I was in a guitar shop yesterday looking at Taylor GS Minis and asking the staff how to get an old-fashioned blues/folk sound. All they did was suggest some different strings. Sounds as if they should have been recommending this, but I guess they wanted to sell me a more expensive guitar. Luckily, I didn't go for it. This review, after a few others, has convinced me to get a Jim Dandy Parlor.
Got one of the old ones (Basswood with string through bridge) and it's a great little guitar. Definitely one of the best 'blues' guitars around, it just sounds authentic. Also surprisingly loud with really lovely resonance if played a bit more gently. Fitted 11s and lowered the action but kinda want another to keep 12s and higher action for slide :)
There's something really nice about that rough 'Blind Lemon' sound that I can't get with my expensive 12 fret guitars. I think there's a place for these in anyones collection.
Absolutely. As a total novice back in the late 80s I went the length and breadth searching for an acoustic guitar that would give me that bluesy sound. eventually I met a salesman that just shook his head and took me to the upstairs room where, displayed in the corner was an old 1936 Parlor guitar just like the one on the famous Blind Lemon Jefferson picture. "This is what you want" he said "but they don't make 'em like that anymore" I wasn't offered the chance to play it. There was no price tag but we all knew I could never afford it... and it'd be wasted on me anyhow! As soon as I saw, or rather, heard the Jim Dandy on a YT Demo I knew it was the one I'd been looking for. The parlour sized is a great beater for leaving out around the house and it has that old fashioned boxy scratchy tone that's so bad it's good - other guitars sound too "nice" for the kind of fingerpicking I like to do!
If anyone is curious about what the Jim Dandy Parlours sound like in a mix, look up Cottonwood Firing Squad on your music streaming app or TH-cam. All of his acoustic parts are written and recorded with a JD Parlor
Always fancied the Gin Rickey, but not the parlor size. Now there's a midsized version, no excuses! Getting me one of those. Thanks for a really enjoyable demo, gents.
I love my Gin Rickey. It's like having two guitars, acoustic and electric with a really rootsy sound. It was a bit boomy andf boxy with the string gauge it came with, but after changing to a lighter set, it works a lot better now.
Hi again Ben and Peter. Just want to let you know that due to your great demo and review, that today I am also the proud owner of the Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Concert model. The sound fit and finish is fantastic! I play them through a Fender Mustang LT 25. 😊
WoW! That little jam you guys had at the start, I was waiting for Muddy Waters or Johnny Winter to grind their bluesy voices in. You fellas have really demonstrated some great value guitars. Thank you
Good review. I have an older Gretsch Roots parlor. Everybody needs a Gretsch in their pile-o-guitars. Jim Dandy's have a sound that makes "old timey" music fun. Pete needs to get his old apple green Country Gentlemen back, or another ... 😁
I have the concert model. Every site, including Gretsch, has the specs for the concert as a 18 fret and 12 fret to the body. It’s a 14 fret to the body and 20 frets total. Andertons has it listed wrong as well. The one thing I can’t seem to clear up is the wood type. Gretsch has it listed as Basswood, Andertons lists as all Laminated Sapele. Guess I’ll have to call up Gretsch.
@@JohnMoseley Yeah, I took back the G9500 because I had it for a week and was bulging behind the bridge. It was the string through model, the new ones have bridge pins. I like the concert. Put on some Curt Mangan 38305 Monel Round Core 12-53 strings and it played pretty good after I worked on it a bit. Had eye surgery and I just about ruined two of my Martins by almost knocking them over.; depth perception was way off. This concert was bought because I didn’t want to damage my higher end stuff, but I still like to play it. I keep it out and still constantly grab it.
Great now I’ll have to get one… 😳😜😂 I like the plugged in sound … it’s almost like an electric guitar sound with a slight distortion sound. ❤ great for blues!
I have a Godin, a Martin, and an alvarez, but more often than not if I am just sitting around the house and want to play, I will grab my Jim Dandy Parlour guitar. My only issue has been that the finish is brittle and will chip.
