harmonics.
Gretsch G9201 Sound
So how good is the sound? Very! It is typically metallic, as should be expected of a resonator guitar. The sound is very warm and twangy, but can jump up to being vibrant and energetic in an instant. The brass body adds a little bit of extra resonance that you are bound to enjoy, or fall in love with. This guitar is perfect for folk and bluegrass, even reaching into the blues side of things.
Conclusion
A very good guitar for any level of player. Whether you are a beginner looking for your first resonator, or an experienced player looking for a very solid, beautiful instrument, this one will serve you very nicely. It is also one of the more affordable resonator guitars on the market and handsome to boot. Definitely recommended to everyone.
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