Guitar Reviews 4U - Peach Guitars shop Colchester Essex

 

A review of Peach Guitars in Colchester Essex

My Gretsch 5420T Electromatic purchased from Peach Guitars

Recently I was looking for a Gretsch 5420T Electromatic in 2 tone 'Anniversary Green' finish and found one on the Peach Guitars site. It looked just what I required, I had been looking for a 6118 Anniversary in green but they are a bit hard to find now, having previously owned one.

My recent purchases from supposed 'leading UK Guitar stores' have been disappointing, with unchecked instruments sent out in almost unplayable condition for example.

This is not acceptable when you are spending around 2K on a premium guitar. On one occasion one guitar arrived in the wrong case. Even then when you contact them and state the guitar hasn't been checked and set up, they don't really care, they have your money by then. Fortunately I am able to do this type of set up work but that isn't the point at this level of guitar.

A very different story with Peach Guitars thankfully! Quite the opposite to my recent experiences I am pleased to say. 

I enquired with the store if I could have the guitar delivered to my work address and that was able to be done, Jeff from Peach Guitars was very helpful and I decided to make the purchase. I hadn't dealt with the company before but had seen their adverts in magazines and on-line.

The price of the 5420T guitar was also very competitive as a bonus too. I paid using the Paypal option which went fine and waited for delivery.

The guitar duly arrived to me a couple of days later at work and was very well packed.

More than that, it even had a Peach Guitars QC card with it, showing it had been checked over and the set up was done.

Unboxing the guitar, I was no stranger to Gretsch guitars but I was very impressed with the build quality and finish. The acid test was to play something and sure enough, the guitar was playable out of the box and sounded great too. 

I did receive contact from Jeff a day later to enquire about the guitar and I said that it was great and I was very pleased with the transaction. It was nice that they followed up the purchase, most don't nowadays.

Peach guitars are like guitar shops used to be only a decade or so ago, (Coda Music springs to mind when I have purchased guitars from them), great guitars, set up and with quick delivery.

I would recommend Peach Guitars without question, for their great service, competitive prices and a great purchasing experience. They are an example to the others to follow.

Investing in guitars? Buy Gretsch guitars, here's a guide.

Brian Jones with the Rolling Stones

and his Gretsch G6118 Anniversary guitar c. 1964

You may have heard the name Gretsch, but have you considered buying one?

Gibson may be the more well known purveyor of hollow and semi-thinline body guitars on the market with the Les Paul and the 335 and similar guitars, but the smart money could be on another player on the market. Gretsch.

So where do you start? What is the best era? How much to buy? When?

The 6120 designed by Chet Atkins which came out in 1954

The early guitars made by Gretsch are hard to come by, so the focus on affordable guitars might start with the 50's models. The flagship 6120 was the Swiss Army knife guitar answer to the Fender Stratocaster of 1954.

The 6120 base has served as a springboard for many 6120 variant models and serves pretty much as the basic template for what a Gretsch looks like to most people.

The 2420T Streamliner of 2015 developed from the original Electromatic

The 6120 was developed from the Streamliner guitar. Essentially a work a day, inexpensive and reliable guitar for the working musician. Original Streamliners and Electromatics are not big money and still affordable for those seeking the affordable 50's vintage guitar.

The design formed the basic 'chassis' for the 6120. Chet Atkins came along at the right time, the 6120 was needed as a counterpoint to the Fender Stratocaster.

Original 6120's from the 54-61 era are expensive, but as a real investment piece are worth having. The early 6120 guitars often require neck re-sets, a factor not needed on the modern Japan made equivalents.

The next stage of guitar might be the Electrotone thin line guitars, which took over from the 6120 design. These adopted the 'twin horn' design of the Gibson 335 and Stratocaster bodies and the reduced depth of body made playing comfortable. The 6120DC was the first. DC stood for double cutaway. 

The 6120DC Electrotone body, a 1968 example

In the mid-60's, demand was very high for Gretsch guitars and as a result, many were made quickly and the quality suffered, look inside a mid 60's on guitar and the interior will likely not be that well finished.

Binding material also degrades on these era guitars, so that should be checked out, a re-binding job on a mid 60's Gretsch may be inevitable, it may also have been done, but once it has been redone that should be ok for the rest of the guitar's lifespan, but may affect the originality.