I play a humming bird and a godin as my main acoustics. Totally a dreadnaught warrior, but for smaller guitars I have always used my martin backpacker with nashville tuning or an old Aria ovation rip off fitted with nylon strings. The Concert guitar blew my mind in this video. Even the dreadnaught, that sound for the price!? It is insane. Parlor guitars are cool but the concert is just fab. I wanna sit down with all 3 of the black ones and make a decision.
Now the tone on that intro was straight out of some old blues record. I have to wonder if you can buy the pickup separately. I can't say I was blown away by how these sound without the amp though.
Just ordered the concert size one (from a rival that I won't mention lol), I can't wait til it arrives, I wanted the parlour but it was sold out, but I love the whole vibe of it
Hi guys, I have the former Gin Ricky Parlor with the delatone pickup. I hated the way it sounded with the acoustic strings that came with it, so I changed to a set of Dadario Chromes 10 gauge flatwonds. Really smoothed out the sound of the pickup and allows me to do roots, folk, blues and 30s style jazz and gives me some more bass acoustically IMO.😎
I have the Jim.Dandy Dreadnaught in Rexburst. Not bad little guitar, action comes a little high though so I gotta get that fixed but otherwise I like it
Does anyone know if the saddle is slanted for intonation? I want to convert one to a lefty and if the saddle is straight this would be easy (ofc need to replace the nut as well). I’ve seen some photos where the saddle is slanted but the ones Ben was playing looked like a straight saddle. Any advice from current owners of these guitars?
I find the Jim Dandy's are bad value for the money comparative to other brands, but they do have a charm! I played one yesterday, and had to make myself put it down.
"Jim Dandy" was a way of saying something was ok/good back in the day. sometimes it would just be "Dandy or even "Just Dandy" you could use it sincerely "Hey how are you!?", "Oh not too bad at all. Yeah, I'm Jim Dandy." or I'm sure as years went by and it's usage began to tire it was used more sarcastically(that's mostly how I remember it being used). "What, you backed into my car?! Well that's just Jim Dandy."
How is the action on these guitars? I was able to play the "old" Jim Dandy about two years ago and it had a high action (at least too high for my taste). Is the also the case with the "new" models?
Question for the rest of you; I've been playing for 20 odd years, mostly metal and rock. I want to start getting into that style that Ben is playing, can any point me in the direction of any good books etc? I've played Hendrix and "Rock" blues for years, but the acoustic stuff eludes me..
The one teacher who finally helped me get it was Tom Feldmann, his video courses with PDF tab help tie it all together and work through tricky bits until you get it. The style you're looking for is called country blues, pre-war blues, and finger picking blues, or there abouts.
We all know "plays great, sounds great, is great" these are "plays great, sounds kinda crap, is great" which are often some of the more inspiring instruments to buy.
As an acoustic pickup, that sounds terrible. As a pickup doing its own thing, it's kind of cool in its distorted grit. The looks are sharp (binding for those prices is impressive), but the unmiked sound was underwhelming. I'd agree with Ben that the Concert sounded the best of the three sizes. A bit toyish even for the cheapo price, but fun.
I wish they had a fat neck and wide fretboard like the guitars they are modelled after. 7:20 thats probably the worst amp/sound you could have found, obviously you have no clue what your are dealing with. You might look at this guy for example: th-cam.com/video/f3NepVTWRqw/w-d-xo.html
In the same way I’m not a fan when epiphone put a big ‘e’ on the pick guard, I don’t think the ‘G’ on these enhances the look (which otherwise I really like) - guitar makers, please keep your branding limited to the headstock, thanks!
Just goes to show that these chaps can make an orange crate with fishing lines sound good 😂 "What do you expect for 300 quid?" "What do people expect sound wise?" Alvarez ad30 or yamaha FG/FS8xx? As a third or 4th guitar sure. It serves a purpose i guess. As an only guitar you can do better. I held one at a gc some time ago. I did not think that it felt good.
