Can anyone tell me anything about this model? Is it legit? A one-off? Fake? Buying it for 530 in a few days and needa make sure its good

Got an offer to swap and I'm not sophisticated enough to know if it's legit.

Many years ago I was looking to buy a guitar, and there was an unusual used guitar store in my neighborhood that many people recommended to me (no idea if it's still there, but I'm omitting names in this post). It's a cool little store absolutely packed to the gills with guitars. The guitars were hanging in racks on the walls, side in so he could pack more of them in. There were guitars hanging from the ceiling, there were guitars hanging on everything you could possibly hang a guitar from.

I was looking at this Fender lead when a German musician ambled in. The Deutsche Mark was very strong against the dollar and this fellow was looking to make a deal. He looked around a bit, but he knew what he was looking for. He pulled out a 1956 Gretsch hollow body electric and plugged it into an amp. Mercy, this guy could play. He fooled around a little and then settled into a SRV tune called Lenny ... except that he'd messed with it. He took an SRV tune and turned it into a real guitar song. It stopped me in my tracks, but more importantly it brought the owner out of the back room in a great big hurry. So the German guy and the owner are talking about the guys band back in Germany and this and that. The owner wanted $1000 even for this instrument, and the player thought that was just fine ... but with one catch.

He leaned forward a bit, looked the owner in the eye and said, "so, I love this guitar, but .... these are not the original pickups". The owner was very taken aback and said "of course those are the original pickups." Our german guitarist friend gave him this withering look that said as clear as day "don't fuck with me dude" ... to which the owner said "listen, they're Gretsch pickups", which caused the guitarist to lean in a bit harder and sharpen that look.

At which point the owner said "look, I can put the original pickups back on."

The guitarist smiled, handed the insturment to the owner and said I'll be back at this time tomorrow.

That was when I decided I just didn't know enough about guitars to buy one in this store and went off to Guitar Center. I also did a little research into those funky single coil pickups Gretsch was using for a while. I'm glad the originals went back on.

Left: 1966 "Corvette," my first electric, purchased by my father new in the Phillipines and bestowed upon me in 1985. Unfortunately I was into punk and it ended up getting trashed, ultimately having the headstock busted off when I pulled a Pete Townsend. It originally had a beautiful thick, clear red finish. 4+2 tuners.

Right: 2026 Steamliner CVT. $250? That's a lot of guitar for the money. Headstock, bound neck, bone nut, and the stock humbuckers aren't complete shit if not a little bass heavy.

But I'm taking the Hi-Lo's from the old one and putting in the new one. I'm documenting the process and will report back when finished, currently waiting on the pickup covers for the Hi-Lo's, I found some generic ones as the originals with the gold Gretsch shooting "G" on them are apparently unobtamium unless you wanna spring for a full set of pups on Reverb for ~$400.

I'm a working musician so restoring the original isn't really an option unless someone wants to pay for the luthier.

I only wish the old man was here to see it when I'm done. He was known to pick and grin a little bit...

Was modified by a luthier with fitronics, roller bridge , electronics, etc. I have 40 other guitars, and this one is another level...

Played my new 5237 Jet for the first time in a live setting yesterday in church, sounded glorious but it was a bear to keep tuned, kept wanting to go sharp on me. I'm going to lube the nut and the saddles first and see if that helps, if not I'll look into getting the nut serviced or replaced by someone who knows what they're doing (I don't LOL).

But I'm also wondering if I need to maybe bump up my string gauge a little too. I put a set of NYXL 10's on it and they're OK but I actually think I can handle a little higher gauge, maybe 10.5 or 11 (I use NYXL 11's on my Epi Casino and they feel like the proverbial butter to me).

I was just curious how many folks out there go up a little from the factory standard 10s on Jets (I'm certainly not going to go lower LOL).

For the record I'm also considering as I've mentioned in a couple of other posts ditching the tune-o-matic for a roller or Compton or Tru-Arc bridge setup.

Found a project 1965 Corvette Gretsch body sitting in Goodwill two days ago. Next to it was a bag of parts. Here is a rough layout.

Takin a break from some six string therapy with my Stray Cats, Riley(up front) and Bocephus (behind the 6120)

Got the hollow body and had to get the solid body, of course. Set up in the kitchen to practice with the Blues Jr

Seeking advice to sell my 2020 G2420 model.

I am not trying to sell this to anyone in this community, but am simply seeking advice related to selling on marketplace locally.

This is an excellent condition and I had it dialed it my a luthier for better intonation.

I have it listed for $350 with the hard case included, only two messages in 2 months. Am I overpricing? Brand new without the case is $549.

Edit: A comment asked where I’m located, in Madison Wisconsin if you are interested. I appreciate the feedback I’ve gotten already 🙂

Hi, I have a hollow-body Gretsch and the jack has stopped working, so I'm looking to replace it. The problem is that people have told me the jack requires specific specs, and I'm a bit lost on this—could you help me figure out which Jack model would work? Thanks a Lot!

