Gretsch G9220 Bobtail Round-neck Mahogany Body Spider Cone Resonator - 2 Color Sunburst Reviews

Right out of the box and ready to play! When used acoustically, it provides authentic delta sound with or without slide! Fishman electronics let you get unbelievable sound through what ever processor you use. Another great instrument from Sweetwater!

I was expecting a nice instrument. This guitar has exceeded all of my expectations. Build quality is near flawless. And it has a fine tone and excellent balance...from honey sweet to junkyard dog and back again. Plus it's an absolute joy to play...have a hard time putting it down!

Simply perfect. If you play guitar but want that distinct "Dobro" sound and fun... well you found it. Plays GREAT. Sounds Amazing. I couldn't be happier

This guitar sounds incredible! Play-ability is excellent for a guitar that is set up for slide or fingering. Fit and finish is outstanding too.
I was always afraid to mail order a guitar. I always had to feel one before purchase. But I decide to take a chance. Sweetwater was awesome! Before they ship, guitar techs do a 55-point check on your guitar. They email pics of your guitar before shipping it to you. Packaging was outstanding. Mine arrived polished, shined, and in even in tune! I will not hesitate to order another guitar from Sweetwater. Very happy with the Gretsch G9220 and Sweetwater.

Great tone, playability and looks. Quality build and finish. This is not a "budget guitar, but at $500 and 24 months to pay, it fits any budget. If it were American made it would be perfect. But, hey, its an American guitar company and I purchased from an American dealer. This guitar has inspired me to write 5 songs in the first week. Sounds great plugged in and I can't wait to use it on a gig

This is the resonator you've been looking for. I still can't believe the sustain this guitar has, the cone sings forever! It is a very well crafted guitar and worth your money.

I have 8 other guitars ranging in quality up to a Les Paul Custom, and am very pleased with this. I wanted to get a resonator for it's distinctive sound and absolutely love it. This guitar is very well made and looks and sounds fantastic. If you are looking for something above entry level but not too expensive you will not be disappointed. Great service and great price from Sweetwater.

I knew within 5 minutes this guitar was a keeper. Had a perfect medium high action, right out of the box( I asked for the one with highest action/ this guitar is used predominately for slide ) . Beautiful tone and projection, simple plug and play electronics, should you choose to amplify- no controls but your hands and the amp)

About a month later I am still having trouble putting it down!! It's addictive to play.

I'm more of an electric player, but have been wanting to try a solo a justice act to gig when my band isn't. I needed a second acoustic instrument to back up my flattop, and play slide on...have always wanted a resonator but they are either cheap entry level instruments or too expensive. This guitar is the perfect middle ground, IMO. I've been playing guitar for about 25 years now- not just dabbling as a hobbyist. I'm a very serious hobbyist! I know a good guitar when I play one and this guitar is just that.

Gretsch! What a company! I hardly know where to start. I'm a song writer, I gig every weekend in my original and somewhat eclectic band and I own I licensed recording studio. I'm always looking for a different sound and I got my mind set on a resonator guitar. I did a lot of research in the 1000 dollar category. Several guitars seemed appealing enough for this reason or that but when I stumbled on to this one I was intrigued. I've long since given up hope that I could ever afford a new instrument made in the USA so I like to check out the American company and try to size them up for integrity. I was pleased with Gretsch and since I have a fondness for retro situations this guitar was definitely my style. It could have been 1000 bucks and I would have gone for it...but hey, I'll take half price any day.I of course ordered from Sweetwater because they are extremely helpful and efficient. It arrived on a Friday a couple of hours before a gig and I planned on introducing it publicly at a later date after I would have a chance to grow accustom to it. Upon unpacking it I noticed it had been previously opened and resealed with tamper prof tape so I could rest assured that when Gretsch got it from over seas they opened it to inspect and set it up then repackage it with the inspectors identification. It would be sealed in the most protective packaging I've ever witnessed until I would receive it. It's even more beautiful in person and when I picked it up I knew right away that this was the most solidly built instrument I had ever held. The action was perfect for me whereas I play slide, finger pick and strum and it was pretty much in tune. I knew resonator guitars are cool for slide and lovely for finger picking but I had no idea how responsive and defined they are for all types of strumming. The way the harmonics linger and interact with so shiny a sustain is a sound to behold! So yeah, I did it. I took it to the gig and used it in every single song for which I play guitar. The pickup did a good job. I had the treble rolled back in the mains but my monitor send had no EQ so I did experience a piezo characteristic which isn't my cup of tea but the packed house gave me stellar reviews on my new sound. The only reason I mention the piezo is because, depending on your set up, you may wan't to invest in a little dedicated preamp but you can purchase a decent one for around a hundred dollars and, in my mind, you've still saved 400 bucks...5 Brightly Shining Stars!

It's the sound I was looking for. I can't wait to get it on stage.

Great Guitar for a moderate price. very easy to play and, in my opinion, Great resonator sound. The Fishman pickups enhance that sound. The guitar is attractive and well built. I've played on it for several weeks now. Sounds better each time and it stays in tune. The only negative I could say is that a few of the fret ends have sharp edges, which I will have filed down. Other than that, a quality built guitar. It gives me a nice alternative sound to my other acoustics.

My Sweetwater experience was once again excellent. Prompt attention, shipping was on time and arrived well packaged. Nick, my Sweetwater rep contacted me before and after to make sure all was well. Sending photos of the guitar was a nice touch.Thanks Nick!