One thing on these era guitars is the likelihood of changed parts due to age and use. A mint and original guitar may command higher prices than a 'player's guitar which has loads of vibe, but is not as original.

1974 Gretsch Viking

In 1968 the Baldwin Piano company bought both the Gretsch and Burns guitar companies. This was at the end of the high demand, brought about by the use of the guitars by the 'British Invasion' groups like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Animals and others.

By the early 70's the guitar fashion had changed to the Gibson Les Paul guitar and both Fender and Gretsch felt the draught. Fender, bought out by CBS dwindled due to a management style and no musical instrument manufacturing experience situation.

Gretsch, similarly out of fashion limped on with a few hollow bodies and some wacky looking solid body guitars under the Baldwin yoke. But the loss of Chet Atkins as an endorsee, to Gibson, really put the tin hat on the company.

By 1980, the Gretsch family had bought the name back and started producing guitars again.

The Brian Setzer Gretsch 6120 Hot Rod from the mid 90's
in Candy Tangerine metallic paint. Nice...

The salvation of Gretsch, much like the Fender company at this time, came from Japan. When CBS ditched Fender, it was bought by an employee consortium and the first guitars were made in Japan, ironically a country that built an industry on copies of Fender guitars!

This superb 6120 TM Tiger Maple in Orange transparent lacquer,

was made for Gretsch in Japan, by the Terada company

Gretsch were not slow to put the feelers out in Japan. They approached 3 companies, Dyna Gakki, Fuji Gen and Terada as makers. They used all three companies, eventually staying with Terada. Terada made many of the guitars for J E Dallas and son for their 'Jedson' brand name in the 60's and 70's which were sold in the UK.

The 6120 AM Amber Maple guitar by Fuji Gen

The quality of these new Japanese made guitars made from the mid 90's onwards is staggeringly good. In fact, having owned 60's and 70's Gretsches, I would say that the modern Japanese guitars are better.

With the success of the Gretsch guitars, a signature player was sought to replace Chet Atkins of old and Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats was chosen as the new man. His use of the 6120 through the revival days of the 70's onwards made him an obvious choice.

Brian Setzer with a Brian Setzer Gretsch 6120 Hot Rod in Red Sparkle finish

An agreement for Gretsch to make a range of Brian Setzer signature guitars came about, based on his late 1959 6120, which featured Trestle bracing, a feature adopted on the 2004 Mk2 6120 signature guitars.

The Brian Setzer Gretsch 6120 in Green Transparent lacquer

The range was expanded with a 'stripped down' Hot Rod series of guitars which were updated with Trestle Bracing and optional TV Jones pickups in 2004.

The G5120 Electromatic guitar, made in Korea

It did not escape Gretsch that a lower end of the market guitar was required to fill a requirement and so the 5120 series was created.

Building on the 50's Electromatic heritage, this was a Gretsch guitar, made under licence in Korea and to a lower price point.

Essentially, it looked the part and made it a platform for upgrades, I did mine up with a set of Filtertrons, Nashville pickguard etc. So it looked more 6120 than not.

The 5120 upgraded which improved the sound and playability

Japan made 6118 Anniversary Japan made guitar

an underestimated guitar!

The hot rodding of the Electromatics led Gretsch to upgrade their guitars, a Mk3 version mounted a pair of Baldwin era black face Filtertron style pickups and Hump Block inlays on the fretboard. 

The 2015 5420 with Silver Sparkle finish

And in 2016, Gretsch brought out an improved Mk4 variant. This was the best so far.

The 2016 5420T Electromatic in Fairlane blue

an outstanding guitar for the money

The new 5420T with a 90's Hot Rod

The new guitars are an improvement over the 5420T from 2015, the reduced headstock size, the return to thumbnail fret markers and the Fairlane Blue colour option are great. The downside is that the Bibsby trem is still the 2 screw one from the 5120, it needs more screws!

On mine I have installed a USA 'V' style Bigsby and infilled the name with colour matched paint to the body. Great improvement. Also fitted a roller saddle tunamatic bridge.

