Gretsch G5420 T Electromatic Hollow Body
Gretsch’s long-running Electromatic range gets a makeover. Has the best got better? We find out
Afforable big-bodied fun from Gretsch’s newly revamped mid-price range................
It’s been a busy year for Gretsch in 2016. So far we’ve seen the introduction of the affordable Streamliners and a reorganisation of the Professional Collection; now it’s the turn of the Electromatic line. The first wave of the makeover centres on the classic Hollow Body designs: the single-cut 5420, as here, the double-cut 5422 and the doublecut 12-strings. So what’s new?
Before we get to the nitty gritty, one change will please any Gretsch fan on a budget, and that’s the headstock: not only has it been down-sized to late-50s spec and bound, but the Electromatic logo has also moved to a more discreet position on the pickguard, so it’s not immediately apparent that you’re playing a more affordable Gretsch model – always nice.
Secondly, there’s a new metallic colour for Gretsch, Fairlane Blue, which takes its name from the Ford Fairlane, introduced in the USA in 1955, the same year that Gretsch introduced the classic 6120 Chet Atkins Hollow body on which our this is based. We haven’t played a note and we’re already smitten.
Other visual changes for 2016 are the larger ‘oversized’, bound f-holes and ‘aged’, cream edge binding with inner black/white/ black purfling strips. With the chrome hardware comes classy thumbnail fingerboard inlays (the gold-plated models use humpblock inlays); the nut material changes from Delrin to Graph Tech’s NuBone and the master volume gets a ‘treble bleed’ capacitor, like the new Professional Collection models, to retain your high-end as you turn down.
Pretty much everything else is the same, including arrow-thru-G control knobs, knurled screw-on strap buttons and Blacktop Filter’Tron humbuckers. It’s a lot more ‘Gretsch’ than the cheaper, more generic Streamliners (although we do have the same vibrato and secured bridge here) but at nearly twice the price, that’s what you’d expect. And speaking of price, these upgraded models are pretty much the same as last year’s models: hardly cheap though, especially as we don’t get even a gigbag, and for a 16-inch wide full-depth jazz-box like this, you’re gonna need protection.
A bulky ol’ bird the 5420 may be, but it’s no slouch as a player. The neck here, compared to recent Streamliners and Pro Collection models we’ve played, follows the same U profile but is very slightly thinner. Frets are chunkier than those on the Streamliners, and nicely fettled, and as supplied the action, with 0.010s, is pretty slinky. The wooden-foot Adjusto-Matic bridge – Gretsch’s terminology for a tune-o-matic copy – is secured so it won’t get knocked out of place and intonation is spot on. The bridge itself leans forward and back as you move the Bigsby and tuning return-to-pitch, once you’ve stretched your strings, is good.
If the Streamliner humbuckers were more vanilla, these Blacktop Filter’Trons capture plenty of the classic twang that Gretsches are
The Electromatics are the start of the real Gretsch experience
known for: plug into a clean Fender-style amp, add lashings of reverb and/or some slapback and you drop right back to the birth of rock ’n’ roll. Add a little crunch and its instant rootsy rock that’s full of character and makes a great foil for a thicker sounding Gibson. It is, aside from its dual top braces and a small square block directly under the bridge that connects the top to the back, fully hollow so do you need to be careful as you turn up the wick. But get it right and you can lean into your amp and have beautiful musical feedback that’s easily manipulated by the Bigsby.
The new master volume circuit really helps, and the individual volumes now become subtle, just slightly muting the highs as you turn them down. Our sample needed a little pickup height adjustment to balance the neck and bridge and ensure mixed tones have sparkle and depth.
Way more Gretsch than the Streamliners, although not as stage-friendly as those Player’s Edition Pro guitars, the Electromatics sit nicely in the middle and are the start of the real Gretsch experience, in sound at least. It’s not cheap, but when you bring a classic pretty much bang up to date, it’s hard to put down. Dave Burrluck