Gretsch G5420T Electromatic Hollow Body Tone Review and Demo

[@townside_woodcraft]

another great sounding affordable Gretsch guitar, what a time to be alive!

[@robnoel99]

I just bought one of these and love it. Now I just need to learn to play like that dude and I'm all set!

[@Musicstorelive]

Keep at it, man! Glad you love your new axe...and hope it brings you to new places with your music. Be sure you're signed up for our $500 monthly giveaway at musicstorelive.com/giveaway. Keep on rockin'! -Zach

[@afridgetoofar1818]

9 years later, how’s the playing?

[@sledge1960]

I added this to my collection today, limited edition in white and can only say, it is a thing of beauty, plays beautifully, neck and board are gorgeous and it didn't break the bank. It's been a good day.

[@guidosaonara]

sledge1960 uu

[@andriesscheper2022]

I bought a white T-140 an hour ago. Couldn't resist the temptation.

[@perfectstranglers]

Just bought one two hours ago- I have previously owned a Fender Strat & a Gibson Les Paul- Man the Gretsch blows my mind. Great tone, vibrato,pickups feel and LOOKS is sexy.

[@afridgetoofar1818]

What color did you get?

[@vicke9210]

Proud owner of one of these! Its a rockabilly machine

[@buddyollie180]

Viktor Sten Ya like it?

[@chucksullivan9018]

I bought one ,white gold hardware sounds better than the 6120 orange Nashville I bought as my first guitar in 1959 I get a lot of compliments on its looks and its sound. From the ladies when I play it out live

[@Junker1995]

I am glad to be the owner of such a nice guitar! :)

[@gdbirtch]

ME TOO!

[@salpiccirillo640]

I just bought one and I'm very glad I did!!! If you want to make your life easier get a vibro-mate to add to the Bigsby, You'll change strings as fast as a tele, without changing the integrity of the whammy.✌️

[@shauncrawfordguitar]

Got mine not too long ago. Haven't put it down since!!!

[@Loopcyclemusic]

Lovely effect with the plectrum at the end!

[@gdbirtch]

I have one as well! The Aspen green G5420T. I did have to have the nut set up properly, as the slots were not deep enough, especially the "G" slot. If the open "G" was in tune, when fretted, like a "D" at the second fret, it was WAYYYY sharp. It took me a bit to figure out what was wrong, and then I obtained the proper nut files, and after first adjusting the neck, ( it was back bowed ), then setting the intonation and action perfectly, I proceeded to set the nut slot height. After a few hours of slow, careful work, ( slow and careful being the most important words here ), filing the slot, re-tuning the "G" and checking, repeatedly, I got it perfect!!! Now, oh man now, this baby plays PERFECTLY!! All up and down the fretboard, and every chord , in every position on the neck is perfectly in tune!! I must commend Gretsch for using high-quality materials and one hell of a Bigsby!! If one does attempt this, please know nuts adjustments are NOT for beginners!! If one fucks up that adjustment, it's time to have a new nut installed, so if you don't know what you're doing, find a luthier or tech that does. But, if you have a similar problem, some chords in tune, some not, especially down near the nut, this MAY be your problem. Now that mine is perfect, I can hammer on this puppy and it holds it's tune!! That Bigsby is THE best tremolo I've ever used, far better than any or the supposedly awesome "locking trems". I can not say enough about this guitar now. It plays perfect and has a huge plethora of sounds, from the fat, slick clean tone, to a nice crunch when pushed hard with a decent tube amp. Buy one and ENJOY!!

[@georgefleming1591]

+Gord Birtch what gauge of strings are you using to get the intonation set properly? .10 to .46? Gretsch has recommended that gauge on the specs for this model. I will be buying one tomorrow. The store has a 45 day guarantee so if I can't set the intonation (as you said that may be a challenge) hopefully they can fix it or my Luthier here in Houston.

[@badmouserising9859]

If you're thinking of buying one, get one! I bought a G5420TG-OS 135th anniversary and its sick man, 50s and acdc \m/

[@PaulBeard1990]

It looks so much like Eddie Cochran's it's beautiful

[@monocultureband]

This dude can rock

[@raulvargas4377]

Thank's Bob you are great and do the product well. I have same model also, and upon a very small amount time, to be able to GROOVE again is very spiritual and Far-out. Thank's again.

