Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top

Well I opened the guitar and first impressions were, 'wow'!
As I tuned it up, it became clear to me that there would be some minor issues that needed addressing. (Which is pretty much standard for any new guitar, they all need adjusting to your style & liking at first)

- Firstly - The guitar (Body only) is very slightly warped, but that does not effect the tone or playablility. You can only tell when looking really close.

- Secondly - The bridge saddle was high so I had to sand it down a tad.

- Thirdly - The Bridge slightly bellies out under medium/heavy string tension. Not badly, but I was a bit worried at first. This made the action even higher than I would have liked. Bellying Significantly decreased after installing lighter gauge strings.

- Fourth - Two or three frets needed filing down. Easy job. 5 Minutes.

- Build quality? For a Gretsch within this price range, I'd have to say overall good. The neck is also very slighly warped. After adjusting the truss rod it was made better, again. Only visible when looking for it and doesn't affect the sound, tone or playability.

It must be said. That I am, at best, an intermediate when it comes to adjusting anything on a guitar.
So don't let any of this put you off the Jim Dandy!
A few small adjustments to personalise your guitar to your play style & liking is often needed when buying a new guitar.
The Jim Dandy is beautiful. It sings the blues better than anything I have heard or played.
The sustain is something I did not expect for a guitar of this price.

No guitar, whether you pay £100 or £1000 is going to be perfect, look close enough and you will find an imperfection.

Also, something worthy of noting, when I ordered this guitar, I did a lot of shopping around, not only did Thomann have the best price, but it arrived fast!
The guitar looks better when you see it with your own eyes. Miles better in person than it looks on any picture or video I have seen of it.

Overall - A beautiful guitar, with imperfections but the imperfections only make it more unique in my opinion.
Comfortable to play, plays and sounds beautiful. String bends sound almost too pleasing, adds a bit of class and a vintage look to any room you keep it in.

Buy one! You won't regret it.

P.S. Please don't use heavy strings on this guitar.

It's hard to pin down what makes this guitar so special.
I'd particularly recommend the Jim Dandy as a first guitar to any beginner since it's so compact and easy to handle and play. As a small scale parlour guitar it's relatively quiet compared to the bulky dreadnought but that's fine for a self conscious beginner who'd rather just play by themselves - on the other hand the guitar does open up when played assertively and has a strident 'boxy' tone that's (in a good way) reminiscent of vintage blues recordings; this Gretsch was modelled on the old Sears catalog mail order guitars commonly available in the early 20th century.
With this in mind the guitar lends itself well to finger style playing. The fact that the neck meets the body at the 12th fret gives the guitar its compact form and at the same time places the bridge in the optimal centre of the soundboard. This gives the guitar a fuller sound than one might expect from an instrument of this size.

This is the smallest, cheapest and most portable guitar I own. Because of that it is the one that gets left out around the house or thrown in the car and taken to friends houses, festivals, camping etc.

My Jim Dandy likes to get passed around and even players with 'nicer' guitars are reluctant to give it back. I do intend, one day to upgrade to a higher end 'premium' instrument. However, the unique vintage tone, playability and portability of the Jim Dandy ensures that it will always have a prominent place in my collection.

I received this in super quick time and packaged so well from Thomann - this company is now my ‘go to’ for music purchases.
The Jim Dandy is a fine sounding little guitar. I bought it for blues and finger style and straight out of the box it is my favourite guitar to pick up and play around the house. It is a fantastic purchase for the money. The fret board edges are not finished as well as a more expensive guitar but this has not affected playability. It is set up nice an low in the action and has that authentic old blues sound I really like. The 24” scale length makes for a comfortable and fun playing experience.
If you are considering this purchase I don’t think you will be disappointed.