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Gretsch G5123B serial numbers

BluesBear

BluesBear

Oct 17, 2009
647
26
Tacoma, WA
#1
It seems that the good folks at Gretsch are being very tightlipped about the Guitar Center Doorbuster Gretsch Electromatic G5123B Bass which makes some of those nice folks at Guitar Center seem even somewhat more clueless than usual.
No one either knows or will commit to say just how many were actually made.

So, I figured I'd take Pilgrim's suggestion and start a thread asking everyone who either owns one, or sees one in a Guitar Center to post the serial number from the back of the headstock (some of the writing on the labels is indecipherable).

That way I can compile a list to try and determine just how many exist.



I'll even go first, mine is KS10104465 and it came from the Lynnwood, WA store.
 
#7
According my great salesgirl at Guitar Center these were a limited edition, one time only deal and only certain, selected stores recieved just ONE! Which means out of 216 stores there were some who were left out.

So in theory, there should be a difference of less than 216 numbers from beginning to end of the serial number range

At one time, the info regarding the number of units in stores and the number of ones in transit to the stores equaled approximately 110.

So in theory, there should be between 110 and 215 out there somewhere. We should do our best to locate every each and every one and make sure a TB'er owns it. Let's change it from a GC exclusive to a TB exclusive.
:D
If you see one in a store, sneak a note into the SKU pocket about TB.com:D
 
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#9
I have a low number of 10104451 and a high number of 10104697. Which means there were at least 247 serial numbers allocated. However, quite often because of quality issues there will be at least a few numbers culled from the pack.

We still need lots more data folks.
Keep up the good work.
 
#11
I have more information...

I heard about the Gretsch G5123B through threads in a couple of forums, but I only heard about it a good month after their issue for Black Friday 2010.

I went to my local GC and asked if they could find one...I told them I'd buy it if they could get one, even though I had never touched one. They fired up their computer and made two discoveries:

First, only 16 showed in stock at various stores, and they figured most of those were out on the floor and might have some wear from handling.

Second, the computer records showed that there had been a second shipment of 94 or 96 basses (I can't recall which), and those were in transit as we spoke.

I asked them to see if they could get one from Denver, which is 60 miles south of us in Fort Collins. They called and one of the Denver stores said they'd send up their 5123 when t came in, so I'd get one new and in the box. This was one of the second shipment basses.

So mine - KS10104451 should actually be one of the higher-numbered basses.

However - it's not clear whether stores only got one of these. The computer inventory info that GC found for the second shipment indicated that at least one of the Denver stores was supposed to get two in the second shipment. As it turned out, when I picked up the Gretsch I learned that the Denver store had only received one...and it went to me. (Yay!)

There is room to suppose that some of the larger stores in metro areas might have received more than one G5123B in either the first or second shipments. However, if there are 216 GCs in the US, if we assume that no store got more than one bass, the maximum number should be about 312 basses (if the number of basses in the second shipment was 96).

That seems like an awfully small number of basses to produce in an entire run. Makes me wonder what Gretsch sales numbers are like annually for the very few models of basses they make.
 
#12
I'm not familiar with Gretsch's product line up, but when I saw this thread I couldn't help but wonder if these are truly "exclusive", limited-run basses...or if it's just a marketing ploy; i.e. this will be a bass that's regularly available, but they just did something minor to make it "exclusive" to GC such as changing the knobs or something else that's pretty minor.
 
#13
big90sbasshorns said:
I'm not familiar with Gretsch's product line up, but when I saw this thread I couldn't help but wonder if these are truly "exclusive", limited-run basses...or if it's just a marketing ploy; i.e. this will be a bass that's regularly available, but they just did something minor to make it "exclusive" to GC such as changing the knobs or something else that's pretty minor.
Click to expand...

So far it's a new unique model. Closest item is the Broadkaster Bass but that's a 30" scale.
And the standard Electromatic is a vastly different bass.
And even the info from Gretsch as posted on the Gretsch forum is incorrect. The Gretsch forum says it has a 30" scale with 20 frets when the actual basses have a 32" scale with 22 frets.

GC is known for having special contracted runs.
i.e. the Silver Sparkle Fender JazzBass from around the turn of the century.
 
#15
There is precedent for Gretsch doing a run like this and using the results to judge demand. In at least one case, they did a small run of basses and added that model to the lineup when the response was strong.

We'll have to see if that happens with the 5123.

Has anyone figured out what the closest matching guitar model might be? I'm thinking that in their Electromatic line, the G5120 single cutaway probably is the closest match....retail $1075. (There's a 5122 model but it's a double-cutaway.)

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2505811506_frt_wlg_001.jpg


The closest match in their bass lineup is the G6073, which shows as having a 30.3" scale and Thunder'Trons...retail $2900.

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2416002866_frt_wlg_001.jpg
 
#16
The thing is that the closest bass to the G5123B was not in the Electromatic line is was the Broadkaster.
(So maybe look at the main line guitar model that duplicates it and figure out if a new "Electromatic" guitar model might be coming.)

My theory (more like a WAG) is that Gretsch was looking for something in a lower priced offering that didn't scream cheap. So they introduce an Electromatic model that can still look good next to the $2K+ models for those of us who want a Gretsch that actually looks and plays like a Gretsch.


But then again I could be completely wrong.
 
#18
There is an Electromatic Guitar that basically looks EXACTLY like the G5123B, only it's a 6-stringer and has a Bigsby, but it's only $699 :) I'm actually considering buying one just to have a matched pair.

Coincidentally, the $699 guitar came into production the same way this bass did. The guy at GC when I was checking it out told me "You know these started as a doorbuster just like your bass did. When they did well, Gretsch started producing them for us".

Pretty decent indication we'll probably see this bass go into full production :)
 

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