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SonicPulverizer « Les Paul alternative »
Published on 09/03/12 at 02:06The Gretsch G5235T Electromatic Pro Jet is a budget guitar with great sound and features. The guitar features a carved maple top, mahogany body and neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. A pair of Gretsch mini share a single volume and tone pot and a 3 way switch. The "T" in the name denotes the highlight of the guitar, it's Bigsby B50 tremolo tailpiece. The black finish looks much better in person than in the stock photos on most retailer's websites. The thumbnail inlays for the fret markers add an interesting aesthetic twist to an otherwise plain design.
UTILIZATION
The Gretsch is a smooth guitar. It can cover a lot of genres very easily and the pickups never seem underpowered. The neck shape is slim, but not too much so. I feel very comfortable navigating up and down the fretboard quickly. The tuning stability is surprisingly good for a Bigsby equipped guitar, especially one in such a budget price bracket.
SOUNDS
I played the G5235T Pro Jet through a Fastback 18 head. Fastback 2x12 cab. No pedals.
The guitar responds much like a Gibson Les Paul, but smaller and a little less refined. I tested both the Gretsch and a Les paul Traditional plus top model side by side. To my surprise, the gretsch produced a fuller sound with a slightly higher output. The guitar sounded at home both in all genres of music, handling clean and gain sounds with an even balance. The bigsby would occasionally throw the guitar out of tune when used excessively. Once the novelty wore off, I found little need for the tremolo and used it sparingly. This greatly improved the time between re-tunings. I'd feel perfectly comfortable using this guitar in a live setting.
OVERALL OPINION
The Gretsch Pro Jet line has been recently updated. The G5235T is still available in stores but I do not expect the model to last much longer in production. You can find them for around $350 on the used market and at this price, you'll be hard pressed to find a better single cut guitar.
UTILIZATION
The Gretsch is a smooth guitar. It can cover a lot of genres very easily and the pickups never seem underpowered. The neck shape is slim, but not too much so. I feel very comfortable navigating up and down the fretboard quickly. The tuning stability is surprisingly good for a Bigsby equipped guitar, especially one in such a budget price bracket.
SOUNDS
I played the G5235T Pro Jet through a Fastback 18 head. Fastback 2x12 cab. No pedals.
The guitar responds much like a Gibson Les Paul, but smaller and a little less refined. I tested both the Gretsch and a Les paul Traditional plus top model side by side. To my surprise, the gretsch produced a fuller sound with a slightly higher output. The guitar sounded at home both in all genres of music, handling clean and gain sounds with an even balance. The bigsby would occasionally throw the guitar out of tune when used excessively. Once the novelty wore off, I found little need for the tremolo and used it sparingly. This greatly improved the time between re-tunings. I'd feel perfectly comfortable using this guitar in a live setting.
OVERALL OPINION
The Gretsch Pro Jet line has been recently updated. The G5235T is still available in stores but I do not expect the model to last much longer in production. You can find them for around $350 on the used market and at this price, you'll be hard pressed to find a better single cut guitar.