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  #1  
Old 05-07-2021, 11:30 AM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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Default Gretsch G2657T Streamliner review

My thoughts on my new Gretsch G2657T Streamliner.

The good…
  • The Broad’Tron pickups sound pretty good. There’s nothing special about them but the tone is decent and useable.
  • The fretwork is good. No sharp edges. The tops could probably feel smoother with a quick polish but they’re not too bad at all out of the box.
  • The pots seem fine with good taper. There are no sudden lurches in volume.
  • The tuners are very smooth and much better than I expected on an inexpensive guitar.
  • The inlays and bindings are well done and the transition to wood is undetectable.
  • The edges of the f-holes are smooth.
  • As electrics go, this guitar is pretty light in weight.

The bad…
  • The nut has very sharp outer edges that need to be rounded over a bit.
  • This finish is nice but there is some gritty residue on the sides but it comes off easy enough with a soft cloth and some elbow grease. There is also a very slight blemish below the bridge. It looks like three parallel lines about a quarter inch in length but you aren’t likely to notice it unless you’re looking fairly closely at that spot.
  • The Bigsby bridge can really pull the guitar out of tune if you bend it too much. I’ve never owned a Bigsby before and after watching some videos I’ve learned that this isn’t unusual and that it can be improved to some degree (I went back and forth about including this in the “bad” list but if someone is new to the bridge, as I am, it’s an issue they’ll have to deal with so I settled on including it).

The ugly…
  • Plastic knobs feel cheap and light.
  • The neck joint is slightly wide on the neck side and there is a slight bump by the fretboard and the heel where the neck transitions into the body.

Overall impression…
This guitar regularly retails for $550 but I was able to pick it up on sale for $400, and for that price I can live with the negatives, all of which are either minor or easily addressed. I opted for the Ocean Turquoise color and it’s quite striking. The color is on the top, the back, and runs up the back of the neck through the back of the headstock. This is quite a good guitar for the money.

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Jim
2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood
2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce
2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce
1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce

along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

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  #2  
Old 05-07-2021, 12:19 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Location: Ogden, Utah
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jim1960 View Post
My thoughts on my new Gretsch G2657T Streamliner.

The good…
  • The Broad’Tron pickups sound pretty good. There’s nothing special about them but the tone is decent and useable.
  • The fretwork is good. No sharp edges. The tops could probably feel smoother with a quick polish but they’re not too bad at all out of the box.
  • The pots seem fine with good taper. There are no sudden lurches in volume.
  • The tuners are very smooth and much better than I expected on an inexpensive guitar.
  • The inlays and bindings are well done and the transition to wood is undetectable.
  • The edges of the f-holes are smooth.
  • As electrics go, this guitar is pretty light in weight.

The bad…
  • The nut has very sharp outer edges that need to be rounded over a bit.
  • This finish is nice but there is some gritty residue on the sides but it comes off easy enough with a soft cloth and some elbow grease. There is also a very slight blemish below the bridge. It looks like three parallel lines about a quarter inch in length but you aren’t likely to notice it unless you’re looking fairly closely at that spot.
  • The Bigsby bridge can really pull the guitar out of tune if you bend it too much. I’ve never owned a Bigsby before and after watching some videos I’ve learned that this isn’t unusual and that it can be improved to some degree (I went back and forth about including this in the “bad” list but if someone is new to the bridge, as I am, it’s an issue they’ll have to deal with so I settled on including it).

The ugly…
  • Plastic knobs feel cheap and light.
  • The neck joint is slightly wide on the neck side and there is a slight bump by the fretboard and the heel where the neck transitions into the body.

Overall impression…
This guitar regularly retails for $550 but I was able to pick it up on sale for $400, and for that price I can live with the negatives, all of which are either minor or easily addressed. I opted for the Ocean Turquoise color and it’s quite striking. The color is on the top, the back, and runs up the back of the neck through the back of the headstock. This is quite a good guitar for the money.

I like that color, my buddy just bought a Fender Player Jazz bass in that color with the same color pickguard and it looks great.

For your Bigsby, make sure to hit every contact point of the string with a little lubricant after each string change (nut, bridge saddles and even the bottom of the Bigsby roller) it helps to keep the stings returning to pitch.

I've had Bigsbys for years, and frankly, I never think they are tuning stable as non-Bigsby guitars, but with good string stretching, smooth nut slots and saddles, and lubricant, they are stable enough. In time you get used to their little niggles. And they are fun for giving chords that little shimmer.

I just bought a tube of this stuff and it's not messy and works well...

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Nomad-M...93414812&psc=1

And this stuff is also highly recommended...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Last edited by rockabilly69; 05-07-2021 at 01:28 PM.
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  #3  
Old 05-07-2021, 01:10 PM
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BoneDigger BoneDigger is offline
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It looks nice for sure! Make sure thenut slots are cut correctly, lube them a bit, and it should stay in tune better.
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  #4  
Old 05-08-2021, 04:27 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Location: Coastal Washington State
Posts: 44,927
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Cool looking Gretsch Jim! Congratulations!

- Glenn
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