Hey y'all, looking to get one of these because there's one going cheap near me. I know they are fairly recent, has anyone here played one? Trying to take a punt on it mainly from photos and a quick inspection because it's quarantine and I really don't want to spend too long sitting down and playing it without disinfecting it and leaving the buyer etc.
Trying to collect some upfront knowledge n' that, grateful if anyone has any first hand experience with this model or Gretsch baritone quality etc.
Gretsch G5260T
Moderated By: mods
Okay so I own one, but they recently revamped them so the same designation is used for the newer ones and the older one like mine. Having looked at online pics of the newer one, they look great, while mine has some.... things. That I might need to point out.
The neck is kind of wack. It's playable, its functional, but it looks kinda like shit. It's got that Squier satin finish going on round back, and you can see the join where they've diagonally glued the wood together to make it long enough behind the third fret. It's almost as though the neck came from a completely different guitar. Even the cheapest Gretsch guitars look a little nicer. Again, though, it's functional.
Pretty sure the body is plywood or some kind of laminate.
Pickups are fine, nothing amazing.
Bigsby is good.
So here's the thing; from looking at the specs of the new baris, I think they've changed the scale length and shortened it a touch. This is a good thing if I'm right because the Gretsch baritone was designed as a six string bass but Bass VI strings aren't long enough. The only ones I've found that are are a set of Pyramid strings that only Thomann sell for about £30 before postage. If you're not intending to use it as a Bass VI then this doesn't matter.
The other thing is price: I bought mine for £300 brand new about two years before the Squier Bass VIs popped up. The Squiers are infinitely superior. In spite of that, the Gretsch prices crept up and up over the years to something like £500, which is fucking outrageous. The new upgraded ones are worth that, if the problems I mentioned are no longer a big factor, but not the older ones like mine.
So if anyone is asking you for £300+ for an older model, fuck it and get a Squier Bass VI.
The neck is kind of wack. It's playable, its functional, but it looks kinda like shit. It's got that Squier satin finish going on round back, and you can see the join where they've diagonally glued the wood together to make it long enough behind the third fret. It's almost as though the neck came from a completely different guitar. Even the cheapest Gretsch guitars look a little nicer. Again, though, it's functional.
Pretty sure the body is plywood or some kind of laminate.
Pickups are fine, nothing amazing.
Bigsby is good.
So here's the thing; from looking at the specs of the new baris, I think they've changed the scale length and shortened it a touch. This is a good thing if I'm right because the Gretsch baritone was designed as a six string bass but Bass VI strings aren't long enough. The only ones I've found that are are a set of Pyramid strings that only Thomann sell for about £30 before postage. If you're not intending to use it as a Bass VI then this doesn't matter.
The other thing is price: I bought mine for £300 brand new about two years before the Squier Bass VIs popped up. The Squiers are infinitely superior. In spite of that, the Gretsch prices crept up and up over the years to something like £500, which is fucking outrageous. The new upgraded ones are worth that, if the problems I mentioned are no longer a big factor, but not the older ones like mine.
So if anyone is asking you for £300+ for an older model, fuck it and get a Squier Bass VI.
Brandon W wrote:you elites.
It really does depend on the price. Full RRP on them was a pisstake in the first place, so secondhand prices tend to be on the high side. It's not a bad guitar at all, but it just doesn't ever seem worth even the cheaper prices I've seen it for, and especially not in light of the Squiers that have come out.Rhysyrhys wrote:Nice! Thank you, yeah that's pretty much exactly what I needed to hear I think - it's one of the older models, so it sounds like I should probs get a Squier and steer clear.
Brandon W wrote:you elites.