Gretsch G2622T

An expensive Gretsch is a wonderful thing - an old White Falcon, a 6120-55 Chet Atkins and a custom-built Stephen Stern Penguin have impressed and challenged us in equal measure. Gretsches are also readily available with much lower price tags - they look right, but come with a specification that may underwhelm - especially the pick-ups.

(Upgrade completed.)

(Upgrade completed.)

Maintaining and upgrading these lower order Gretsches is a proper nightmare - changing the pots and output jack makes the bench look like an operating theatre. But I am a sucker for these jobs and here are a couple that we have done recently:

First up is a G2655T that has gracefully lost its Bigsby. It contained a pair of very mid-heavy Fidelisonic P-90s that despite having staples on the pick-up cover, are in fact ordinary round pole single coils underneath. Micro-budget mini-pots that fit through the f-holes are what Gretsch fit to meet the price. So, clear the room, fire up the coffee machine, Crosby Stills and Nash on the iPod Touch, and after more hours than I would admit to (or charge for!), this guitar now has a pair of TV Jones Magnatrons, each splitable with CTS push-pulls, and the master controls replaced with full size premium grade CTS pots. These Magnatrons are low output genuine humbuckers with plenty of "honk" and "twang" - the glassy jangly tones available when set to single coil.  A titanium saddle piece and a set of remarkable DrBlues 011-050 completes this amazing upgrade.

Secondly, enter a gorgeous blue G2622T with Broadtron humbuckers. When you have to check your volume controls are up on a Gretsch, you know there is a problem. Once again, TV Jones to the rescue; and a Powertron at the neck with a coil split function; and a Classic Plus at the bridge with a ‘coils in parallel’ option on the volume push-pull. The Powertron is the right pick-up for those heavier blues solos, and pulling up the volume pot (proper metal knobs now rather than those plastic slippery ones) gets you that sparkly DeArmond type of sound that you expect from a high end Gretsch at the neck. Flick the selector down to the bridge pick-up and the power and grit of the Classic Plus drives a valve amp beautifully, and without buzz. Pull up the volume control and the parallel setting nails that classic Gretsch clean bridge jangle. With the myriad of tones available in the middle setting, the versatility of this guitar is sensational.

Neither of these projects were cheap, but both guitars would have cost 3 or 4 times more to buy new in this specification. What a smart way of getting a top-end Gretsch. I am not pretending to be Stephen Stern here, but without the lottery win, I’ll have to suffice!

Gretsches are used for all sorts of different music styles, and after a chat with me, we can select the most appropriate pick-ups from the TV Jones range (or alternatives if necessary) to get you exactly where you want to be with it.