Gretsch G5420T Electromatic Hollow Body (Fairlane Blue)

This is my first Gretsch and I love it. Finish and build pretty much flawless on this Korean-made 5420 in candy apple red. Not a real fan of "vintage-style" open back tuners. Would have preferred closed Grovers or Schallers. I really like the sound of these pickups and have no plans to upgrade them. Plays great right out of the box. Strings bend easily, intonation good up the neck. My only issue is one I expected before the guitar arrived: It has trouble staying in tune, especially the G string. As I planned to, even before I even bought it, I am taking this guitar to my expert guitar tech to run down the tuning issues, addressing the usual suspects in this order: nut, bridge, Bigsby, and finally, the tuners (although I doubt the tuners are issue).

I want to know hollow body so I ordered this one it fit my budget. Was advertised as next day shipping but took 2 days to get it no big deal, finally shows up and I unbox it leave it sit out in the house overnight play with it the following evening which is today 5-17-2020. Looks great sounds okay noticed a little bit of fret buzzing so first thing I check is straightness of neck lo and behold I find about 5 frets that are not level with the rest of them so being curious as I am I checked the neck relief there is none maybe one thousandth of an inch. so I go ahead and do the truss rod cover go to adjust it and the truss rod is loose meaning I cannot put any under bow back into the neck so right out of the box just guitar was no good not to mention the inspection tag ... MoreI want to know hollow body so I ordered this one it fit my budget. Was advertised as next day shipping but took 2 days to get it no big deal, finally shows up and I unbox it leave it sit out in the house overnight play with it the following evening which is today 5-17-2020. Looks great sounds okay noticed a little bit of fret buzzing so first thing I check is straightness of neck lo and behold I find about 5 frets that are not level with the rest of them so being curious as I am I checked the neck relief there is none maybe one thousandth of an inch. so I go ahead and do the truss rod cover go to adjust it and the truss rod is loose meaning I cannot put any under bow back into the neck so right out of the box just guitar was no good not to mention the inspection tag was dated 7 6 2018 which means this sat on the shelf for almost 2 years and we all know that that is bad for guitars or any stringed instrument for that matter. So hopefully when I get the replacement it's not an absolute turd like this thing is if it is I don't know what's going to happen probably refund and never buy a gretsch again, which is sad because I always wanted one but if you're spending close to $1,000 you shouldn't have to put up with that kind of poor quality. I would expect this out of epiphone but not gretsch so my message is directly to fender musical company get a handle on your quality control.

While no guitar is perfection to play out of the box, I did expect being a respected brand to have a comfortable level of playability. Unfortunately this was not the case, I have been playing for almost fifty years and most brands and found for a guitar in this price range it was surprisingly heavy going on my fingers. The bridge is fixed in place and so intonation can only be adjusted by the saddles, and we can't get the saddle for the G string to go back enough for perfect pitch at the 12th fret. The top nut needed some major work to bring the top end action down. The truss rod feels very loose, and although it made the required adjustment to the neck I have lost confidence in it and have concerns about it lasting the life of the guitar.After some setting up the ... MoreWhile no guitar is perfection to play out of the box, I did expect being a respected brand to have a comfortable level of playability. Unfortunately this was not the case, I have been playing for almost fifty years and most brands and found for a guitar in this price range it was surprisingly heavy going on my fingers. The bridge is fixed in place and so intonation can only be adjusted by the saddles, and we can't get the saddle for the G string to go back enough for perfect pitch at the 12th fret. The top nut needed some major work to bring the top end action down. The truss rod feels very loose, and although it made the required adjustment to the neck I have lost confidence in it and have concerns about it lasting the life of the guitar.After some setting up the guitar looks, plays and sounds great.... I wish I hadn't been told the truss rod doesn't feel right, and I could get the G saddle to make that final little tweak to finish what is otherwise perfect intonation, but assuming the truss rod is ok, and I can find a fix for the saddle it will be a great guitar....Would I recommend this model, yes... but don't rely on the price and brand to mean a great guitar out of the box and purchase based on the brands reputation, do what I should have done... get down your local shop and play a couple.

