Guitar Reviews 4U - Gretsch 5420T 2 Tone Green 'Anniversary Green' Chinese made v G5420T Fairlane Blue Korean made guitar review

 

Guitar Reviews 4U - Comparing a 2023 Gretsch 5420T 

2 Tone Green 'Anniversary Green' Chinese made guitar with a 

2016 G5420T Fairlane Blue Korean made guitar 

A brief overview of the 5120 to 5420 Gretsch timeline journey

 The Gretsch G5420T -

Korean made Mk3 2016 (left) Chinese made Mk4 2023 (right)

my Mk4 was sold by Peach Guitars in the UK. Nice people to deal with,

a good old-style guitar shop that sets up a guitar and gives great service

When Gretsch launched the 5120 guitars in the early 2000's it was a game changer for the guitar players who wanted a genuine Gretsch at an affordable price. And it pretty much kicked into touch other makers looking to create similar styled guitars.

Smaller boutique labels such as Vintage, AXL, Alden, Eastwood, Hutchings, Roberts and other badge engineered guitars were often made by a small number of factories for those other 'names'. The 5120 pretty much dented that market by providing a genuine Gretsch at an affordable price and the 'right' name.

My Korean made 5120 the 'Mk1'-

upgraded with Gretsch Filtertrons, Space Control Bridge 

and Chet Atkins 6120 Scratchplate 

It was for Gretsch their 'Squier' moment - affordable guitars in the image of a more famous parent. The original 5120 and the 5020 Dearmond pickup equipped model ranges at this price point soon became platforms for upgrade as players recognised they could upgrade them.

Like the Squiers had from Fender - these were a good basic guitar which could be upgraded easily. There was a special 5120 that was a limited run which featured Filtertrons as standard.

G5422, G5126, G6120DC,G5420 & G5422 Guitars

The 51220 and 5422's here were upgraded with Gretsch Filtertrons

The 5120 was for Gretsch the start of a rich seam of guitar making and the 5120 line became improved and launched as the 5420T the 'Mk2', now featuring hump block fretboard inlays and the 'Black Top' FIltertron pickups - last seen used on the Baldwin era Gretsch guitars.

G5126 Silver Sparkle with Dearmond pickups

G5420T Silver Sparkle a 'Mk2' Electromatic

The 5420 'Mk2' retained the large 5120 headstock with the 'Electromatic' name vertically placed. The shape was of a style used on the Japanese Gretsch reissue guitars of the mid 1990's owing their style to the headstock design of the pre-1957 6120 guitars. The neck profile was slim and easy to play. The addition of f-hole binding firmly put the 5420 up a notch. However it was not until the 'Mk3' that the headstock was reduced in size and lost the 'electromatic' vertical name.

G5420 Mk1 Headstock shape carried over on to the Mk2

The guitar was then updated to a 'MK3' version, it went back to the thumbnail inlay fretboard, the headstock shape and size was made smaller more in line with the 1958 and later 6120 size and shape head, the new guitars were well received and led onto the special colour 5420's with the Fairlane Blue guitar immediately making a big hit. Like Fiesta Red did for the Stratocaster. F-hole binding appeared and sealed the look.

G6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod in Regal Blue from 2004 -

perhaps the inspiration for the 5420T in Fairlane Blue?

The Korean made 5420 colour range was expanded from the basic Orange stain of the original 5120, that came from the 1955 6120 and the 5420's were offered in a range of colours including Black, Sunburst, Aspen Green, Silver Sparkle and Daphne Blue, Surf Green although some of these colours were limited run colour shades often for far east markets like Japan or Malaysia.

The Mk2 Electromatic featured a slightly thicker neck than the 5120, I personally found this neck not as easy to play as on my 5120. This was changed on the Mk3 guitar more to a thinner profile neck more in line with the 5120 profile. Perhaps due to player feedback.

My Korean made G5420T Mk3 in Fairlane Blue as purchased -

2016 one owner as new, prior to upgrading it with B6C Bigsby

Chinese made G5420 Mk4 in Azure blue - compare the blue shades!

