Try an Epiphone Casino Coupé if you can. The smaller body makes the whole thing far more manageable and, being totally hollow, quite loud unplugged. The pickups are nothing to write home about but, otherwise, pretty good. For total clarity, I have one myself and have replaced the pickups and fitted a Bigsby. The 24.75" scale is way friendlier than 25.5", although the neck is quite chunky.
All that being said, I'm a total Gretsch fanboy.