[@nige99]

These are a great guitar don't listen to others I've had 40 guitars in 30 + years this is a quality guitar at 720 quid with no case it's proper trust me go get one but 15 fret action and above is true it ain't what it's for if you want that buy a tele !

[@Musicstorelive]

That's an Audio Technica AT4040. Love this mic. Thanks for watching!

[@bobaldo2339]

Thanks for the great demo!

[@sparkymahoney4343]

Beautiful guitbox. Man, I love Gretsch. They just have the fullest, warmest sound. Can you send me one for free? Thanks. Haha!

[@Jockeylotforfun]

Ok so...your officially now named Guitar-zan! Nice playing brother!

[@MarkEaster]

I love all the tones. It would have helped me to hear about where your tone, volume, master volume and selector switch are at. Joe Bonamassa just showed us “how to get 10 tones out of a Les Paul” without pedals. Do one with this guitar! 👍👍👍

[@TonyPuppets]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3iwlql6ed5kpK8

[@swingmanu]

excellent demo, excellent sound, makes me wanna get one

[@rdkdjarfur]

Awesome sound and guitar

[@kimninja00]

what's the first song he played with distortion? it's really catchy and I'd like to learn it

[@alectait2593]

O.O what did he do on the fret board at the very end? does that thing have a name?

[@whosthatguyitsjt5322]

this is my favorite guitar, im totally going to buy one of those some day GO ROCKABILLY

[@stijnxd]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you like Reverend Horton Heat too ;)

[@lucasthelemur7606]

played this at the music store once, i love it!

[@lsjuan5278]

Local guitar store guy told me the bigsby is hard to keep in tune. But you say it never causes your guitar to go out of tune. If i could get more feedback from everyone about the bigsby, that would be great!

[@jltc008]

I have an Electromatic, and it's the only guitar with a Bigsby that I've got. It doesn't seem to pull out of tune any more than a guitar without a vibrato arm, and I actually find that it stays in tune much better than a standard floating bridge whammy.

[@shanejb2121]

Bigsby's are fine as long as the bridge saddles, and nut are set up well, meaning the slots properly dressed. binding in these areas can cause snags not allowing the strings to return to pitch. other area that's the same as Strats with non-locking trems is winding the strings properly on the tuner posts....not too many wraps around them. Other than that, stretching out your strings properly, and the guitar should stay in tune pretty well.

[@mattgilbert7347]

I have a Bigsby on my Schecter Fastback, a little graphite at the neck slots will prevent the strings from sticking.

[@mikebishop8489]

Great guitar work! Great tone. You could use a StringRay to restring when the time comes!

[@yodasecondave]

I’m in the process of shopping for a new guitar. Sold my strat. I’m torn between the Gretsch electro magic 5420t and the Epiphone Les Paul 59 standard. I play a lot of acoustic, old country and folk. I also love to play a lot of punk rock green day, living end, but also into grunge, 90s pop rock like third eye blind, love the 80s stuff ,particularly U2, cure, clash, cult, inxs. I also grew up on zeppelin and like the old blues rock. No idea which way to go….any thoughts?

[@briandoherty3364]

Great review- lovely playing. Does anyone know what that technique is called that he uses on 3.44-.3.46? Or, better, how he does it?! Hammering on directly onto the frets or something?

[@Musicstorelive]

***** That's it. Just take the flat end of the pick and start hammering away on the strings on the desired notes above the fretted notes of the chord. Fun stuff. - Bob

[@TotaliterAliter]

Hi Bob, great job! Even though this video is 3 years old, I hope you can still answer my question. Is the "Special Run" version of this guitar with TV Jones Classic Humbuckers worth the higher price?

[@TheBoondoggler]

Did they change the hump block inlays to the moon ones?

[@emoryhorace982]

i bought a Gretsch G5655TG Electromatic but when i used the tremolo it was constantly attuned and i totally hated that guitar and sent it back to the shop.

[@scottchristopher4503]

I want this gretsch, I'm just concerned about the bigsby on this model. I don't want it going out of tune. Great playing by the way!!!

[@salpiccirillo640]

I just bought one and it's amazing, Use liquid graphite and a tooth pick and do the nut and saddles, and you won't have a problem. Good luck. You'll love this guitar.

[@Thomasplaysguitar]

Hey! Great demo! Just one question. Would, in your opinion, a set of TV Jones pickups be a good update for this guitar? Thanks :)

[@stolenname94]

Thomas Papoulakis I know this is an old comment but 100% it would be a great investment

[@1sochronism]

I have one of these, I put TV Joneses in it and it's awesome.

