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Best Gretsch Guitars 2024

If you’re into guitars, you’ve definitely seen some of the legendary Gretsch models, such as Neil Young’s White Falcon or Chet Atkins’ Country Gentleman model. Despite being frequently associated with the big hollow and semi-hollow body guitars utilized in jazz, blues, and country music, Gretsch now offers dozens of models to accommodate any musician seeking the iconic Gretsch sound.

Since Friedrich Gretsch began creating a range of instruments, such as tambourines, drums, and banjos, the Gretsch name has been associated with musical instruments.When they collaborated with renowned country guitarist Chet Atkins and developed their now-iconic 6120 hollow body model in the 1950s, they really established themselves in the guitar industry.
George Harrison of the Beatles gained prominence in the middle of the 1960s for using Gretsch guitars, which truly helped them become well-known and furthered their success.

Prior to this time, single-coil pickups, which had considerable hum difficulties, were used in all electric guitars.
Ray Butts, a Gretsch engineer, may have invented the first-ever “humbucker” pickup by stacking two single coils together, however this is debatable. This would have solved the hum problem that pickups had up until this time.

In 2002, Gretsch and Fender entered into a commercial relationship in which Gretsch retains ownership but Fender now manufactures and sells their guitars. Typically, these guitars are produced at the Fender factory in Corona, California. The agreement has been fantastic for the brand because it gives them access to Fender’s extensive global resources.

Gretsch Guitars G6120T-55 Vintage Select Edition ’55 Chet Atkins Hollowbody with Bigsby Vintage Orange Stain

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We have the ideal choice for you if you’re seeking for a premium, historically accurate Gretsch that “Mr. Guitar” himself would have used: the Gretsch G6210T-59 Chet Atkins. Chet Atkins is a name that most country music fans are familiar with. He was a guitar pioneer who contributed to the “Nashville Sound,” which influenced American country music. He is one of a select group of musicians who has been honoured by both the country and rock & roll halls of fame.

Gretsch even used period-appropriate trestle bracing and a hollow body construction to replicate Chet’s design. The body is constructed from laminated wood and has a glossy nitrocellulose finish similar to what many antique guitars from the 1950s and 1960s had. The signature of Chet Atkins across the pickguard is another group technique.

The neck is made of maple as well and has a gorgeous ebony fretboard. The antique V neck contour of this neck is its best feature. Additionally, we have vintage tiny frets that are exact replicas of the originals. The real bone nut is a wonderful addition and a good premium touch.

A set of TV Jones pickups humbuckers feels instantly classic and reproduces the Gretsch tone from the 1950s. They have a high-end bite and are bright and open, with plenty of twangy and jangly tones. Perfect for blues, country, rock from the 1950s, and rockabilly. You have a number of tonal possibilities with a two volume, one tone, and a three way selection.

Here, a Bigsby that is appropriate for the time is the B6C model. Additionally, this has a rocking-bar-bridge with an ebony base rather than the fixed adjust-o-matic bridges we’ve discussed thus far. For enhanced tuning stability, they used a set of Grover open gear sta-tite tuners.

In conclusion, this is a fantastic, ultra-luxurious Gretsch with all the bells and whistles you could have wanted 60 years ago, and they still function flawlessly now. You would have a difficult time finding anything better than this, Chet Atkins lover or not, if you’re searching for the best old-school country and western guitar. Although it costs slightly over $3000, it is a really nice instrument that will delight anyone seeking the rural sound of the 1950s. This is the Best Gretsch Guitar in 2023.

Gretsch G6119T-ET Players Edition Tennessee Rose with Electrone Body

G6119T-ET Players Edition Tennessee Rose...
  • Hollowbody Electric Guitar with Maple Body
  • Bigsby Tailpiece - Deep Cherry Stain
  • Rosewood Fingerboard

The Gretsch G6119T is a guitar with traditional styling that performs like a contemporary instrument and has the most distinctive and one-of-a-kind sound you can think of. This model’s unique bracing method and the arched maple body give the instrument its distinctive sound. For hard rock and rockabilly musicians who need to pop out in a mix, it is quick and open and works incredibly well. They used a pretty stylish standard U-shaped maple neck with pearloid inlays and a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard. Gretsch guitars now come with a 24.6″ scale length and a 12″ fretboard radius, as expected.

One of the main beauties of this guitar are the pickups. Due to a pair of High Sensitive Filter’Tron humbuckers, the Gretsch G6119T has a loud voice. These pickups can withstand a wide frequency range and have balanced harmonics, smooth midrange, strong bass end, and clear highs. We have a 3-way pickup selector, 1 master volume, a volume for each pickup, and a master tone as controls.

On this guitar, we also have a string-through vibrato tailpiece from Bigsby, the B6CP type, which is one of the more expensive Bigsby models. In comparison to previous models, this one uses excellent high-end components and makes string change more simpler. We have a rocking bar bridge over a pinned rosewood foundation for the bridge, which is a typical configuration for many Gretsch guitars. Here, a set of Gotoh locking tuners is a great addition that will help you stay in tune and restring more quickly.