What a great, fun guitar. Feels good, sounds great right off the rack, much to discover and explore. I'm glad I bought it, but I should have purchased a service contract as well, because this guitar needs constant adjustment. The bridge is poorly designed, and the neck rises and falls over the course of a year's worth of playing. Gets a strange buzz in the middle strings that has my band-mates casting dirty looks at me. Needs adjustment from time-to-time, but the "lifetime warranty" doesn't cover those kind of services. So, spend a few extra bucks and get a service contract. You'll be glad you did. Enjoy!

Really like guitar. Good intonation and playability especially considering price of this instrument.

great sound, love the fact I can compare instruments differing sound on your web site. Also the ability to pick from several in stock instruments is a plus i didnt expect. Mabe yall could fix it where we could hear each instrument that we are choosing from, rather than picking out the one we think is the most visually pleasing. My sales person was great. IM going to get a luthier to check out fret sharpness,and possibly raise action so to eleminate slide buzz. Fun instrument to play!!

Thought this might just be a "good enough" guitar considering how much a really good resonator seems to go for, but this one surprised me at how well it plays and sounds. Very good volume, but that is why resonators were invented, right? Glistening tones, fab sustain and character. Brought out whole new side of playing for me.
Was concerned about if output without preamp would be decent, but on par with standard electric guitars, which is great. And amped sound authentic to unamped, Didn't want some single coil that just gets string vibe.
Only slight downgrade would be for a few minor finish flaws: slight bit of drip of finish on inside of F holes (no big deal for me, but must be critical to be valid). But overall great guitar: light, sounds great, plays great, takes me to new areas of music.

Arrived timely and well packaged. A quick tune up and it is ready to go. Neck and fingerboard feel awesome. Right away I noticed how dynamic the guitar is. Picking light is bright and clean. Pick up the velocity and it starts to show its delta teeth. Fingering light is round and inviting. If I really get into it, I feel the need for a carpet covered box under my heel. I upgraded to the fishman because I love the sound with a little tube saturation. I mostly play and track at home so, if I plug it in (Tiny Terror/ Orange 1X12), it's usually with a pre-amp (which I would say is a good idea even if you just want an amplified acoustic sound. The fishman is low output) / overdrive and an eq. And on that, it's a beast. But if you are looking for the amplified acoustic sound, I would say it will do that quite well. The stain is very nice, especially on the back of the guitar. Binding is well laid and all in all it is a well built guitar. Very playable, great looking, great sounding, great price.

Very good sounding resonator guitar right out of the box for a reasonable price.
It's a very well made musical instrument...not a toy.
It's a bit smaller than I expected but it has a big sound and that distinctive resonator tone and sustain I was looking for.
Sounds great acoustically...and plugged in as well.
Only drawback is that it doesn't have a volume control on the guitar...so you need to control volume and tone from the amplifier.
That's easy enough to do and I'm very happy I purchased it.
As usual, Sweetwater and my sales engineer, Nick Schenkel were an absolute pleasure to deal with.
Thanks Sweetwater.

Only have a wooden guitar?
That's so sad ;-(
Do what Arnold Schwarzenegger, would do; BUY IT, BUY IT NOW.!!!!!

Spectacular guitar....it has a pick up - but also pick up a Morley Pedal Volume Control... you'll be happy as a clam..
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!

Was looking for a resonator that I could plug in with and fell in love with this one first because of its vintage look. Once I played it I knew that this was the resonator for me. Great bluesy sound plugged in but just as sweet when unplugged.

This was the best purchase I have ever made. I freakin' love this guitar. It looks good and it sounds Great. Also Sweetwater has great customer service and the packaging was very pro with the protection of my purchase in mind.

My first resonator, first 12fret, most fun in awhile. The best part of this instrument is the plugged in sound. Playing through a DI into my PA this thing is hot and clean. Playing through a Fender Super Champ it's everything from clean acoustic to screaming blues rocker.

I mulled over the idea of buying one of these for a few weeks and finally the excitement got the best of me and I pushed the "buy" button. The instrument arrived well-packed and in expected condition. Outside of a small flaw in the finish on the side, it was very pretty. Also, very light. As I played it for the first time, I was very underwhelmed by the volume and over-all tone. I figured it was just me and later that evening took it to church to test it out there with fellow band-mates as well as to play it through a sound system/amp. Again, my general thought was "underwhelming". The volume was rather low and the tone was very similar to a cheap guitar with a resonator placed on it, but to be very honest, I've never played a resonator before. But, before snickering, understand that I've played guitar for well over 20 years and I've listened to quite a bit of dobro playing as well as dobro solos. Yes, I realize that many instances of dobro playing is with a slide and not picked like I was doing, but the reason I bought the dobro was specifically inspired by a player that plays only round-neck dobro with a pick and this one sounded nothing like his instrument.

What did I expect? I more loud, projected, almost banjo-like tone, which I've clearly heard made by other round-neck dobros. This particular instrument failed to do that. Outside of the sound not being satisfying to what I was looking for, it played very well.

Keep in mind, it could just be that the particular instrument I received was a "dud" or had something wrong with the resonator (and in fact, it had a strange rattle from time to time). Or, it could be that the particular model is not suited to what I was looking for. I will say that it definitely makes me want to try other round-neck dobros, but this one was just not right for me. Fortunately, a buddy was there they night I got it and actually decided he would like it as a first guitar, and I sold it to him for the price here on the site.

For the record, sales and service were excellent and I wont hesitate to buy more product from Sweetwater as they're the best in the business.