Anyone tried the new 5260 baritones?

[Andy Fortune]

I'm thinking of getting one of these and tuning it down to E-e with heavier strings. I didn't like the original black sparkle ones with the Bigsby because the tension bar Bigsby was just a poor functional match, in my opinion. I'd go with a stoptail version and then decide if I wanted to mount my own vibrato (probably a Les Trem). Have they improved on the design?

 

[Andy Fortune]

It’s looking like the answer to my question is “No”.

 

[Penguin Picker]

I've never had any interest in a baritone personally. Baritones, 5-string bases and 7-string guitars aren't for me. It's enough work for me focusing on standard guitars and basses.

 

[Outlaw]

I was interested in the 5260, here is a link to a thread I started.

https://www.gretsch-talk.com/threads/gretsch-g5260-baritone.210944/#post-1391363

 

[Andy Fortune]

I was interested in the 5260, here is a link to a thread I started.

https://www.gretsch-talk.com/threads/gretsch-g5260-baritone.210944/#post-1391363

Thanks! I totally missed that thread. Still, not much actual info about these here, and there seems to be some conflating of the new G 5260 with the older G5265 baritone, which had multiple issues.

 

[Andy Fortune]

Well, I was watching one on Reverb and the seller offered me 15% off, so I'll just have to answer my own question. Dark Cherry Metallic, so it will match my 6128T-DCM.

 

[Outlaw]

Yeah nice!
Let us know how you get on with it!!

 

[Andy Fortune]

Yeah nice!
Let us know how you get on with it!!

should be here this weekend...I'll let you know.

 

[juks]

I'm very interested to hear about it too!

 

[Andy Fortune]

First impressions after playing it a good bit:
-Excellent fit and finish. I can’t find anything to nitpick.
-Setup was great, and it was even almost perfectly in tune right out of the box, and the intonation was set well.
-8.2lbs, but well balanced without much neck dive. I expected it to be more neck heavy given the 30” scale and jet size body.
-stock strings are are .014-.072, which is too stiff for B-b, in my opinion, but that’s ok with me since I tuned it down to E-e and it holds it fine. If you have a heavy touch, you’d want to go up to a larger gauge.
-pickups are just ok. If you want baritone twang, these mini hums aren’t gonna do it. I’ll probably swap them out, but the stock ones are good for clear bass tones with it tuned low.
-tuners are not great either. They seem a bit weak for the heavier strings, so I’ll upgrade those.

Altogether, I’m very happy with it, and it definitely exceeds my expectations for the price. It feels like an Electromatic Jet vs my Pro line Jets, but in no way does it feel cheap or even low quality.

pics to come shortly...

 

[Andy Fortune]

 

[juks]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Andy Fortune]

@thunder58
I can’t believe I forgot to mention it has a jack plate. Alas, it did not come with a case.

 

[thunder58]

@thunder58
I can’t believe I forgot to mention it has a jack plate. Alas, it did not come with a case.

Best news of the day

 

[Dana Rudd]

Congrats Andy. Looks great, enjoy it.

 

[Archtops]

I just was looking at one of these bad boys at Harvard Street Music in Hemet, CA. A very cool guitar, congrats!

 

[WillyW]

I joined the forum specifically because of this geetar.

I ignored it because it's marketed as a baritione, but I'd be interested in it as a Bass VI with the almost 30" scale length!

Has anyone strung it with 95-26 or 90-24 tuned E-e?

I have been waiting for the squier bass vi to come back in stock but I truly don't want one of those....

I do have a 5222 and a 9500 already, had a 5220.

 

[Andy Fortune]

I joined the forum specifically because of this geetar.

I ignored it because it's marketed as a baritione, but I'd be interested in it as a Bass VI with the almost 30" scale length!

Has anyone strung it with 95-26 or 90-24 tuned E-e?

I have been waiting for the squier bass vi to come back in stock but I truly don't want one of those....

I do have a 5222 and a 9500 already, had a 5220.

I have not tried heavier strings, but I did tune it E-e for a while with the stock strings and it held tuning and sounded very good. You'd want to go heavier for heavy use at that tuning, but I don't see using .026-.095 without new tuners (I think the strings would fit through the stoptail, but not sure about that .095). I had a Squier Bass VI previously, and I had to do a lot to it to make it a reliable instrument and, even so, it never fully got rid of the dead low E. I still really like the 5260,

 

[audept]

Welcome to the forum, @WillyW !

 

[TV the Wired Turtle]

a bolt on neck is a hard no for me, thats not gretsch. more bang for the buck IMO can be found here for $400