Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top

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.

got my jim dandy with the usual thomann efficiency,well packaged, I didn't have to wait too long for it either.
I don't care where it's made or what magical wood it's not made from, there's a lovely crisp sound from this little guitar- it's light as a feather and features a truss rod so it can be setup if you know what you want. downsides are it's not massively loud (it chimes like a bell but gets drowned out in the bass frequencies) in a session with some dreadnoughts I needed to really pick at it to make it heard. It's a great guitar otherwise, good value for a name brand. really playable. The intonation is also very good.I'm not enchanted by the matt finish but it's a change from the usual blonde with black plate and thats fine for me.I rubbed it down with some abrasive and now it's better to touch.
if strumming is your thing then look for a bigger bodied guitar with more bass tones.. for fingerstyle, slide etc this is the one for you.. my one will be used for performance without any hesitation..it's definitely not a toy.I'll be contemplating getting another to keep permanently in open D.

I mostly play bass and was looking for a guitar to play on the couch, therefore it should be easy to play, smaller than jumbo and fun.

Pros:
+ The Jim & Dandy came well set up, I only adjusted the neck slightly to get a low action, still there is no buzzing.
+ Tuners work very well, I almost never have to touch them.
+ Finish is also nice, really nothing to complain on my guitar.
+ Since it's a small guitar, it never get's in the way and it is also never to loud so I often play while watching something. It's also very light.
+ Played in a finger picking style, the guitar has some kind of Delta Blues sound.

Cons:
- Depending on the plek the guitar can sound kinda cheap/plasticy. I think nylon pleks sound the best but even better is to play with your hands.
- In the first week I got black fingertips from the strings that came with the guitar.
- The 'G' on the pickguard looks a bit like the 'G' of a big search engine.
- I play a lot more guitar now and feel bad about my bass guitars.

Overall this is a fun little guitar, of course it lacks the big tone of guitars with bigger bodies but it plays nice, it's size is perfect to play it on the couch, you don't annoy neighbours, it looks cool, sounds bluesy and all of that in a budget.

As in the title, I was very happy when I received this one. Looks amazing, with a classy retro feel and look, and plays like butter. Some people suggest to upgrade to better strings, but in my opinion it already plays very well as it is out of the box. Mine had already a perfect setting, just the low E seems to be a bit buzzing sometimes. It is also nice to record for strumming - didn't try to record arpeggio recording with it yet.
It's great for jazzy chord progressions and bluesy stuff, has a quite delicate, boxy, yet pronounced timbre, with character. Sounds nice and looks nice in my studio. I put some fast fret on it and it improved a bit in the top end and playability. The sound opened up a little bit after some days of playing, so play it hard! It also stays in tune quite quell, with the exception of the high E, I don't have to tune it often. Well done Gretsch, this is a little tiny jewel!