NGD - First Gretsch!

[Stax2112]

Hi guys, I’ve been playing guitar for ~20 years now and just bought my first Gretsch. I went entry level to see how I like the full hollow body thing and grabbed a Streamliner G2410T in gold dust. So far I’m really enjoying it!

Likes:
- Feels great out of the box
- Sounds great out of the box
- Big warm tone, nice pickups
- Fit and finish of the guitar are all very good

Dislikes:
- Some buzzing when playing open G - I think its the saddles/piece
- Bigsby loses tuning sometimes
- Tone knob has a weird taper and is almost useless

For an entry level guitar its great though, I’m quite impressed and will enjoy this thing for some time.

Interestingly when I tried it in the store there was another exact same guitar in a different colour, but it sounded completely dead in comparison. I was surprised how much variance there could be in 2 brand new, exact same instruments!

 

[NitroSonic]

Hi Stax2112,
Welcome to this forum!
Feel free to post pictures of your new guitar.

 

[new6659]

Welcome and congratulations on your new Gretsch!

 

[Landshark2020]

Hi guys, I’ve been playing guitar for ~20 years now and just bought my first Gretsch. I went entry level to see how I like the full hollow body thing and grabbed a Streamliner G2410T in gold dust. So far I’m really enjoying it!

Likes:
- Feels great out of the box
- Sounds great out of the box
- Big warm tone, nice pickups
- Fit and finish of the guitar are all very good

Dislikes:
- Some buzzing when playing open G - I think its the saddles/piece
- Bigsby loses tuning sometimes
- Tone knob has a weird taper and is almost useless

For an entry level guitar its great though, I’m quite impressed and will enjoy this thing for some time.

Interestingly when I tried it in the store there was another exact same guitar in a different colour, but it sounded completely dead in comparison. I was surprised how much variance there could be in 2 brand new, exact same instruments!

Hello Stax, nice choice, you are spot on in your review. I think with just a few minor upgrades, these guitars can be very nice and more than entry level. I have the burgundy version.

Dislikes:
- Some buzzing when playing open G - I think its the saddles/piece - mine was the b string saddle was loose and always buzzed
- Bigsby loses tuning sometimes - same thing, bigsby is pretty much limited
- Tone knob has a weird taper and is almost useless - same thing, no difference in tone from 2-9, very little tonal change when used.

Enjoy!
Landshark

 

[audept]

Welcome to the forum, @Stax2112 !

 

[Randy99CL]

Yes, congratulations, good choice! Many of us started our Gretsch journey with Streamliners (mine was a G2622).

Bigsby tuning problems are always strings sticking in the nut or bridge, easy to fix. 99% are the nut, do you know how to treat the slots? I opened the slots and use nut sauce.

Everyone complains about the pots. When you turn one pickup off the other goes dead too. Some buy a whole new harness from TV Jones but I don't want to spend that much so am looking for a good schematic so I can rewire/repot it myself.
Otherwise, most just use it as it is. Adjust tone at the amp or with pedals.

I wish they were perfect out of the box but compared to others (at that price point) they are fantastic! A little TLC and they play and sound way above their pay grade.

 

[BCRatRod73]

Nice introduction to the brand. But hopefully you are aware you have just started an addiction. One Gretsch is simply not enough. Soon you will be looking for a second Gretsch.

 

[Camaban]

Congratulations, Hello and Welcome

 

[thunder58]

Welcome @Stax2112 , glad to have you here

 

[cielski]

Hi. How's it goin'?
Welcome to the madhouse!

 

[tmcq65]

Everyone complains about the pots. When you turn one pickup off the other goes dead too. Some buy a whole new harness from TV Jones but I don't want to spend that much so am looking for a good schematic so I can rewire/repot it myself.

Scroll to the bottom of the page for the wiring diagram.

Tone Pot Harness

Tone Pot hand-wired Gretsch wiring harnesses made with the highest quality parts and craftsmanship to make sure you can get the most out of your rig.

tvjones.com

I printed it out for my upgrade....what a difference. I added a treble bleed on the master volume.

 

[loudnlousy]

Willkommen.

 

[Stefan87]

Welcome to the forum, streamliners are a great guitar.

 

[Stax2112]

Thanks guys, I’ll post a pic shortly.
Appreciate the tips re nut/bridge (I have some nut sauce I’ll try when I restring), and also wiring.
I’ll leave it stock for now but I have in mind to upgrade the wiring in future - better pots, and I’d like to add a bypass option that basically just wires the master volume to the output jack (ie, no individual volume or tone pots in the circuit). Perhaps a push/pull master volume.

 

[LivingMyDream]

Welcome to Gretsch-Talk, Stax2112, and congrats on your new Streamliner.

 

[Ricochet]

Welcome to Gretsch-Talk! Yeah, the hardware on your guitar will not be the best. Easy to fix or replace but that’s another thread.

 

[Dana Rudd]

Hello @Stax2112, welcome to the forum.
You are correct when you say your first Gretsch.
Congrats on the G2410T, enjoy and HNGD.

 

[drmilktruck]

Welcome! Streamliners are the gateway drug to more Gretsches.

 

[Henry]

Congrats, can't wait to see it!

 

[Rob_Brindley]

Congrats! Welcome to the forum.

I started out with a streamliner before I moved on to the pro-line stuff and, in my opinion, they're the best value for money out there. They also lend themselves to modding very, very well. Over time, I replaced the wiring and Pickups with TV Jones Setzer sigs and loom, swapped the bridge for a tru-arc, swapped the Bigsby out for a proper B6C and swapped the plastic knobs / switch tip for metal ones. It's a great sounding, stable, reliable guitar that I still have. I don't play it as much now I have the pro-line stuff, but if I'm travelling abroad, it's the one I take! They're brilliant to start with and an incredible base to work from over time if you want to.