The improved 5420T with upgrade Bigsby 'V' B6CTrem and Tunamatic roller bridge

So back to my original questions, what to go for?

For pure investment, an old 50's guitar. But it will need to be respected. Plus the money required will be more to buy one from this era.

What about 60's? Some good out there, pre-65 is going to be good for finish, but check the binding.

The 70's guitars were often heavier, a centre block on my 74 Viking made it very heavy. Some of the Baldwin output was not that bad, so worth a look.

The 90's 'pre-Fender' era of Gretsch are nice guitars and are the last 'pure' Gretsch, may lack the trestle bracing of the 2004 Fender era guitars but they work for me.

The 2004 Fender era and onwards are very good guitars, my favourite era. Terada by now making the majority and the quality is just unbeatable. My choice of guitar.

Going to the cheaper end, Mk1 original 5120 type Electromatics are good buys, as so many have been upgraded, originals could be good for the future.

The modern Electromatics 5420 and 5422 are good value at present.

The new Streamliners are the lower end of the market but surprisingly good.

I prefer the sound of a Gretsch over an equivalent Gibson, the Filtertron pickups sound so much better to me than the PAF Humbuckers that Gibson use.

John Lennon with Gretsch 6120 1966 'Paperback writer' sessions

The DC series of guitars like the 6120, Country Gent etc are thinline and easy to play. the 6120DC is one of the most underrated Gretsch guitars you can buy, my 2003 one has TV Jones Filtertron pickups and is a great guitar, miles better than my 1968 one I owned. I use it as my main 'live' playing guitar as it is less prone to feedback.

So my overall recommendation is to go for a 2004 onwards Gretsch made in Japan, for a level of quality, finish and sound that is just so good.

Much as I like the cheaper Electromatics, the Japan professional series are just in a different league. Saying that, I do own a new 5420T! Its the best one I've had in that series.

Buy safely!

Guitar reviews for you - Gretsch 5420T in Fairlane Blue

Gretsch 5420T in Fairlane Blue - nice Candy Sparkle finish

The good old 6120 Gretsch, has had many imitators over the years and to cover the market to the best advantage, Gretsch has given us the mid-range Electromatic guitars, which have been steadily improved and uprated over the years and are approaching a decade of being on the market place.

Up for review here is a lovely 5420T made in 2016 and is from the latest model issue. The first thing that is apparent is the lovely almost Kingfisher Blue colour Candy metallic sparkle paint finish called Fairlane Blue. Much as I like the Western Orange, this Blue called Fairlane Blue, is just so good. Rather like Lake Placid Blue in hue, (computer monitor colour handling taken into consideration,) this colour changes according to the light, from a Sapphire to an almost Ice blue under strong light. As you can see from my three example pictures! It just looks so good that sells the guitar alone.

I saw this guitar in this particular colour as I was considering refinishing a 6120 Hot Rod in Flat Black to a Blue Sparkle and this fairly caught my attention. I saw a couple of YouTube reviews and thought it looked good and if the hardware wasn't giving me the 6120 vibe, I could always change that and it would look more like a 6120 Hot Rod in Regal Blue, a guitar I wouldn't mind owning! So, I managed to pickup this unplayed looking example.

This looks a very classy guitar, certainly more value than the price tag which is the equivalent price to a 5420T in transparent Orange.

So, what has Gretsch done to improve itover the old 5420T? Well, it has taken the basic 'Hull' from the 5120 guitars from mid 2000's and given us this guitar with a reduced size headstock more like on a late 50's 6120, the Electromatic name is moved to the Scratchplate and looks classier for doing so, slotted under the Gretsch name.

Binding on this colour guitar is a lovely off white which blends to the blue colour rather than making a harsh stand out look. The Neo Classical fret markers return, the Hump Block type being dropped, I liked these markers and certainly if you converted an old style 5420 T to Dynasonics it would look 'right' with those and the old style type Bigsby B6, especially with a new headstock veneer and a cutting down to a 6120 size.

Pickups are the Baldwin era style Black Face Filterton with open tops rather than the old type of FT design. These are good sounding and adjusted up they are rocking well, but those seeking an upgrade it's likely going to be a change to TVJ's or Filtertrons with TV English mount or a standard FT with my method of adaption to fit. The controls gain a treble bleed setup which is useful, although I use a volume pedal so I can always keep the master volume to 11 and regulate accordingly on the pedal (A die cast metal Jim Dunlop pedal in case you ask).