The Korean made guitars became a Mk3 with the design revisions of the smaller headstock, pinned bridge base, return to the neo-classical inlay fretboard, f-hole  and a slimmer profile neck as we have covered. Having a Mk2 and a Mk3 side by side at the time, the Fairlane Blue Mk3 was easier to play due to the thinner neck. 

The Mk3 like the 5120 had a single square post block between the top and back panels which provided a means of reducing feedback and adding strength to the guitar, I have Terada 6120's with this same design single post so this is no 'low cost' option by any means.

G6120 1959 Trestle Bracing example

The 5420T Korean guitar has a single post between top and back panels

The 5420T Chinese guitar has '59' pattern bracing as below:

Gretsch updated Trestle Bracing - this provides greater strength

to the construction without adding extra weight

With 5420T production moving to China, the guitar design was in to the Mk4 era, this included the addition of Trestle Bracing to the guitar designed in conjunction with Mike Lewis of Fender, a feature now also included on the Player Series guitars. The Rosewood fingerboard changed on the Mk4 Chinese made guitars to Laurel wood and the Tunamatic base was Rosewood and is now Laurel Wood. 

Vanson Roller Saddle Bridge -

fitted as an upgrade to the Tunamatic Blade Saddle Bridge

that is fitted as standard on the 5420s and 6120s

The guitars still featured the open backed Grover style Machine Heads which are a budget version of the Grover units used on the green 6118T Anniversary guitar, Blade saddle Tunamatic bridge and the B60 Bigsby - all upgradeable parts which many owners do change out, as I have done on my Mk3 5420T. 

The neck is described as 'C' Shape on the Mk 4 and on the previous Mk3 as 'U' Shape - but comparing the two side by side in a playing situation, I can't detect much difference between them!

The 5420T in 2 tone 'Anniversary Green'

 

The rear view of the 5420T 

The Dietzler Paints chart of 1958 Cadillac colours - 

inspiration for the original 2 tone Green 6118T guitars

The Mk4 guitars now feature Trestle Bracing enabling the body depth to be reduced by about 3mm, otherwise they appear overall the same as the Mk3, although some of the hardware positioning and items has changed. 

The pickups have been revised over the Mk3 and the guitar now sounds slightly brighter acoustically and also plugged in, having a slightly more single coil sound like with the new Brian Setzer Hot Rods, so it is a bit like a Dearmond / Filtertron type of sound.

Some owners may decided to go and install the 'classic' Gretsch  Filtertron units which with adaptor plates can now fit the guitar without other modifications to the mount. The black top Filtertrons do make the guitar look like the later 1960 6118 Anniversary guitar, the Brian Jones 6118 had neck binding which i think made the guitar look more complete, something I thought was missing from the 6118 reissues since the mid 90's.

Gretsch 6118T Anniversary Player Series model with 1959 style Bracing 

The guitar colours for the Mk4 guitars have been updated with the Azure Blue replacing Fairlane Blue. Airline Silver, Orange and a great 2 tone Anniversary Green model as a tribute to the 6118 guitar are also offered as alternative colours. Limited edition 5420TG guitars with gold plated parts and special paint colours are also offered.

Korean 5420T upgraded with Wilkinson WJ45 Machine heads - 

an example of the way in which these great value

guitars can be improved with better quality hardware

The scratchplate is a tasteful silver shade on the Mk3 and Mk 4which works on all the colours and the one on the Chinese Mk4 5420T does not fit the Mk3 Korean guitar! The strap buttons have been changed on the Mk4 Chinese guitars and the thread on the string post is a left hand thread into the body unlike the previous Korean and the Japanese guitars which have right hand threads. Remember this if changing them or replacing the Bigsby! I put Straplocks on my Mk4.

The B6C here custom paint filled on my Mk3 upgrade -

an improvement on the stock B60 unit

The finish of the guitar is really good for the money, inside the Mk4 Chinese guitar, the bracing strength allows for a slightly thinner body, externally the green paint on the anniversary Mk4 I have is flawlessly finished as is the Mk3 Korean Fairlane Blue finish. This is a guitar you could easily pay a lot more for.

Gretsch 5420T guitars - upgraded with Bigsby B6C,

Vanson Roller Saddle Bridges and on the blue guitar

In conclusion, the 5420 series guitars are great value for money, a real Gretsch, at an affordable price and I have used them live on stage for some years along with Japan made Gretsch guitars. 