Do you detractors realize the "crap" sound is precisely what Gretsch was going for? It's only crap if you're not playing it properly and for the proper purposes. As stated many times: Not a high-end experience. Well worth the cash outlay, imo.
Hey, been watching your videos for a long time. I don't think (or at least I don't hope you guys get to choose which ads get played during your videos, but I just had to endure, a video of some weird guy telling me how to "get hard." Hocking some kind of probably dangerous Erectile dysfunction "remedy.") I've had crazy right wing conspiracy videos, ads about stuff that actually makes me so uncomfortable that I left the video to watch something else. I know youtube has you guys over a barrel for your monetization, and I totally support you good creators. But they are selling adspace during your videos that is at best uncomfortable to watch and makes me want to do something else, and at worst truly damaging to society. I love this format and I literally watch no other "T.V." anymore. Someone needs to hold youtube responsible. I am in your corner. I'm not sure the solution. But youtube is starting to get uncomfortable and its been a long time coming. I see a similar thing when I read the guardian or the independant. I'm trying to get "non corporate" news, but at the expense of millions of ads that are predatory or misleading or just plain weird.
I was in a guitar shop yesterday looking at Taylor GS Minis and asking the staff how to get an old-fashioned blues/folk sound. All they did was suggest some different strings. Sounds as if they should have been recommending this, but I guess they wanted to sell me a more expensive guitar.
Luckily, I didn't go for it. This review, after a few others, has convinced me to get a Jim Dandy Parlor.
Got one of the old ones (Basswood with string through bridge) and it's a great little guitar. Definitely one of the best 'blues' guitars around, it just sounds authentic. Also surprisingly loud with really lovely resonance if played a bit more gently. Fitted 11s and lowered the action but kinda want another to keep 12s and higher action for slide :)
I always enjoy Acoustic Paradiso episodes. Please keep them coming !!
There's something really nice about that rough 'Blind Lemon' sound that I can't get with my expensive 12 fret guitars. I think there's a place for these in anyones collection.
Absolutely. As a total novice back in the late 80s I went the length and breadth searching for an acoustic guitar that would give me that bluesy sound. eventually I met a salesman that just shook his head and took me to the upstairs room where, displayed in the corner was an old 1936 Parlor guitar just like the one on the famous Blind Lemon Jefferson picture. "This is what you want" he said "but they don't make 'em like that anymore" I wasn't offered the chance to play it. There was no price tag but we all knew I could never afford it... and it'd be wasted on me anyhow! As soon as I saw, or rather, heard the Jim Dandy on a YT Demo I knew it was the one I'd been looking for. The parlour sized is a great beater for leaving out around the house and it has that old fashioned boxy scratchy tone that's so bad it's good - other guitars sound too "nice" for the kind of fingerpicking I like to do!
If anyone is curious about what the Jim Dandy Parlours sound like in a mix, look up Cottonwood Firing Squad on your music streaming app or TH-cam. All of his acoustic parts are written and recorded with a JD Parlor
Wow, good stuff too!
I love my Jim Dandy and I'm about to like it a ton more, thanks for this video!
Beautiful guitars imo. The flat dark finish is ace. And they sound fine. Boomy and perfect for just having a good time jamming.
Man, Ben and Pete are such a great combo, that intro was absolutely brilliant. Great work guys ♥️
I own the Parlor Size Jim Dandy with the pup and I highly recommend it !! Great demo gentlemen !!
Totally get why ppl purchase these. I have a 50's short scale Stella, and it is a blast to noodle at home with.
Always fancied the Gin Rickey, but not the parlor size. Now there's a midsized version, no excuses! Getting me one of those. Thanks for a really enjoyable demo, gents.
Ben really is a great player, could listen to him for hours 👍
I love my Gin Rickey. It's like having two guitars, acoustic and electric with a really rootsy sound. It was a bit boomy andf boxy with the string gauge it came with, but after changing to a lighter set, it works a lot better now.