[@GoodEyeFilms2k]

This will be great for my Slayer cover band

[@seangilbreath42]

Just be sure to play it through a line six amp with a behringer ultra metal!!

[@noonster55]

Nice, which model was the first fender amp? Just purchased that guitar, have not picked an amp.

[@Musicstorelive]

Hey there, The first amp (the amp on top) that Bob is plugged into there is a Fender Princeton Reverb. They're really great 1x12 amps that can be used in a ton of different applications. A lot of guys use them just as much in their living room as they do gigging. They're really portable, and offer a huge amount of tone. Fender just recently reissued the Silverface Princeton Reverb as well, and to be honest, I have a hard time walking by the one here without plugging in. You can totally reach out to our sales guys for more info. They'll be able to set you up with the perfect amp for what you're doing. Give them a ring at [phone]. Hope this helps! All the best, Zach

[@Bapsi21]

what was that first song he played in the intro?

[@chuckjls]

Rockabilly guitar!

[@tillhansen454]

thanks for review

[@christophersnyder3241]

very nice instrument. i want one.

[@AlexGarcia-lo9hx]

I have one of these and I absolutely love it! It's a great sounding guitar, however, for some reason, every time I use the Bigsby it goes out of tune. I changed the bridge to a roller bridge thinking that the strings might have been catching on the saddles or something. It's a bit better now, but it still goes out of tune. Any tips?

[@josuesorto3453]

This is late, but it could be getting caught on the nut. It might need to be filed a little bit so that there’s no friction with the strings against the nut

[@МихайлоНіколів]

Rock and roll guitar

[@transplant07]

I'm sold

[@kaykovuskerteus90]

How about the shape of neck? Please answer, I'm going to by this model.

[@exciter300]

Is this Gretsch made in Korea? Thanks.

[@veronicadrake4895]

bernardo garcia, use a little graphite on the nut and your tuning problem should be taken care of.

[@shenc3459]

Hey man, does the guitar feedback?

[@liveconcerts7550]

Yes it does in small rooms.

[@danlove1924]

What type of strings do you have on the guitar? Flat or standard?

[@Musicstorelive]

Hey Dan - Standard strings on this one. Flats would be a nice addition, though. Just checked one of these out not too long ago, tough guitar to put down!

[@b00gymonster1]

MusicStoreLive.com As a noob, what's the difference?

[@kos22us]

this is great guitar to play and own, if you buy one be prepared to replace the junk tuners and the junk plastic nut, i upgraded to grover tuners and a quality bone nut and that is all this guitar needs

[@TheOmgdan]

what string gauge are you using in this video, if I may ask?

[@Tom-dx1tv]

I want a Gretsch but their labeling system is confusing me! Is there any order to the numbering? Are Pro's the most expensive? Then Electromatics?

[@DanNic88]

Just get the Gmax 49+BXmatic 045

[@RockGuitarLover]

How does this compare to the 5191 Tim Armstrong?

[@miguelpanta]

1. 'clean' sound wasnt clean at all. why is it so tricky to start with effects?

[@waytothewill]

I have a question: If I played this guitar at night with an earphone amplifier, would the neighbors upstairs hear the dry sounds of the strings? I would say we have normal izolation in the building, I don't hear them when they talk to each other or so.

[@michaelx9079]

Hollowbodies make a noise.... but nowhere near as loud as even a small acoustic guitar..... and don't really project the sound....one of the great things about them is they sound nice unplugged

[@TheMajink]

Is this the same kind of guitar john frusciante uses?

[@Dovahkiin0117]

its a lesser end model to the californication guitar but yes practically is the same

[@MatthyEdits]

Dovahkiin0117 exactly, that one costs around €4000,- and is a Gretsch White Falcon.

[@Dovahkiin0117]

TheWarfareFilms I've got a friend whose grandpa gave him an original 1954 white falcon

[@scoutgirl7739]

Does anyone know what the difference is between the 5420T, and 5420TG ?

[@talkingdonkey1817]

Ever since I bought this guitar, I rarely touch my Martin or my Tele.

[@dhallbreakfast6396]

Talking Donkey I would touch the Tele... (unless it's a cheap Squier, then I see where you're coming from)

[@loljo554]

I’m thinking about getting an electromatic, but stuck between the g5420t, g5422t and the g5622t. Does anyone have any ideas?