The Gretsch G5420T takes me back to my teen age days when I bought a Tennessee Rose for $185.00 out of a pawn shop in downtown Buffalo. Little did I know that started a love affair with Gretsch guitars for me that is never ending. This Electromatic in Candy apple red is a really fantastic guitar. Its beauty in color and fit and finish is jaw dropping. My son thought I was crazy just sitting there looking at it for what seemed a long time. Yes, it's that beautiful.Right out of the box it plays excellently. The person who did the setup was truly a master at his craft. Just a minor turn on the floating bridge to drop the action a bit was all I did. After plugging it into my Fender amp the real fun began. Only a Gretsch can sound that smooth, that full and that sharp. ... MoreThe Gretsch G5420T takes me back to my teen age days when I bought a Tennessee Rose for $185.00 out of a pawn shop in downtown Buffalo. Little did I know that started a love affair with Gretsch guitars for me that is never ending. This Electromatic in Candy apple red is a really fantastic guitar. Its beauty in color and fit and finish is jaw dropping. My son thought I was crazy just sitting there looking at it for what seemed a long time. Yes, it's that beautiful.Right out of the box it plays excellently. The person who did the setup was truly a master at his craft. Just a minor turn on the floating bridge to drop the action a bit was all I did. After plugging it into my Fender amp the real fun began. Only a Gretsch can sound that smooth, that full and that sharp. Each note came out crisp and clean, a tribute to the Filtron pickups' capabilities. You better play well or it will embarrass you. But doing so makes the hairs on your arms stand right up. Yes, I have emotions for this guitar. It's that good. Due to its hollow body construction my son can pick up the dreadnaught and we can have a great unplugged jam. It's great to have that versatility in a well priced instrument. And when we kick on the Epi SE Special and the Gretsch together in harmony we smoke the neighborhood and wear huge smiles. This guitar will never leave this family. It will be cherished for generations to come. And American Musical Supply made it easy. Customer service was tops when I needed a return (not this guitar). And with great pricing and generous payment plans, owning pro equipment becomes a reality. It's truly my favorite toy store. Just don't tell my wife ??

I've always wanted one of these and was just going to go with that good ole Gretsch Orange. Don't recall any other colors that caught my eye until the last few years. Thanks to AME I can finally end the decade long wait and get my first Gretsch and low and behold choosing between orange, red, and blue was a three day ordeal. They even had a smooth Cadillac Green special edition. Been sitting around plucking on these models at music shops for almost a decade now so I knew what to expect and Gretsch and AME delivered. I finally settled on the Candy Apple Red and my God does she sparkle. Looks much better in real life than the pics. Now I want to see Fairlane Blue up close. As I said, I knew what to expect from this model and my Candy is right in that wheelhouse. The ... MoreI've always wanted one of these and was just going to go with that good ole Gretsch Orange. Don't recall any other colors that caught my eye until the last few years. Thanks to AME I can finally end the decade long wait and get my first Gretsch and low and behold choosing between orange, red, and blue was a three day ordeal. They even had a smooth Cadillac Green special edition. Been sitting around plucking on these models at music shops for almost a decade now so I knew what to expect and Gretsch and AME delivered. I finally settled on the Candy Apple Red and my God does she sparkle. Looks much better in real life than the pics. Now I want to see Fairlane Blue up close. As I said, I knew what to expect from this model and my Candy is right in that wheelhouse. The stunning paint job is a bonus. The guitar arrived in a couple of days well packaged and everything works just fine. Flawless!