Thanks, good tip.
Same, fitted 11s and lowered the action a tad and it's a laugh to play
Hi again Ben and Peter. Just want to let you know that due to your great demo and review, that today I am also the proud owner of the Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Concert model. The sound fit and finish is fantastic! I play them through a Fender Mustang LT 25. 😊
WoW! That little jam you guys had at the start, I was waiting for Muddy Waters or Johnny Winter to grind their bluesy voices in. You fellas have really demonstrated some great value guitars. Thank you
Perfect. Two pro's demoing, relaxed, and on their game. Great showcase for the Gretsch.
Always enjoy the videos with Ben and Pete. These guitars sound killer plugged in too
I’ve got a gun Ricky which is just like the parkour model here, I love it especially around the house. I think I want the concert too
Good review. I have an older Gretsch Roots parlor. Everybody needs a Gretsch in their pile-o-guitars. Jim Dandy's have a sound that makes "old timey" music fun.
Pete needs to get his old apple green Country Gentlemen back, or another ... 😁
I've got a regular Jim Dandy. Incredibly fun to play. Nothing more comfortable for a quick noodle. And dirty blues feels for days.
Love this range old school sounds with modern playability love mine
I have the concert model. Every site, including Gretsch, has the specs for the concert as a 18 fret and 12 fret to the body. It’s a 14 fret to the body and 20 frets total. Andertons has it listed wrong as well. The one thing I can’t seem to clear up is the wood type. Gretsch has it listed as Basswood, Andertons lists as all Laminated Sapele. Guess I’ll have to call up Gretsch.
Did you try out a parlor and, if so, what made you choose the concert instead?
@@JohnMoseley Yeah, I took back the G9500 because I had it for a week and was bulging behind the bridge. It was the string through model, the new ones have bridge pins.
I like the concert. Put on some Curt Mangan 38305 Monel Round Core 12-53 strings and it played pretty good after I worked on it a bit. Had eye surgery and I just about ruined two of my Martins by almost knocking them over.; depth perception was way off. This concert was bought because I didn’t want to damage my higher end stuff, but I still like to play it. I keep it out and still constantly grab it.
Ooo I've been looking for a good electric acoustic for a while! Love the sounds! 🔥👌🏼💯
Great now I’ll have to get one… 😳😜😂 I like the plugged in sound … it’s almost like an electric guitar sound with a slight distortion sound. ❤ great for blues!
For such cheap guitar sounds really nice, even got something j-45ish in those dreadnoughts. Highly considering buying one now.
What a player Ben is
I have a Godin, a Martin, and an alvarez, but more often than not if I am just sitting around the house and want to play, I will grab my Jim Dandy Parlour guitar. My only issue has been that the finish is brittle and will chip.
Sounds wonderful! And beautiful playing.
Good to see Ben!
I play a humming bird and a godin as my main acoustics. Totally a dreadnaught warrior, but for smaller guitars I have always used my martin backpacker with nashville tuning or an old Aria ovation rip off fitted with nylon strings. The Concert guitar blew my mind in this video. Even the dreadnaught, that sound for the price!? It is insane. Parlor guitars are cool but the concert is just fab. I wanna sit down with all 3 of the black ones and make a decision.
Kind of reminds me of the pickup in the acoustic Kurt Cobain used in the Unplugged set. It's his birthday today.
And gone 30 years this year. Blimey time passes quickly
@@effess8698 it sure does. Gone far too early.
Great vid, awesome playing
Man you guys are great musicians, thanks for showing off some affordable guitars!
Honestly those sound pretty great in the dreadnought size. I love the pickup sound; very rootsy and something I'd love to try.
Love it when you guys jam!
Excellent video my dudes
To install this pickup on the Gretsch dreadnought, is it necessary to drill the top of the guitar?
Now the tone on that intro was straight out of some old blues record. I have to wonder if you can buy the pickup separately. I can't say I was blown away by how these sound without the amp though.