[@milesparker557]

What was the first song he played with the gain?

[@jackblack-zu7ed]

What string gauge...?

[@rjulian61]

what mic are you using to mic amp?

[@killa771000]

Other than price what's the biggest difference between this and an epiphone riviera p93

[@popoaggie]

Epiphone has P-90 pickups which are single coil. Gretsch 5420 has Blacktop filtertron pickups that are humbuckers. Gretsch body might be a bit deeper then the Epiphone.

[@kurt6410]

looks nice but where is it made? probably china, japan or korea

[@zaxapitsa]

who cares? enough with that. the design and supervision is what matters.

[@kurt6410]

zaxapitsa it's that attitude is why america has no manufacturing anymore

[@zaxapitsa]

it´s not that attitude. it´s money and labour regulations. simple as that.

[@kurt6410]

zaxapitsa yep you said it. it's all about the greed. big corporate greed. you see they american ceo's can't make 100 million dollars over here and pay a living wage ie, $25 a hour. if they paid 25$ a hour they would probably only make $5 million a year rather than 100 million and oh for the love of god to have to live on 5 mil a year, so they haul their plant to china, pay slave labor at $1 a day and us dumb amercians buy it

[@zaxapitsa]

well, not only dumb americans, pretty much everybody does, it´s not like we have much of a choice, but it doesn´t matter. every industry moves factories at some point, from cars to who knows. it sucks, but I don´t believe it affects the product in any case, including guitars. we could of course consciously support other brands´ process. anyway, if they make shitty overprized guitars it´s simply cause they want to.

[@ScythePlayer]

I'm sold. Can anyone tell me how this sounds unplugged? It is a hollow body after all...

[@somebodyelsenotme808]

Absolutely hollow and it sounds loud unplugged. Actually it is huge acoustic guitar with pickups.

[@ScythePlayer]

Thanks! That's perfect

[@redhare6435]

Мария Светова thank you for finally answering this question!!! No other video comes out and says that

[@ScythePlayer]

Red Hare Right? I've been trying to get this answered for a while now, too!! I'm definitely picking one of these up!

[@cheeher3212]

what year was this guitar made?

[@manuelontiveros213]

I want to know what song he's playing

[@AlexGarcia-lo9hx]

veronica drake Thanks!

[@nailsarecruel]

Give an importer some hope here: what's the average price on this?

[@iammurphy]

$800

[@nailsarecruel]

Ah, cool. Thank you!

[@Flickit100]

got it hon

[@hollowmenrule]

I love my gretsch. I have the lesser electromagnetic. Dark red and white. It is awesome. I do not play like this guy. I like Dreampop and rock, lol

[@shponjoel]

whats the song that starts at 1:10

[@fendafred]

I find the bigsby action to be a bit too stiff compared to Japanse Gretsches. Is it possible to get a softer spring to replace the original that comes with those G5420T?

[@salpiccirillo640]

Add a vibro-mate to the Bigsby, problem solved ✌️

[@heatedoyster2]

Everybody can someone tell me what kind of pickups use this guitar? Single or Hum? I mean, what kind of sound can bring you a Gretsch?

[@vicke9210]

Its filtertrons

[@popoaggie]

Filtertrons are a type of humbucker.

[@heatedoyster2]

Thank you, all of you

[@alexlytle089]

what song were you playing

[@aadicool2011]

It sounded very Stray Cats/Eddie Cochran esque to me!

[@guitarjay741]

I didn't know keanu Reeves played guitar

[@MatthewZmusician209]

Would this guitar be good for like surf

[@maxgrymonprez77]

+Matthew Paul no... comes close. if you want the real surf sound you need a firebird or jaguar. and if you are extremely rich a moserite.

+Matthew Paul Yes it would. Check Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet

[@wayneconn1079]

I have replaced the pickups in all my Gretsch,s To Magma DC pickups !! Awesome Filtertrons . I ditched the TV jones in one of them.and got in touch with Nathan at Magma . He was so helpful adking me about the guitar .Strings i used Amp etc etc and set up a pair of Awsome Magma DC pickups . I was blown away at the detail he had gone to . He made the pickups spot on ! Check him out Gretschers . Magma Pickups UK !!! Awesome 😊👍

[@raycumpian2864]

nice guitar,affordable!

[@jamesliebherr343]

beautiful guitar!😍

[@invissiblecow]

song at 1:11?