Excellent quality and features

After reading a lot of reviews I thought maybe it's time for a more in depth look at this guitar. I've played a lot of guitars - HUNDREDS over the course of thirty two years, but this is one of the very best that I've had the personal pleasure to play! The pickups sound very sweet, and pure Gretsch vintage. They aren't exactly the same from guitar to guitar since they are made to varying specifications from model to model. This is something that shouldn't be expected to sound the same with every amplifier as this is something that is impossible to recreate perfectly from one amp manufacturer to another! It's unreasonable to say that these sound differently from each other when playing the same model as these are wound with CNC powered pickup winding machines. The ... MoreAfter reading a lot of reviews I thought maybe it's time for a more in depth look at this guitar. I've played a lot of guitars - HUNDREDS over the course of thirty two years, but this is one of the very best that I've had the personal pleasure to play! The pickups sound very sweet, and pure Gretsch vintage. They aren't exactly the same from guitar to guitar since they are made to varying specifications from model to model. This is something that shouldn't be expected to sound the same with every amplifier as this is something that is impossible to recreate perfectly from one amp manufacturer to another! It's unreasonable to say that these sound differently from each other when playing the same model as these are wound with CNC powered pickup winding machines. The difference is in what string guage, and the settings of your amp, and the guitar are according to your own preference. I used a Fender Deluxe Reverb and this sounded exactly like all the old recordings of songs that I listened to from the 60's! Although I don't own one yet as I'm still on the fence as to what colour I want, I have played a lot of Gretsch and other brands of guitars and this is one of the best values for what some call an "entry model" which this guitar isn't. The Duo Jet, and the Double Jet are considered entry models, but not this kind of guitar that uses this hollow type of construction. This the affordable version of the USA custom shop models costing thousands of dollars, but the features, and appointments are on par with their USA counterparts. The fit and finish are perfect with no buffing marks on it, and the fret work is great. Although one inlay on the one that I played (white with gold hardware) was a little less than perfectly fit into the hole cut for it. It was very easy on the hands with the U shaped neck that was much like a Les Paul Custom with a fairly thick body that allows for that true hollow body honk that only comes from a guitar such as this! The weight is what you'd expect of a hollow body. The action could've been a little lower to my taste, but it was pretty decent with no choking out when bending notes, or playing chords. It stayed in tune really well even when using the tremolo bar with a little aggressiveness - it played all the way through songs without the need for retuning afterward! Even after an hour playing straight through it only had to be retuned twice since the strings were still new. The finish and the fit on the machine heads were nicely done with the tightness that you'd expect from USA made machines. The nut was precisely cut and allowed the strings to ring true which you won't get with just any type of material, but the synthetic bone kept it true to form tone wise. The bridge isn't the best, but it allows for unilateral tuning which is nice, but not authentic to the original Melita bridge design, nor is it as attractive. The control layout is correct, and a great looking setup for this guitar and it's easy to use, and makes sense. The bar is in the just the right place for easy use when needed swings out of the way when you don't want to use it. The finish on the chrome is smooth with no apparent scratches in the metal beneath that you usually see on overseas guitars made in the orient. The binding is well done with no finish overlap, or paint smudges. All the wood is smoothly sanded, and properly shaped with no high or low spots, and the grain doesn't show through the finish surface when looking at it at an angle, or straight at it. There are no joinery lines in the finish and all the plastic is uniformly cut with the wood where the two join together. All in all I say that Gretsch did their homework when deciding to capitalize on their own history and appeal rather than going with some new radical strat inspired designs, and stuck with the one true hollow body manufacturer shape that has withstood the test of time, and is the most beloved. Sure you could put a solid block through the middle, but it would lose a lot of the characteristic quality that Gretsch guitars are known for! The same is true with their pickup design - this isn't something that you're going to get from just any guitar. The same is true as if you put a strat pickup in a Les Paul and vice - versa. It may sound a lot like it, but the true guitar that this pickup was designed for won't be exactly the same! I nitpicked, and thoroughly inspected this particular model with several different guitars, and they all passed with flying colours! I'm a guitar maker, not just a builder, or one who modifies them, but I make them from scratch. Not all guitars are going to please all people, but that's where I come in; to alter either an existing guitar with whatever pleases its' owner or to make one from scratch with the appointments that anyone would appreciate. However, this guitar is one of those right off the rack! I wouldn't change it, or any of its' appointments. Gretsch's truly one of the few that got it right the first time!

It does everything and more than I need it to and it makes me happy :-)

1st it is just so cool looking :D just kidding, 1) For #1 it is hard to determine between build quality and comfort. I have a bad shoulder that makes my standard acoustic guitars uncomfortable. The thin hollow-body of the Gretsch G5420T overcomes that. But as well I am really impressed with the build quality. The fit and finish if the body and neck is impeccable, the knobs for the volume and tone have set screws so they won't fall off even if handled rough. The screw in strap holders make sure the strap won't accidentally fall off. Every fret extends the edge of the neck and is perfectly finished and all 22 are absolutely identical. The tuning machines are identical with the same stiffness feel in and they all hold evenly. The acoustic sustain on this guitar is as ... More1st it is just so cool looking :D just kidding, 1) For #1 it is hard to determine between build quality and comfort. I have a bad shoulder that makes my standard acoustic guitars uncomfortable. The thin hollow-body of the Gretsch G5420T overcomes that. But as well I am really impressed with the build quality. The fit and finish if the body and neck is impeccable, the knobs for the volume and tone have set screws so they won't fall off even if handled rough. The screw in strap holders make sure the strap won't accidentally fall off. Every fret extends the edge of the neck and is perfectly finished and all 22 are absolutely identical. The tuning machines are identical with the same stiffness feel in and they all hold evenly. The acoustic sustain on this guitar is as good as regular acoustics. The material, fit and finish are excellent. 2) The sound, I put the sound second because it is peculiar. It isn't good or bad, just peculiar. If you like it, you like it, If you don't you don't. I like it but that is probably relevant to my other guitars, it carries some qualities and tones the other don't. I have four guitars and they are all different and that makes each one of them special. 3) Finally, it is a totally cool looking guitar.