Two of the best together makes for an awesome video
Just ordered the concert size one (from a rival that I won't mention lol), I can't wait til it arrives, I wanted the parlour but it was sold out, but I love the whole vibe of it
Hi guys, I have the former Gin Ricky Parlor with the delatone pickup. I hated the way it sounded with the acoustic strings that came with it, so I changed to a set of Dadario Chromes 10 gauge flatwonds. Really smoothed out the sound of the pickup and allows me to do roots, folk, blues and 30s style jazz and gives me some more bass acoustically IMO.😎
Of all my guitars the one guitar I would never sell is my Gretsch.
I need one
I have the Jim.Dandy Dreadnaught in Rexburst. Not bad little guitar, action comes a little high though so I gotta get that fixed but otherwise I like it
i fell in love with the sound of these models. Damn i don't know if i should go for the deltolux concert or dreadnought. What would you say?
concert smaller bodies kooler
These two guys..... make a band please.
and put Gaffa on Pete’s mouth
I’d love it if andertons could do more acoustic video I’d love a comparison of some of the common Martin’s i.e OM-28 D-28 ect
Which was he playing at 11:30?
I have a question - do these come set up for slide- heavy strings and raised Nut & Bridge to suit?
whats the lower bout width of the parlor and the concert?
I have an older model - I love it, a joy to play... ridiculous value at this price!
Bit confused , what’s the name of the little guitar? Both are quite similar
Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Parlor.
Hi! How does Gretsch Jim Dandy Guitars with Deltoluxe Pickups work on stage, with a lot of volume?
Great intro jam.
Does anyone know if the saddle is slanted for intonation? I want to convert one to a lefty and if the saddle is straight this would be easy (ofc need to replace the nut as well). I’ve seen some photos where the saddle is slanted but the ones Ben was playing looked like a straight saddle. Any advice from current owners of these guitars?
That was great fun.
I find the Jim Dandy's are bad value for the money comparative to other brands, but they do have a charm! I played one yesterday, and had to make myself put it down.
"Jim Dandy" was a way of saying something was ok/good back in the day. sometimes it would just be "Dandy or even "Just Dandy"
you could use it sincerely "Hey how are you!?", "Oh not too bad at all. Yeah, I'm Jim Dandy."
or I'm sure as years went by and it's usage began to tire it was used more sarcastically(that's mostly how I remember it being used).
"What, you backed into my car?! Well that's just Jim Dandy."
Nice 👍
That Intro... No Words, Guys, no Words! Maybe exept a "Whow"!!!
How is the action on these guitars? I was able to play the "old" Jim Dandy about two years ago and it had a high action (at least too high for my taste). Is the also the case with the "new" models?
This one and the Guild are probably the top 2 in regards to good sound.
Which Guild?
Troubadour Dearmound acoustic pickups.
Great! Thanks for the quick response! I’ll check out the Guild as well! 👍🏽
Question for the rest of you; I've been playing for 20 odd years, mostly metal and rock. I want to start getting into that style that Ben is playing, can any point me in the direction of any good books etc?
I've played Hendrix and "Rock" blues for years, but the acoustic stuff eludes me..
The one teacher who finally helped me get it was Tom Feldmann, his video courses with PDF tab help tie it all together and work through tricky bits until you get it. The style you're looking for is called country blues, pre-war blues, and finger picking blues, or there abouts.
Delta blues or MTV Unplugged kind of sound. Both can be done on this guitars
you reckon the little one can get you that MTV unplugged sound too?
Are they available in a lefthanded version?
nope. But I don't see what would stop you from just switching the strings
you were not kidding when you say retro sounding
What amp were you two playing thru with these?
Awesome! Are you using any effect pedal? What's the amplifier?
Pete, have you been on the espresso mate? You’re going yay faster than usual ..!?
Fabulous
They almost sound like ukuleles.
I might get both the sound hole pickup and concert guitar.