The input jack on my bass has died and the wiring looks fairly straight forward, but this is my first time doing this kind of work. Would anyone have a wiring diagram for this guitar? I saw a few diagrams that looked close but was hoping if anyone had a definitive answer. I also didn't see anything on Gretsch's website either.

Played out in Malibu in May. Setup subtly for standard slide and fretting. Used on Traveling Wilbur's, Buffalo Springfield, and Dead numbers in setlist. Flawless, vibey tone through my REVV D20 amp and cab!

And, "yes", I'm aware the inadvertent gesture with one of my slide fingers could be construed as a bit cheeky ...

I have had my new Gretsch Electromatic Premier Jet for several months now and feel like I can give it an honest review. It's really very simple. For the first time in my life I have purchas3d a guitar that I honestly would not change a single thing on! I can not find a single nit to pick. Nothing. I wouldn't change a single thing. For all practical purposes in my humble opinion this Jet is as close to perfect as it can possibly be. No upgrades are nessesary. That is my honest review. The only thing to do with this instrument is to play it. Which I do every day. It is simply a pleasure to play and own. It really is a keeper. I of course highly recommend this guitar to anyone who is in the market for a professional grade, high end instrument. I have been playing for almost 50 years so I feel like I have a grasp of what a fine guitar really is. Thanks to all of you who read this! Happy playing to you all!!!

This is my G6129T-89. I am totally new to Gretsch and so I’m seeking advice on where to position the bridge. There are locator pins, but do I move the bridge as far back as the locator pins will allow? Or what’s the proper way to set it up? Sorry for the confusion on my wording not quite sure the proper terms. I come from fender mostly so this style is quite new to me. Thank you in advance!

Also the bridge “flexes” when I use the bigsby. Is that normal?? I am having tuning stability issues mainly on the g string when bigsby is used. Lubricated the nut and saddles but again asking from a semi beginner position on bigsbys and such so any help is greatly appreciated!

i feel like a black finish with nickel hardware would be so cool

Hey everyone -

I was given a G2420T with some missing parts, and I thought it would be a fun project guitar until I noticed cracking on the back of the guitar. The cracking seems to wrap all the way around, so I'm wondering if it's a true neck crack or a finish crack.

Posted the other day about buying a 5237 Electromatic Jet BT, my first Gretsch, and I said I didn’t see myself upgrading anything but after changing strings, I am now inclined to change the bridge. Not because it’s causing any acute issues, but because quite honestly the stock bridge just seems kind of flimsy and it’s a quick modification.

My default is always tune-o-matic because intonation is a priority for me, but I am looking at a roller bridge given the fact that it has the Bigsby and given that it’s a Gretsch I would certainly consider a Compton or TruArc.

Anyone who’s done an upgrade, what bridges have you gone with?

When I bought the guitar I instantly removed the scratch plate and lost it along with the bracket (stupid I know)
I’ve found someone who will make me a replica pick guard but he doesn’t know which bracket will fit. Can anyone point me in the right direction the size of the bracket?

I've posted a few times about having the itch to get a Gretsch. I've wavered back and forth between something with Hilotrons and Filtertrons, I have sampled a 5420 at a local store a couple of times, I've debated about holding out and saving up for a professional MIJ one.

So today I got in the car and drove to a couple of music stores in the closest really big city. At the first one they had a bunch of 5420s. I tried all of them, they were OK, I could have lived with a royal blue one but none of them really grabbed me.

Then I went to Guitar Center and tried a 5427 that I really, REALLY liked, but there were some issues with it. Like the tone pot popped out of the body when I checked it out. They said they'd get their tech to fix it, but that kind of made me a little leery so I sat it aside.

Then I went to look at their used stock, and there was a 2023 G5237TG Electromatic Jet FT hanging on the wall, the black pearl sparkle one. I took it down, plugged it into a Vox AC30 AND IT WAS THE ONE AND IT WAS COMING HOME WITH ME. No it's not a big hollow body, yes it has the black-top Filtertrons, yes it's made in China and not in Korea and Japan, but sometimes you just know and I knew. The neck was absolutely, utterly perfect for my arthritic fretting hand, 12 inch radius with a Classic C is the way to go for me now.

I know the default is to order a set of TV Jones, but honestly I'm not inclined to spend $300 just to spend $300 because I don't know how TV Jones stuff ... and I know it's great, my son has a set of Classics in his Epi Sheraton ... could improve on these. They've got that Filtertron sparkle.

Aside from one tiny mark on the back it's in perfect condition, the friggin' plastic is still on the neck pickup.

I think my Gretsch quest is finished (unless I win the lottery and then I'll stock up), and I appreciate all the info people have provided in my posts.

Wayne Compton Aluminum Special Bridge

BiggsFix Tuning Stabilizer V3

Gotoh Locking Tuners