Purchased this baby from CME in December 2020

And I've been loving it ever since. First of all, David A. at CME was very helpful with my purchase. Shipping was swift and right on time. While this is by no means my first guitar, this is my first full hollow body jazz guitar. I've never played with a Bigsby tremolo and I like it. Having a great time with stomp boxes and my amp to experiment with tone. The Gretsch's comfortable feel makes playing a dream. I have to get used to the bridge as I rest my palm there too much and it gets clumsy/irritating for me. Volume and tone controls are excellent. I'm up to a total of about eleven or twelve electric and acoustic guitars along with my mandolin. It is really fun collecting and playing them all! Working with CME was refreshing over other online or even local music ... MoreAnd I've been loving it ever since. First of all, David A. at CME was very helpful with my purchase. Shipping was swift and right on time. While this is by no means my first guitar, this is my first full hollow body jazz guitar. I've never played with a Bigsby tremolo and I like it. Having a great time with stomp boxes and my amp to experiment with tone. The Gretsch's comfortable feel makes playing a dream. I have to get used to the bridge as I rest my palm there too much and it gets clumsy/irritating for me. Volume and tone controls are excellent. I'm up to a total of about eleven or twelve electric and acoustic guitars along with my mandolin. It is really fun collecting and playing them all! Working with CME was refreshing over other online or even local music store sellers.

Reviews mean a lot

I didn't have the opportunity to play any of the acoustic electric guitars I was interested in so I made my decision on these reviews, youtube and discussions on guitar forums. I got the White/Gold w/Bigsby version of the G5420TG.The fit and finish is flawless. The craftsmanship is as good as it could be. Great tone. The 22 fret rosewood fretboard is a pleasure to play. The raising and lowering of the pitch via the vibrato doesn't take the guitar out of tune. Nicest looking guitar I've ever seen.Even though it played well right out of the box, I still took it in to the local Luthier/guitar tech.Very minor adjustment of the truss, bridge and pick-up height. Didn't really need it but I felt better after getting his blessing of the 5420.Not a fragile guitar. ... MoreI didn't have the opportunity to play any of the acoustic electric guitars I was interested in so I made my decision on these reviews, youtube and discussions on guitar forums. I got the White/Gold w/Bigsby version of the G5420TG.The fit and finish is flawless. The craftsmanship is as good as it could be. Great tone. The 22 fret rosewood fretboard is a pleasure to play. The raising and lowering of the pitch via the vibrato doesn't take the guitar out of tune. Nicest looking guitar I've ever seen.Even though it played well right out of the box, I still took it in to the local Luthier/guitar tech.Very minor adjustment of the truss, bridge and pick-up height. Didn't really need it but I felt better after getting his blessing of the 5420.Not a fragile guitar. Durable.Just playing it clean with a little spring reverb brings a smile on my face.Good luck finding what you want.

Superior comfort and playability, don't let the size intimidate you either!

Superior top quality build! Cannot find a single flaw anywhere! I held off on buying a Gretsch because the size of the guitar was intimidating compared to most of my other electrics. After getting it home though and spending an hour playing it I could not believe how truly comfortable it is. Even better was the tone and the sound. Nice crispy and sparkly top end with a very deep ending for your chords! Not only does it look great but it plays even better. The neck is extremely well done and not too big and not too small. Even with smaller hands you'd be surprised at how adept you become very quickly moving around and up and down the fretboard. I have to admit it's become one of my absolute favorite guitar buys ever. I never thought much about Bigsby tailpieces ... MoreSuperior top quality build! Cannot find a single flaw anywhere! I held off on buying a Gretsch because the size of the guitar was intimidating compared to most of my other electrics. After getting it home though and spending an hour playing it I could not believe how truly comfortable it is. Even better was the tone and the sound. Nice crispy and sparkly top end with a very deep ending for your chords! Not only does it look great but it plays even better. The neck is extremely well done and not too big and not too small. Even with smaller hands you'd be surprised at how adept you become very quickly moving around and up and down the fretboard. I have to admit it's become one of my absolute favorite guitar buys ever. I never thought much about Bigsby tailpieces either but the whammy bar is much different than a Floyd Rose in a good way giving you ultra fast or smooth and slow vibrato and bends.