Gretsch 5420T with 6118 Anniversary nameplate 

The Japan Terada guitars are about the best Gretsch guitars I have played but you are looking at a price ticket sometimes three times as high as a Korean or Chinese guitar. That said, I find the Electromatics nice to play and have a great sound. I used my Orange 5120 for around 4 years with a jazz band even though I had a 6120 to hand.

Gretsch 5420T Anniversary -

A 6118T tribute!

The finish and construction is really well done on these instruments and I only wish they were around in the 1980's! 

 

Guitar reviews for you - Gretsch 5420T Electromatic Fairlane Blue upgrades project

                              The Gretsch Electromatic 5420T 2016 ready to upgrade

The Gretsch Electromatic 5420T 2016 is a great basic guitar but it needs a couple of upgrades to really improve it.

Firstly, the Bigsby B6 does not have enough screws, 2 only are fitted and they are too high up the plate to get the advantage that they should have, so that was going to be changed.

I colour matched this paint from MGTF Trophy Blue and Platinum Silver by eye

Prior to commencing the work, I purchased a Bigsby B6C trem, part no 60138100 from the US, suitable for archtop guitars. I thought it would be different to paint the indented part of the Bigsby casting with Fairlane colour blue, or as close to as I could get to it.

I cleaned the Bigsby to remove any traces of grease with a water and washing up liquid mix and rinsed it, let it thoroughly dry and mixed my paint by eye. I used a plastic mineral water bottle and cut the bottom off, it had convenient dimples in the bottom so I could use this as a palette to mix the paint.

I used MGTF Trophy Blue and mixed in MGF Platinum Silver. These are Acrylics and were in small nail varnish size bottles with a brush in the lid, shake well to mix and then add in paint to colour, I used a sable artist brush carefully to drop in the paint and flowed it out with the brush.

Don't worry about paint overspill when paint filling, it can be removed later. I did about 3 light coats and let it harden for a few hours, too thick and might chip out. I used my fingernails to remove any overpainting after the paint had hardened as the paint won't stick that well to the bare metal, but does to the black base coat already in the casting rebates.

To finish off, I applied a Hycote clear acrylic lacquer from a small touch up bottle again with an artists sable brush. I put on about 3 coats and let it settle for a couple of days to flow out and harden up. It looks like glass now and has sealed the paint in well. The metallic paints need this clear top coat to bring out the shine.

So first off, changing the bridge, which also needed the rosewood base sanding for a better fit to the body shape.

The Tunamatic is ok as a bridge but I prefer a roller type or Space Control bridge, but a Vanson roller bridge fits the tunamatic base fine, lastly a set of Wilkinson Kluson style tuners to replace the cheapo tuners in the future.

Using the curve of an optional saucepan to aid bridge base fit to guitar body

180 grit paper was taped with masking tape to the flat side.

Final sanding can be done on the body, but I did mine by hand and test fitted it until ok.

The first issue to overcome was the bridge base which required sanding to fit the body contour better. There were gaps under it which wasn't helping the tone transfer.

Slave Tunamatic in place, see holes in front of it,

these are where the bridge screws go into them through the bridge base,

they are not plain 'pins' as on the Setzer guitars

Warning Here!!!! The bridge is screwed onto the body, you need a Hex Allen key to undo the posts that the tunamatic locates on!!! These bridges are not 'pinned' as a Setzer guitar one is on plain round bar. So DON'T try and lever off the bridge base, unscrew the threaded stud 'pins' and it will come off ok.

Once the bridge is off I sanded that to profile and reinstalled the base carefully, it now fits a lot better. Then a Vanson Roller Tunamatic was installed onto the base, I did try the Gretsch Electromatic bridge to see if the Vanson saddles would fit into it but they were not compatible so I swapped over the complete unit. The strings line up perfectly so that works for me and the objective of the roller saddles achieved.

Now to the most tricky part, fitting the new B6C V type Bigsby. I did take my time with this as the mounting holes on the base plate would be different to what I had from the old B6.

