New guy here and hooked on Gretsch!

[Trash Kidd]

Welcome & congrats on the new Gretsch!

 

[new6659]

Welcome and congratulations on the new guitar!

 

[ALS57]

Hello from London, a fine choice the 2420

 

[Dana Rudd]

Hello @later_daze, welcome to G-T. That's a fine looking 2420, enjoy.

 

[SAguitar]

Welcome to the madness! Play on.

 

[BobYoshi]

Hi all! I'm new here and a beginner guitarist but always new I wanted a Gretsch and now I've got one! My favorite Gretsch players are/were Brian Jones, Poison Ivy Rorschach, Michael Nesmith, Neil Young, Eddie Cochran, and the Jesus and Mary Chain to name a few.
Just thought I'd post a couple pics of my G2420T Gold Dust Streamliner. I've changed the acrylic knobs out to the chrome "G" knobs and I've ordered a cream colored pickguard to change out from the stock one. Anyway, I'm glad to be here!
Untitled by Joe, on Flickr
Untitled by Joe, on Flickr

Midway through the swap. Much nicer than the stock acrylic knobs IMO.
Untitled by Joe, on Flickr

Beaudacious! Welcome to the Cool Kid's Club

 

[GlenP]

Bigsby arm tip protective cover, or not, you decide, either way I am sure you will enjoy that one!

 

[1adam12]

Nice geetar, influences and knobs!! Have a blast with it !

 

[Mojoman]

Welcome later daze to the world of gretsch. Nice guitar, and I really like the chrome knobs too. They are so different from fender or Gibson, so work with it, try many settings and tones cause they can do many things. Enjoy your axe. These are my 2 , both electromatics but super nice.

 

[Baba Joe]

You can’t go wrong starting off with a Gretsch. Welcome

 

[Southpaw Tele]

Welcome! I’m also new here. Really great gang on this forum.

 

[YaDaddy]

I don't know man, I like the pickguard look!

Yeah pickguards are the way to go. There’s a serious “necked Gretsch” contingent here. Don’t let them lead you astray. If Fred Gretsch had meant for your Guard to be optional he would’ve made them small enough to fit in a HSC storage compartment. Of course, the fact that they’re removable is kinda curious I suppose.

Anyway…

Very interested in seeing your pickguard choice. You must post pics. Going blend instead of contrast with a crème guard is an interesting choice for the color palette of your twang box. I wanna see it.
A bit of a warning for you for when you do the surgery. There’s a little black tube that hides between the guard and the body at the pointed end of the stock tortoise guard. That forward screw goes through it. Now, you’re going to tell yourself that you can handle keeping up with that little tube when unscrewing that screw, but…

YOU ARE WRONG!!!

What you don’t understand right now is that all of those little teeny tiny black tubes were imbued with magic by the spell of a New Oreleans Voodoo Queen. Gretsch has tasked these voodoo practitioners for the past 135 plus years with placing a hex on your hands and eyes when you goof with their instruments. Yes, there are more parts lurking in your Gretsch that have this magic, it’s not just the little black tube under the pointy end of your guard. (Don’t get me started on what happens when you try to goof with a hollow body wiring harness.)
Now, as we all know from the famous quote of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke:

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Being a very scientifically grounded person, what I suspect is that these little black tubes, are not actually magic, but somehow have the ability to move inter-dimensionally and are are popping in and out of existence. It’s the only rational explanation for all the times I have been staring directly at that little black tube and have a cat rub up against your leg and it’s just gone! (Oh yeah, I think cats are in on it too.) Yes, just GONE!…
You were sure you were looking right at it while your favorite college football team is on the TV making a critical 4th and 2 play and suddenly it’s nowhere to be found and after 30 minutes of looking on-in-and around your couch (which on occasion doubles as your guitar workbench) you give up in frustration, pick up your hollow body Gretsch guitar only to realize that the little black tube has re-materialized INSIDE THE GUITAR!!! (Le grande run-on sentence intended. Works best when you read it fast.) I mean really WTH? No explanation other than some kind of superposition krap from quantum physics er sumpin’.
Strangely this has never happened to any owners of Gretsch Tennessee Rose models. I’ve got to spend some time thinking about that one.
Bottom line: the little black tube like everything connected with the black arts is not to be trusted, so before you get into this operation, get a set of these and hold onto that little booger for dear life (not too hard) before you unscrew that screw. Also works really well on the little washer under the bracket. That little sucker is quite often on the voodoo list, too.

Loooooong and narrow needle nose pliers: (put a polish cloth on the body when you use them.)





(Like I had time for this)

 

[CheapGretschLover]

Great color!

 

[Berington]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Great idea with the chrome knobs, did the same on my 2622. The chrome knobs have more style than the other ones, me thinks.
Enjoy your new GreTscH guitar. Surely there will be more quickly now that you've pulled the trigger

I'm curious what your ordered pick guard looks like. Please post photos if possible. Thanks in advance.

I agree completely. Never a fan of plastic knobs on Gretsch guitars; they just seem to be an obvious cost-cutting measure, & the chrome or gold finish knobs are part of Gretsch's legendary style and "upper class!" And I agree with the pickguard, too. I'm also curious to see how it looks. Just to "complete" the mod, maybe consider changing out the switch tip, too, to a "proper" Gretsch metal one?

Congratulations on your 1st Gretsch, it's a beauty! Great step for a beginning guitarist! I had to wait for decades before I finally got my '62 Tennie, then my '62 Gent reissues. (Worth the wait!) And welcome to this fabulous forum! Cheers!

 

[RatRod Gentleman]

Welcome to the conservatory, we conserve things and drink sometimes. Not always in that order

 

[Highroller]

That's as nice a Streamliner as you'll ever find. Congrats! It's gonna be awesome for blasting out Just Like Honey and I Hate Rock'n'Roll!

And welcome to the forum!

 

[Old Rookie]

Welcome, LD!
Very nice guitar. I think I’m in about the same situation, you are in: “beginner” stage; first Gretsch guitar. People on this forum are very helpful, very supportive, and very patient with Newbies. I, too, have a Streamliner 2420 (no bigsby). Mine is a Brooklyn Burst, and I put on the chrome “G” knobs, a metal pickup switch, a black pickguard with a bit of a different shape (through “Quick Guards”), a customized truss rod cover, and strap locks. That’s about all my limited experience can handle. I’m having a luthier put on a jack plate.
Enjoy your Gretsch guitar. It’s a beauty.

 

[later_daze]

Thanks for all the tips! I decided to stick with the stock tortoise shell pick guard, it just looks better IMO. I changed the pickup selector switch tip to a metal chrome replacement, now I want to get some locking tuners next. It stays in tune quite well but anything that makes changing strings easier is an upgrade to me. I had the guitar for two months and just changed the strings last week. I bought a string action guage and a feeler guage to check to check the neck truss rod adjustment, and stand alone tuner to check and adjust the intonation and everythng went smooth. Wow, what a difference fresh strings make! Haha!

Over all I just absolutely love this guitar and play it everyday!

 

[later_daze]

Replaced the stock tuners with a set of Grover 502s. They fit with no modifications.

thumbnail_IMG_7710 by Joe, on Flickr

thumbnail_IMG_7711 by Joe, on Flickr

 

[RobertusMaximus]

Awesome guitar! Welcome!