When it was unveiled at NAMM 2020, the main talking point was the newly-designed Black Top Broad’Tron pickups. Channeling classic Jets of yore, it has a chambered mahogany body with maple top that keeps it light and resonant. This all adds up to feel reassuringly contemporary, despite being on a guitar that’s all about finding tones that predate the color TV. HARDWARE: V-Stoptail, anchored Adjusto-Matic bridge, chromeįINISH: Walnut Stain, Jade Grey Metallic, London Grey, Aged Natural Gretsch G5222 Electromatic Double JetĬONTROLS: 1x master volume with treble bleed circuit, 1x master tone, 2x volume The question is whether drowning out its natural twang is worth it. You can imagine some alt-metal acts getting a lot of high-volume joy from the G5260 and a fuzz box. If your amp can handle it - and this will reward those who invested in a combo with a 12-inch speaker - the G5260 has a lot of range for playing distorted. Indeed, approaching the baritone from a regular six-string is a transformative experience, and thanks to its skinny-ish neck, the G5260 isn’t too intimidating. With a splash of spring reverb you can put a new spin on your surf rock playing. Clean, it’s ideal for playing country basslines. The factory settings say rock ’n’ roll, but the clarity and heat of those mini-humbuckers makes the G5260 suitable for all kinds of mischief. “Ideal for country basslines, a new spin on your surf rock playing or even high-volume alt-metal when paired with a fuzz box” The G5260 could be deployed in almost all the same situations as its Bigbsy-equipped sibling, but there’s something about its tone, the sharper attack, and the promise of a fuss-free experience - the Bigsby can be a fiddle - that make this a baritone for sitting in the pocket, partnering up with the drummer as the rhythm section, or digging in for some super-aggressive low-end playing. Sometimes there is no getting by the power of suggestion. Maybe it’s to do with the V-Stoptail, which offers a solid zero-wobble anchor point for your strings, and the imagination, too. So why does it feel different? Why the subtle variation in sound? Well, it sure isn’t the block inlay. The anchored Adjusto-Matic bridge is identical. HARDWARE: V-Stoptail, anchored AdjustoMatic bridge, chromeįINISH: London Grey, Jade Grey Metallic, Dark Cherry Metallic

If you liked Vinnie Bell’s playing on the Twin Peaks soundtrack then the G5260T is a fun entry-point into that world. Here, the G5260T truly excels, with the Bigsby-licensed B50 vibrato on hand to provide a little wobble to those oh-so-dreamy chords. Clean, dry tones reveal a baseline piano-esque bass tone, ideal for sitting under the hurdy-gurdy clang of a modern beat combo, but dial in some spring reverb, some tremolo and slapback delay and you’re back in the orbit of 50s rock ’n’ roll tones. There are two mini-humbuckers, G-Arrow master volume and tone controls, and a three-way pickup selector. The musical possibilities soon stretch out in front of you.Īs Gretsch guitars go, the electronics are simple. It has a solid mahogany body, a big ol’ slab with a similarly-scaled maple neck with a four-bolt heel, and once you catch your breath after hearing the low sixth-string - here tuned to A - rumble for the first time, you’ll be struck by how much of that Gretsch elastic growl is in its tone. The geometry seems in proportion, familiar, but it sure does feel like a different instrument like a bass You’ll find the same experience with the G5260T. Duane Eddy, a man whose tone shouldīe listed in all good dictionaries under ‘twang’, used a Danelectro Longhorn 4623 liberally - most famously on 1959’s The Twang’s The Thang - and his signature tone was faithfully transposed to the longer 30-inch scale instrument. This is how baritones were originally intended.

It’s a six-string, the geometry seems in proportion, familiar, and that neck profile, a shallow C, is never going to fool you in a blind taste test with a P-Bass, but it sure does feel like a different instrument like a bass.

Picking up the G5260T, that’s the first thing that hits you.

Hitherto their destructive potential would have been restricted to demarcation disputes with musicians’ unions are you a bassist or a guitarist? Well, using this you are kind of both. HARDWARE: Bigsby-licensed B50 Vibrato, anchored Adjusto-Matic bridge, chromeįINISH: Black, Airline Silver

Gretsch electromatic g 5570