This guitar screams rockabilly and has a tonne of attitude. A stunning, exceptionally well-made, professional-grade guitar that is both beautiful to look at and play.

Gretsch Guitars G5420T Electromatic Hollowbody Electric Guitar Fairlane Blue

Gretsch Guitars G5420T Electromatic Hollowbody...
  • G5420T Electromatic Hollowbody Electric Guitar Fairlane Blue

We begin with a gloss-finished, 5-ply hollow body made of maple. A maple set neck with a rosewood fretboard is also included. The G5420T has a conventional U shape with a medium thickness, which falls between between the thick U shapes of old and the thin U shapes on more current versions. The neck’s other features include a GraphTech Nu-bone nut, 22 medium-jumbo frets, a 24.6″ scale length, and a 12″ radius. Another amazing detail is the gorgeous binding.

Gretsch chose the Black Top Filter’Tron humbucker set for its pickups in order to provide a loud and aggressive tone. These are really distinctive and have a vintage vibe, much like pickups from the 1950s and 1960s. You have a lot of flexibility with a setup that uses 3 way selectors, 2 volume controls, and 1 master tone.

As you might have guessed, we also included a Bigsby for that lovely pitch modulation that we all enjoy while playing a Gretsch. They selected the B60G Bigsby model for this design. Gretsch employed a rosewood foundation with an adjust-o-matic bridge at the bridge. This G5420tuners T’s are open-back vintage-style tuners.

We adore this instrument for blues due to its hollow body design and retro Black Top Filter’Tron pickups. With this instrument, switching between jazzy and those famously huge and gritty blues bends is simple. We recommend this guitar because of its superb appearance, playability, and tone for around $900. We consider this to be a wonderful deal considering the premium features described above.

Gretsch G2622T Streamliner Center Block Gunmetal w/Bigsby & Broad’Tron Pickups

Gretsch G2622TStreamliner Center Block Double-Cut...
  • Center Block Construction: The G2622T features a center block construction...
  • Broad'Tron BT-2S Pickups: This guitar is equipped with two Broad'Tron BT-2S...
  • V-Stoptail: The V-Stoptail is a vintage-inspired tailpiece design that...

The G2627T Streamliner might be the one for you if you’re looking for a cheap guitar with the classic Gretsch design and sound that can play a variety of styles.

We have a solid centre block and a double-cut laminated maple semi-hollow body, similar to the G5622T that we previously reviewed. The smaller body type of this 2627 compared to that 5622 is the main distinction. A 2-ply black and white binding that wraps around the body of the 2627 greatly adds to its vintage appearance.

Here, comfort is a top priority, which is why Gretsch selected their thin-U neck profile. With a laurel fingerboard, a 12″ radius, 22 medium jumbo frets, and a scale length of 24.75, the neck is manufactured of nato. This instrument has all the tonal variety you need, whether you prefer pristine sounds or a high-gain crunch, thanks to two high-output custom-wound BroadTron pickups.

The 2627T also features a Bigsby B50 tremolo and an anchored Tune-o-Matic. The B50 model Bigsby is one of their more cheap options, yet it still functions well. It need to be set up correctly and ready to go.

Gretsch G5622T Electromatic Center Block Double-Cut Electric Guitar

Gretsch G5622T Electromatic Center Block...
  • Semi-hollowbody Electric Guitar with Maple Top
  • Bigsby B70 Tailpiece - Single Barrel Burst
  • 2 Humbucking Pickups

We begin with a bright and sonorous laminated maple body. You get the sound and feel of a hollow body guitar without any of the feedback problems thanks to the centre block that runs through the centre of the body. The tailpiece and bridge are also bolted directly into this central block, which reduces feedback and gives you more sustain than you may anticipate from a semi-hollow.

This has a maple neck as well, with a laurel fingerboard and 22 medium-jumbo frets. This neck has a thin-U form, a 12″ radius, a 24.6″ scale length, and feels cosy and solid while yet being simple to play.

The two Hot BroadTron pickups that Gretsch used in this model are one of our favourite features. They are much louder and fuller than the standard Gretsch pickup, which is ideal for higher gain tones, but they also clean up really nicely with the volume control, giving them the impression that they can handle any task. It is very impossible to dial in a terrible sound because to the straightforward controls, which include 2 volume knobs and 1 tone knob. We have a Bigsby B70 tailpiece with vibrato in the hardware section for supple and melodious bending. A set of die-cast tuners and an anchored adjust-o-Matic tailpiece are also available.

The Gretsch G5622T Electromatic guitar has a beautiful look and feel and can produce a variety of sounds, whether they are contemporary or vintage. It’s difficult to dispute the value here at slightly under $800. For the guitarist who like the vintage Gretsch vibe but also wants to excel at producing some fantastic high-gain tones, we highly recommend this instrument.