Theyre great guitars!
Jim Dandy was a song in 1956, sung by LaVern Baker 🤔
15:56 Bad ass playing!
Maaaate they wa wonderful
We all know "plays great, sounds great, is great" these are "plays great, sounds kinda crap, is great" which are often some of the more inspiring instruments to buy.
Sounds swampy. I want one.
If someone said "oh boy, Jim Dandy!" That's old time speak for " that's great!"
✅ Thanks BuT just a bit too much chit chat video could be much shorter and more play time on the various ⁉️🤔
As an acoustic pickup, that sounds terrible. As a pickup doing its own thing, it's kind of cool in its distorted grit. The looks are sharp (binding for those prices is impressive), but the unmiked sound was underwhelming. I'd agree with Ben that the Concert sounded the best of the three sizes. A bit toyish even for the cheapo price, but fun.
It just needs RGB on the G on the pick guard and it'll go nicely with my gaming Logitech mouse/keyboard/headphones 😂
I wish they had a fat neck and wide fretboard like the guitars they are modelled after. 7:20 thats probably the worst amp/sound you could have found, obviously you have no clue what your are dealing with. You might look at this guy for example: th-cam.com/video/f3NepVTWRqw/w-d-xo.html
In the same way I’m not a fan when epiphone put a big ‘e’ on the pick guard, I don’t think the ‘G’ on these enhances the look (which otherwise I really like) - guitar makers, please keep your branding limited to the headstock, thanks!
I always assumed they were named after the Black Oak Arkansas singer.
Just goes to show that these chaps can make an orange crate with fishing lines sound good 😂
"What do you expect for 300 quid?" "What do people expect sound wise?"
Alvarez ad30 or yamaha FG/FS8xx?
As a third or 4th guitar sure. It serves a purpose i guess. As an only guitar you can do better.
I held one at a gc some time ago. I did not think that it felt good.
Jim Dandy are the best grits in North America!
So cool amd cheap, wow
Ben could make a tin can sound good.
I'm afraid I picked up one of these in a store and it felt like a cheap catalog guitar from back in the day. Not much excuse for that nowadays.
That was my experience also a while back.
Give these guys the cheapest possible guitars. They will make them sound better than a Martin. This guy Smith plays as a bad ass.
Who’s here for the intro? On 🔥
Shit a brick! That Ben can knock out a tune! 🙂
It doesn’t sound like a acoustic guitar when plugged in
I keep returning just to hear the music 😅
Do you detractors realize the "crap" sound is precisely what Gretsch was going for? It's only crap if you're not playing it properly and for the proper purposes. As stated many times: Not a high-end experience. Well worth the cash outlay, imo.
These guitars are crying out for wider necks.
Danish Pete Rocks outs
That's a very harsh sound. Ouch.
So close to 1 million subscribers I’m gonna subscribe at least until he’s over 1 million then I’ll unsubscribe lol
Danelectro yesterday and Gretsch today, really targeting that boomer market this week I see...
/sarcasm/ 🤣😂
Hey, been watching your videos for a long time. I don't think (or at least I don't hope you guys get to choose which ads get played during your videos, but I just had to endure, a video of some weird guy telling me how to "get hard." Hocking some kind of probably dangerous Erectile dysfunction "remedy.") I've had crazy right wing conspiracy videos, ads about stuff that actually makes me so uncomfortable that I left the video to watch something else. I know youtube has you guys over a barrel for your monetization, and I totally support you good creators. But they are selling adspace during your videos that is at best uncomfortable to watch and makes me want to do something else, and at worst truly damaging to society. I love this format and I literally watch no other "T.V." anymore. Someone needs to hold youtube responsible. I am in your corner. I'm not sure the solution. But youtube is starting to get uncomfortable and its been a long time coming. I see a similar thing when I read the guardian or the independant. I'm trying to get "non corporate" news, but at the expense of millions of ads that are predatory or misleading or just plain weird.