Gretsch G2655-P90 Streamliner Center Block Jr. Double-Cut P90 Review

Review update:

I wanted to give this guitar an extra "star" from my initial review. I've been gigging her pretty consistently for a few months now. First the "negative". 1) It's been bloody hot here in Texas, and this guitar requires a fairly consistent retuning practice, especially when outdoors. 2) The three-way selector has always "pinged" a little with switching and quit functioning to the… read more bridge pickup completely at one of our shows. The faintest drop of WD-40 ( at the recommendation of a friend ) fixed both issues. I figure an upgrade of this component is due at some point. Now the "pros" This little guitar is light . . . and that matters a lot to me at 103 degrees and a four-hour show. Secondly, and most important is the tone. I get some of the clearest bell like cleans in a Marshall DSL 20 ( classic gain channel) pushed right to the edge of breakup. She really cuts through the mix and makes a lovely rhythm canvas for the rest of the band to paint on. A touch of "Tube Screamer" ( of which I've never been a fan ) gives the crunch needed for classic rock. If you're considering trying out some P-90 guitars . . . this is a great place to start for tone and economically.

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G26550P90

Ordered on Friday, received on Sunday . . . That's a "turn around" baby ! The Guitar: Three "stars" as an initial review, nor can I speak to longevity, so take it for what it's worth. Packaging was very good, received guitar in excellent condition. First impression, as my wife said "it's beautiful". The fit and finish is nice. Well above what I expected at the price point. She's… read more light and handy. The neck is a little thinner than I expected ( and prefer ) but she plays nicely for me. Set up was quite low, and intonation acceptable, probably not "perfect" but neither am I. Tuners, were nice an tight, and she took to standard tuning without much effort at all. ( everything was approximately a 1/2 step down as recieved. ) She's neck heavy, so if a little "neck dive" is going to set you off, this is NOT your guitar. Very "acoustic" with a lot of felt vibration, and tone through the body unplugged. I'd seen a lot of "blah blah" on the high output of P90 style pickups. I do not find this to be the case at all with this guitar. PRS SE Santana, Gibson ES 339, Gibson SG humbuckers all drive my Marshall amps much harder. That said, some very nice tones at the initial play through. Especially on the "Classic Gain" channel of a Marshall DSL 20, with the gain at about 75% A few rough spots along the edge of the frets was notable, and the edge of the nut as well may require a little softening. I find the controls a bit odd . . . but knew this going in, and will just have to acclimate myself to them. I hope this helps if you're looking at this guitar. I think she's a keeper. But it's early in the "relationship". As we are gigging every weekend again. I'm sure she'll get a workout or three this month.

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Sweet guitar

So glad I got this instrument. Very playable and comfortable. I was looking for something suited to playing jazz, but didn't want to go with a full size ES335 clone. Tones on this Gretsch are smooth and pure. The electronics are robust and fine - really enjoy the P90 pick-ups. Awesome instrument for the price.

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Tone Beast.....

This thing is ridiculous for the $$$. It sounds great. It has a nice mid-rangy bark/growl. Loving the P-90's. Can do any type of music with this guy. Gets a little feedback with heavy distortion but its not to much and easily preventable if you dont want it. I actually like it and use it with solos. The playability and finish is far beyond its price range. Gretsch hands down has… read more the best quality mid-range priced guitars on the market currently. This is my 3rd streamliner and all of them are of the highest quality standards. Fit, finish and playability is that of something 4 times the price. Only thing I would want different with this guitar is to have a nitro finish but that's not an option at this price point. Highly recommended!

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Glad I went with the Gretsch

I was debating between an Epiphone 339 and the G2655. My sales engineer was very helpful in pointing out the key differences. The G2655 has a nice thin neck which plays like a dream. I went with P90 pickups as I already have an Epiphone les Paul with dual humbumckers and a G&l asat with MFD single coils. Love the way the P90s sound Fit and finish on the instrument are excellent… read more and the brownstone stain is elegant. Very happy with my purchase and my whole experience with Sweetwater!

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Great looking and sounding guitar.

This is my first electric Gretch guitar and I am really enjoying it. I have been looking for a Guitar with P90's to add to my collection, this guitar makes ten, eight of which I have purchased from Sweetwater. This guitar looks and plays great but more importantly it sounds great. These P90's are much better than I hoped, that plus the fact that it is light with a great neck and… read more fretwork means that I'll be enjoying this for a long time. The reason that I gave it four and a half stars was due to the fact that when I removed the protective film from the volume and tone knobs all the position markers (the arrows on top of the knobs)came off! it appears that they were not glued at all. I simply hot glued them back in place, they are fine now. I actually saw a review where the reviewer said that one had come off during transit so if you buy one make sure you have super or hot glue available just in case, it's an easy fix and I wouldn't keep that from buying one

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