So I have recently become a convert to Gretsch guitars. In short, for me, the tone and the Rock ‘n Roll ‘bling’ look have me drooling for days! I have even started getting into Rockabilly and 50s Rock ‘n Roll music due to my fascination with the brand and the sound of the guitar and its infamous pickups! Also, I hate to be shallow but the aesthetic of the brand is amazing too! This is a big reason I have decided to have a look at the Gretsch Electromatic guitar range.
As with many other guitarists, I dream of owning one of the Gretsch Falcon range or even the chambered 6128 Duo Jet made famous by George Harrison! Sadly, though, these guitars retail for way more than my current budget can handle, so I started looking into other options in order to own a chambered and hollowbody Gretsch Guitar.
I stumbled across the Gretsch Electromatic series and was able to get my hands on a G5445T Double Jet and a G5422TDC Hollowbody and I was quite impressed with the character of the sound that they produced along with the affordable price!
As I have come to find with most Gretsch guitars, one needs to always take a look at the pickups to get to the character of the sound of the guitar. In this case, the two above-mentioned Electromatic models, and the whole Electromatic G544x line, come standard with Black-top Filtertron pickups, which differ to the High sensitive Filtertrons that come with the pro-line Gretsch’s. The Black-tops, in my opinion, do a good job. I don’t doubt that the pro-lines may have a different flavour but the Black-tops do a good enough job to have me satisfied! Here is a link to a good forum that I looked into before my purchase, which goes through a discussion on this topic and also opinions on the tone One claim is that they have a more jangly tone than the High sensitive filtertrons as we see here: http:/gretschpages.com/forum/pickups/how-do-electromatic-blacktop-fliters-compare-to-standard-filtertrons/43604/page1/
I put down the features of the Gretsch G5445T Double Jet vs the higher range 6128 Duo Jet, so you can see the difference in specs, wood, etc. similar construction and look, but there are characteristic differences:
Features G5445T Double Set
- Body Shape: Jet™
- Body Style: Chambered Double-Cutaway
- Body: Basswood, Gloss Urethane Finish, Arched Maple Top
- Pickguard: White Pearloid w/ Gretsch® Logo
- Body Binding: 1-Ply White
- Neck: Maple, Gloss Urethane Finish
- Frets: 22, Medium Jumbo
- Position Inlays: Pearloid Hump-Block Inlays
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Finger Board Radius: 12″ Radius (305 mm)
- Nut: Synthetic Bone
- Nut Width: 1.6875″ (43 mm)
- Scale Length: 24.6″ (62.5 cm)
- Pickups: “Black Top” Filter’Tron™ Bridge Pickup
- “Black Top” Filter’Tron™ Neck Pickup
- Pickup Switching: 3-Position Toggle: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge
- and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
- Controls: Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Master
- Volume, Master Tone
- Bridge: Anchored Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge
- Hardware: Chrome
- Tuning Keys: Enclosed Vintage Style
- Knobs: “G” Arrow Knobs
- Strings: D’Addario® XL110 Regular Light, NPS (.010-.046 Gauges)
- Unique Features: Double-Cutaway Two-Tone Body Color Scheme, “Black Top” Filter’Tron™
Features G6128 George Harrison Duo Jet
- Body Shape: Jet™
- Body Style: Semi-Hollow Body
- Body Top: 3-Ply Arched Laminated Maple
- Back and Sides: Semi-Hollow Chambered Mahogany
- Body Width: 13.37″ (33.96 cm)
- Body Depth: 2″ (50.8 mm)
- Body Finish: Gloss Urethane
- Neck: 1-Piece Mahogany
- Neck Binding: White, 1-Ply
- Frets: 22, Standard
- Headstock Binding: White, 1-Ply
- Position Inlays: Pearloid Hump-Block Inlays
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Finger Board Radius: 12″ Radius (305 mm)
- Nut: Bone
- Nut Width: 1.6875″ (43 mm)
- Scale Length: 24.6″ (62.5 cm)
- Pickups: 2 DynaSonic™ Single-Coil
- Controls: Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Master
- Volume, Master Tone
- Bridge: “Rocking” Bar Bridge with Rosewood Base
- Hardware: Chrome-Plated
- Tuning Keys: Grover® V98CM Sta-Tite™ Die-cast Tuners
- Strings: D’Addario® XL110 Regular Light, NPS (.010-.046 Gauges)
Also, I wouldn’t really want to compare these two models but you can see below the difference between the Hollowbodies, Electromatic G5422TDC vs the iconic high range Falcon!
Features G5422TDC
- Bound double-cutaway hollowbody
- Sound-post bracing
- Elegant bound f-holes.
- Maple neck
- Bound rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and hump-block Pearloid inlays
- Silver Plexi pickguard
- “Black Top” Filter’Tron™ pickups
- Three-position pickup switch
- Classic “G” arrow control knobs
- Rosewood-based Adjusto-Matic™ bridge
- Bigsby®-licensed B60 vibrato tailpiece
- Vintage-style open-back tuners
Features G6136T White Falcon
- Hollowbody
- Single cutaway
- 25-1/2″ (648mm) scale length
- Arched laminated maple top
- Laminated Maple Body, 17″ Wide, 2-3/4″ Deep
- 3-Piece Maple neck
- 2 High Sensitive Filter’Tron Pickups
- 3-Position Toggle: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
- Controls: Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Master Volume, 3-Position Toggle Master Tone Switch
- 1-11/16″ (43mm) nut width
- Ebony fretboard, 12″ radius (305mm)
- Ebony-Based Space-Control Roller-Bridge
- Bigsby B6GB Vibrato Tailpiece
- Gold-plated hardware
- Gloss urethane finish
- 22 frets
- Grover® Imperial Gold-Plated Die-cast Tuners
- Includes case
Unique Features
- V-shaped falcon headstock with vertical Gretsch logo
- Hump block mother-of-pearl inlay position markers with feather engraving
- Gold-sparkle fingerboard and headstock bindings
- Oversized bound F-holes
- Multiple gold-sparkle body bindings
- Gold-sparkle inlaid Gretsch logo on headstock
- Gold Plexi dove-style pickguard with falcon detail
- Knurled strap retainer knobs
- Adjustable truss rod
All in all, I would say if you are looking for an affordable ticket into owning a guitar, the Gretsch Electromatic guitar is a good choice! Not only that but, they are starting to develop a cult following in their own right, these may prove to have a major re-sell value in the future 😉
I hope this blog has provided you with some information regarding the comparison of the Gretsch Electromatic guitar range against some of the iconic pro-line models. I will leave you with a couple of reviews of each so you can hear and see the sounds!
Gretsch Electromatic Guitar G5442TDCG review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=122ZkkCdPFI
Gretsch Electromatic Double Jet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruyxbsjcaKc
And the two Iconic Pro-line models reviewed by one of my favourite Rockabilly guitarists Marco Di Maggio J
White Falcon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R0WS31jet8
Gretsch Duo-Jet Relic
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