[@lucasthelemur7606]

orange.

[@Fogertian]

Only 17 frets is what you get to play at high register ? No, thanks !

[@tcaw8813]

when he said 420 I felt like it was an inside joke

[@CarolinaRails]

What is the song You Played at 1:11 ????

[@shponjoel]

Christian Putt that's what I'm trying to figure out

[@alchemistwolf9173]

would this be a good guitar to play surf music off of?

[@HetfieldAuditore]

its THE guitar for surf music, brother

[@alchemistwolf9173]

Yeah been studying it, I'm already budgeting for it

[@ericandreeatingachickenwin2140]

+Alchemist keep an eye on Reverb & eBay. You can find used for like 550-600 sometimes.

[@alchemistwolf9173]

thanks man i appreciate it, my ibanez isnt holding up to the surf style so i need an upgrade

[@MultiSnotface]

is this an american gretsch?

[@1HandGuitar]

What do they mean by "Electromatic" ?? What is that exactly, sounds like half electric and half automatic. I can't think of how that applies though. I see the electric but not automatic. Anyway ......??? Not much online about what it means really.

[@cuteasxtreme]

It's just the name of the guitar model. I don't think it means anything really

[@Hrazoart]

Laury James Ward like the Stratocaster, does it really cast any stratos?

[@DanNic88]

Electro attic, sounds like a vacuum cleaner lol

[@1HandGuitar]

I must have been high when I made this comment 🤣😂 I really don’t remember this

[@davidgz1156]

song 2:30 ?

[@m1chacha]

Sounds like an improvised blues jam thing to me.

[@theArchive1O]

Im about to get one of these for $450!

[@AngelMartinez-qs3cf]

Really where at?

[@theArchive1O]

Angel Martinez craigslist. Deal didn't go thru, but i was gonna trade my Telexaster FMT(bought for $450) for one of these. But no im just trying to sell the FMT so i can get a Chapman ML1

[@AngelMartinez-qs3cf]

Ok, thanks.

[@sammyboy13nov]

didnt know john wick could play guitar:o

[@timhoran1638]

Just don't kill his guitar. If he got that pissed about his dog......

[@UDLXXL]

Keanu Reeves is actually decent at bass irl

[@JuanDaringMann]

🍪

[@MPNNag]

The new gretsch pick are made by ROSH, open up the guitar and you will see, they are the same fake low end pickups made and put into Epiphone guitars, If you feel that an Epiphone is as good as a real Vintage Gibson then you will be happy with ROSH Pickups. But if you want the Real Gretsch Sound try out the TV Jones pick ups. Call Tom at TV Jones he will hook you up. I like your playing. You play very nicely, Treat yourself to some TV Jones Pickup you will then be amazed.. I do not work for TV Jones and have no monetary interest in the venture at all.

[@savanaviolenta]

ROSH is not a brand name for pickups,but compliance with lead free materials.Do your homework,before posting something that will confuse the not so knowlegable people reading here.

[@ROCKSTARCRANE]

Every one I've played so far was horribly set up, played like a truck, was heavy as hell, and went completely out of tune if you even looked at the vibrato. These Chinese-built guitars are NOT the same quality guitars that come from Japan costing 3 times as much. I think you got very lucky with this one. Those pups are not the cheap, crappy ones that come with the stock Electromatics.

[@handyboy2000]

The 5420t is made in Korea and comes with Black Top Filtertrons. You're thinking of the cheaper Gretches.

[@kos22us]

+ROCKSTARCRANE - yes these are very well made Korean guitars, if people don't have the scratch to spring for a vintage or new usa model these are the perfect choice, i'm speaking of the 5420 specifically, they are a great foundation to start with, the tuners & the nut are junk but everything else is great, throw some grover tuners on and upgrade to a bone nut and these are excellent guitars

[@Evilovedoctor]

it looks nice and sounds nice but its shite. the inlays is the worst quality i've seen to date, the neck has terrible shape and is glossy which feels absolutely disgusting, the pick ups pretty much scoop out all mid range, mine arrived intonated which you would think is nice, but the bridge was on backwards. nice work, it also got cracks next to the input jack and last but not least its very large, i am over 6'1 and its too big for me. dont buy

[@kimninja00]

what's the first song he played with distortion? it's really catchy and I'd like to learn it

[@Foosa7]

It sounds a lot like Let It Rock by Chuck Berry. But most of his songs sound like that so could be most ;)