Gretsch Electromatic guitar – a riff so vibrate and rich that could transport you to a smoky 1950s rockabilly club. These stunning hollow and semi-hollow body guitars are prized for their stunning looks, unique sound, and easy playing.
In this comprehensive guide, Eguitarmania cuts through the confusion and helps you navigate the exciting world of Gretsch Electromatic G5120 guitars. We’ll break down the key features of each model and analyze their sonic strengths.
Specification Of Gretsch Electromatic Guitar
For a long time, Gretsch has been known for making guitars with hollow bodies. The Electromatic line is Gretsch’s mid-tier series. There is more acoustic feedback and depth in these hollow types than in solid-body guitars. They also have the melody and brightness that country and rockabilly players love.
| Body Build | Hollow Body, Single Cutaway |
| Body & neck material | Laminated Maple |
| Scale length | 24.56″ (625 mm) |
| Number Of Frets | 22 |
| Bridge | Rosewood Based Adjusto-Matic |
| Pickup | 2 Chrome Covered Dual Coil Humbuckers |
| Tailpiece | Bigsby Licensed B60 Vibrato |
The G5120 model borrows most of its styling and shape from Gretsch’s legendary G6120. Gretsch’s reputation for thoughtful designs and quality builds carries over into every aspect of the G5120.
Gretsch Electromatic Guitar Reviews
We’ll look at some of the model’s features in more depth and talk about what makes it one of the best guitars under $1,000.
Body and Neck
The body measures 2.75″ deep and 16″ long, The G5120 is a serious hollow-body guitar. The body is constructed from laminated maple on the top, back, and sides. Laminated maple is a common choice for brands like Gibson and Gretsch. This material is known for its brighter tonal character, and the extra zing balances nicely with the warmer acoustic.
The neck is similarly crafted of laminated maple and has a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard.The scale is slightly shorter than the Fender standard of 25.5″, which allows for smoother bending and faster runs up and down the neck. The G5120 is obviously built for speed.if you’re looking to play quick notes or strum rhythm, or finger pick, you won’t find a better built, or more agreeable, guitar for the purpose.
Sound
The Gretsch G5120 Electromatic hollow body suits my punk and rockabilly music styles perfectly. This is perhaps best evident by the number of legends like Chet Atkins, George Harrison, and Johnny Marr.
I connected my G5120 to a Roland Cube 20X and discovered that the JC clean channel worked best with this guitar. It seems to me that the amp’s modeled distortion and overdrive sounded a little bit overdone and cliched. I liked playing around with the vibrato and delay effects that came with the guitar. It wasn’t hard to get a slap-back echo, but the effect itself needed more force or presence to sound rockabilly.
If you play a hollow-body guitar through an amplifier, you need to pay attention to how close you are to it and how loud it is, or you will get feedback. The volume on both the amp and the guitar should be turned all the way up, so when you face the amp, you might hear some feedback. To prevent this, just turn down the guitar’s sound when it’s not being played.
Aside from that, the Gretsch G5120 sounds buzz when played as an acoustic. Tools, music, and I don’t get along very well, so I haven’t looked into it too much. But I think the buzzing is coming from the pick guard and computer parts that are connected to the guitar. The only thing I’m doing to fix the buzz is making sure the screws on the pick guard are tight.
Features
Let’s begin with a list of this models specifications from top to bottom. Vintage style, open-back, non-locking, chrome-plated, die-cast tuners adorn the headstock atop a laminated, slim-tapered profile, maple neck featuring a 24-¾” scale rosewood fingerboard outfitted with a 1-11/16″ wide nut followed by 21 medium jumbo frets.
In my opinion, the pickups sound great. Some complain the bridge pickup isn’t bright and sharp enough. As I see it, there is a big difference in sound between the neck and the bridge. That difference alone makes the guitar a great instrument for making music. The tuners look strange and flimsy but, so far, they hold the strings in tune in fine shape. Continuing down we find the 2. 75″ deep, single-cut, maple hollow body which is 16″ wide at its lower bout. The guitar is covered with a transparent urethane gloss finish highlighted by its fully bound neck and body.
I also received a generic, non-padded gig bag containing the guitar’s Gretsch quality control department O.K. card and Gretsch instrument limited lifetime warranty card from the original owner.
Finish & Construction
Gretsch guitars are now made in Korea and China, which has caused some people to feel a little concerned. However, I think is a well-made guitar straight from the set-up at the factory. But, whoever set it up did a fine job as I have not found it necessary to make any adjustments.
There is just the right amount of movement for me—not too high or too low. It’s kind of like playing an acoustic guitar. I haven’t felt the need to change anything about the picks either. Again, the pickups are set the same way they were at the factory or by the last owner. The only problem I had was a loose nut on the Bigsby’s vibrato arm, which I fixed with a few drops of loctite.
Things That I Like and Don’t Like
Sadly, the G5120 doesn’t come with a case. An ordinary cardboard box holds it. Spend an extra $100 on a hardshell case if you want to walk around with your big orange guitar.
Though, the Gretsch G5120 is one of my favorite guitars. The G5120 is the best deal in guitars because it is so cheap and sounds excellent.
I’ve seen reviews suggested flipping out a few of the standard items you’d do on a cheaper guitar (tuners, pickups etc) but I was always pretty happy out of the box. The exchange rate has made them worth about a grand less than when I bought mine new at a big music store, where I paid under $1000. The price was still fair, and the finish on mine is pretty outstanding.
Final Thought
Many people seem to agree with me that the G5120 looks great. This guitar gets a lot of attention. It’s well under $1,000, but the Gretsch G5120 has all the qualities you’d expect from a Gretsch hollow-body guitar. Even though that’s mostly true, the G5120 is still a great experience all by itself. This model is a good choice for new electric players who want to move up or for experienced players who want a tough hollow-body axe.