I did a lot of measuring, checking and re-checking. I found it best to attach the strings to the new B6 and try it in place, using masking tape on the guitar body to which I had pierced the old string holes on the body side through as guides. I marked the place of the old holes to help with locating the new Bigsby which has a different end plate as an aid to where I thought it should go best.

My concern with the new B6C was that the silver Earth tape was going to be very close to the hole for the new strap button screw, so I took the new Bigsby off and drilled a new hole lower down for that strap button screw to go through, rather than risk going into wood with a hole next to it or damaging the Earth tape and causing screening problems.

Once that had been done, I put the strings back on the new Bigsby B6 and tried it in place, using the lines drawn on making tape as a guide, as you will see in the picture below.

I ensured a good 'fan spread' pattern of the strings when placing the new Bigsby in my test measuring so the new Bigsby would work properly in my calculations. I am glad I took the extra trouble, it paid off. I would rather measure it half a dozen times and get the best result than put up with a badly fitted unit!!

Much taping up and marking done, it pays off.

I  lined up the Bigsby so that the mounting pads on the underside of the casting were flat to the body, using my 6120 Hot Rod as a reference point. Essentially, if you do not have a guitar to hand with a B6C V type to hand, there are mounting pads under the casting and I ensured that they were both contacting with the top of the body and then adjusted the base height as I thought best.

I Having established a good angle for the Bigsby, I then drilled the bottom hole on the mounting plate first and screwed the new screw in, having lubricated it with a smear of Vaseline beforehand to ease fitting. I then checked the contact of the pads and then drilled partially the holes for the remaining 2 screws..

Once all looked ok, I removed the Bigsby B6 and removed all the masking tape and cleaned the body up of dust. I remounted the Bigsby B6 and then drilled the holes finally for the top screws on the rear plate and for the strap button and screwed that in.

I found that the standard height spring put the arm of the Bigsby a bit high, so I used the one from the original B6 which is about 5/8" of an inch as opposed to a 1" on the new B6. This brought the arm to the right level for me.

The superb sparkle finish in the Fairlane Blue

I tuned up and test played the guitar and it sounded a lot better, the roller bridge was a good improvement and the look is just so much better than the old style B6.

This just looks so good, like a 6120 Hot Rod! New strings fitted and sounds much better!!

Gretsch 5420T and mid 90's 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod

Last but not least, I also purchased a set of Wilkinson WJ45 EZLock tuners and may fit those in due course.

I tried them for size and they fit the bushes in the headstock ok, but the screw holes are in a different place and new ones will need drilling and the old holes filling with cocktail stick and touching in with the auto paint.

I think these will be better and I have greased them with Silicon Auto grease from a syringe

Anyway, that's the work about done on the guitar, the pickups are good sounding so I will keep those in and fit the Wilkinson tuners in time.

The 5420T is a great guitar and this new version for 2016 is well worth buying. My upgrades have improved mine a whole lot and it has better tone and look as a result. Side by side with the 6120 Hot Rod, it looks almost like a Regent Blue 6120.

A pity tht they did not do the upgrades as here to the base unit and fit Filtertrons to it!!

Guitar reviews for you - Gretsch Space Control bridge on Gretsch 6120 Amber Maple review

                              The Space Control Bridge fitted to Gretsch 6120 Amber Maple

I've often had a Tunamatic style bridge on which the saddles don't quite align the strings over the pickup screws. The solution is the Space Control bridge.

Whilst it solves the alignment problem, kit doesn't do much for the intonation. I first came across the Space Control bridge on my first Gretsch, a 1974 Viking.

This bridge is very simple, it has a threaded rod supported between two round mounts, on the bar are six threaded 'wheels' which have grooves in for the strings to rest in. You simply adjust the wheels to a rough position of alignment, fit the bar and hook up your strings on your wheels and carefully position them.

I have fitted these bridges to a number of arch top guitars over the years and they work well. This bridge pictured is supplied with an Ebony base which fits the guitar top nicely.

I prefer the Space Control over a Tunamatic as the strings can't snag on the saddles and hang up. Also the wheel movement allows the string to move when using the Bigsby handle which helps maintain tuning stability.

You can buy Tunamatic style bridges with roller saddles fitted which combines the best of both worlds but doesn't really solve the alignment issue.

For its issues I like the Space Control as my bridge of choice!