Switching is the old mid 50's pickup selection only with Tone Pot near to the two pickup volumes. I like this set up, in fact I tend to set everything to the max and just use a modelling amplifier to give me different sound colours according to patches (either a VOX VT30 or VOX AD60 blue cabinet type from 2002).

The machine heads are a Waverley open back type which are a bit cheap in construction, but they are functional, swapping these for up-market Gretsch Waverley types is possible allowing you to keep the same screw holes and more stability from the higher quality, or swap out for Sperzls.

The Bigsby is a version of the B6C early type, I may upgrade to a V type Gretsch Bigsby in time for appearance. The arm does not come in the right place as it does on a 6120, this is due to the spring being shorter, I have upgraded my earlier 5420 with an All Parts 1" stainless steel spring which transformed the height to just right. I have ordered one to go on this guitar too and this has now been fitted. Gretsch have never rectified this fault on the short spring which is a shame and I have had to upgrade all mine.

One problem with the Bigsby B6 as used on here is it only has 2 screws to secure it at the , this is el cheapo Gretsch! And it is not sufficient to hold the mounting plate flat to the side of the guitar for maximum tone transfer and for maximum integrity.

Sorry, but 2 screws does not cut it, I upgraded my old 5120 to add 2 extras lower down and it was much better. Why is this situation still almost unchanged a decade on? 2 Screws ain't gonna bust the bank!

The Bridge is a tunamatic type (and may likely swap the unit for a Wilkinson roller bridge for stability, retaining the) Rosewood base which is now pin located for stability. The base will likely require sanding to fit the top for better tone transfer the one on mine does need this.

Strap buttons are the knurled barrel screw on type, The hardware is chrome and the pickup rings and scratchplate are silvered underside of the plastic.

The action from the factory is good, my test of this is to put a single Fender Thin plectrum on the crown of the second fret and underneath the string, if it stays in place when the guitar is vertical, that is set up properly. This guitar wasn't far off that, so I will let it settle down with new strings on and set it up at the nut. Actually, once I had adjused the bridge height it was able to meet my plectrum test!

Acoustically sounds vibrant, plugged in it is nice to, but will know better after fresh strings. Often the guitars are shipped with strings that have been on them sometime, so they are a bit dull sounding although they look new. Having done a slight adjustment it is already sounding better.

Playing wise the guitar is nice and gives a great spectrum of sound from jazz and country through to hard driving playing. Of course the open f-holes and hollow body does preclude it from high gain distortion playing! The neck is a D shape but not too chunky. Comparing it to a 6120 it is good for feel.

So what about price? The standard 5420 is about £680 new as a guide, against a 6120 at £2850 now, that is a great representation of value for money for what it is. But even on its own merits, this is a lovely guitar and well worth having. The price means you can upgrade at your leisure should you desire and certainly that would not be money wasted, even though it is perfectly adequate. The guitar looks £1000 and certainly against a similarly coloured Duesenberg, it looks good and it is a Gretsch.

A secondhand one would be around the £550 mark which is what I got mine for including an aftermarket case, which the guitar is not supplied with new, unlike the professional series guitars.

This is a classy looking guitar and the colour is superb, I think Gretsch should introduce some more '50's ' colours like Shell Pink, Mint Green, Blue Sparkle, Silver Sparkle, Powder Blue perhaps as part of a standalone 'Hot Rod' range, these guitars have come a long way since the 5120.

What would I like to see on this guitar? A better looking headstock logo, as on the 2420T Indonesian Streamliner headstock, a Roller Bridge as standard, 1" trem spring, colour options, the V style Bigsby just as ideas.

I would say if you fancy one of these, get one as they are bound to sell quickly. Having adjusted mine up it is a great sounding guitar and I am pleased with it.

If Gretsch was to make a Hot Rod version of this at this price with the V Bigsby, it would pretty much be the thing to have.

They have done well with the Streamliner, this 5420T is going that way too. In fact I like the Streamliner too, it is great value for money.