NGD: Gretsch G5420TG-59 - Vintage Orange - Hollowbody, Arch Top, Electric Guitar

[Gdjjr]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Told ya...

Use it well, often, and LOUD - string it up with a set of flatwound 11's for some genuine Brooklyn Gretsch tonal vibe, and if you decide to take it to the next level, the authentic '59-style parts are available:

The Chet-approved Bigsby bar bridge:



https://www.angela.com/gretschrockin...062844000.aspx


The V-cutout "Gretsch by Bigsby" B6C tailpiece:



https://www.angela.com/gretschbigsby...060138100.aspx


The "signpost" '59 pickguard (note: this one's made specifically for the '59 G5420):



https://quickguards.com/products/cop...lcon-pickguard


Not authentic, but within the spirit of a '59 6120 and a nice touch (also made-to-order for the G5420):



https://quickguards.com/products/gre...russ-rod-cover


- and it wouldn't really have the '59 mojo without one of these:



https://www.streetsoundsnyc.com/gret...nut-new-100598

That strap is cool! I might want one

[Gdjjr]

String change: Changing strings is a royal PITA- I searched you tube and didn't find anything to make it easier. Any tips?

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by Gdjjr

String change: Changing strings is a royal PITA- I searched you tube and didn't find anything to make it easier. Any tips?

Bending a curl at the end of the strings at the ball end helps them stay on the little tailpiece pins. I always do that.

I think some capo the strings half-way the fretboard, keeping the length from the capo to the bridge and Bigsby tailpiece tight before clamping with the capo. Then the slack between the capo and the tuning machines is tightened up and when the capo is removed the whole string is taunt enough no falling off the pins.

There's a little gizmo called the Spoiler from Vibramate that makes string changes a breeze. It hooks on the pins and then presents a more conventional ball end slot for the strings to sit in. Makes string changes as easy as any other guitar with a tailpiece.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

...There's a little gizmo called the Spoiler from Vibramate that makes string changes a breeze. It hooks on the pins and then presents a more conventional ball end slot for the strings to sit in. Makes string changes as easy as any other guitar with a tailpiece.

Getting one each for my 5622 and Falcon when it's time for the next string change...

[SpruceTop]

A welcome feature of the Gretsch 5420TG-59, and likely most Gretsches, is its screw-on strap buttons. You can either just back off the screw-on heads until the strap-button holes on your strap fit over the heads of the buttons and into the underlying gap and then screw down the head or with tight buttonholes on a strap, just completely remove the heads and put your strap on the threaded stud and then screw on the heads. Voila! A Secure, No Noise Guitar Strap Application!

[SpruceTop]

Even though I got these 2021 Fender amps over a year ago, I'm just now posting them posed with my Korean-made 2021 Gretsch G5420TG Vintage Orange Sweetwater Exclusive. The third photo shows the Fender '57 Custom Deluxe that spit the bit after 15 minutes of initial operation and I sent it back for a refund. It sounded great while it lasted!

Fender '57 Champ Handwired Series


Fender '59 Bassman LTD


Fender '57 Custom Deluxe Handwired

[Glennwillow]

I remember when you got those various amps, SpruceTop! I'm sure sorry about the Fender '57 Custom Deluxe Handwired amp failing so quickly.

What amp are you using today? Is the Bassman your main amp now?

- Glenn

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I remember when you got those various amps, SpruceTop! I'm sure sorry about the Fender '57 Custom Deluxe Handwired amp failing so quickly.

What amp are you using today? Is the Bassman your main amp now?

- Glenn

Thanks, Glenn! Frankly, I don't play my Gretsch or use my Fender amps much as I'm mainly an acoustic guitar player. I especially like using the Bassman with the Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo Pedal as the whole rig sounds very Sun Records-like with the slapback echo effect dialed in. I've always dabbled in electric guitars and amps over the years. I've had several Les Pauls including a Deluxe, some Standards, and a Custom, several Fender Strats, and Teles. My amps have included a Fender Pro Reverb, Peavey Classic 50, Peavey Delta Blues 15, and a Music Man 212-65. Over the years, all of those items have been traded in on acoustic guitars and gear. My electric stuff is always the first to go when I get a hankering for another acoustic.

My latest craze over the last 5 years is open-back/clawhammer banjos and I just received my Ozark Custom 12-inch Figured Cherry that I waited over 4 years to get after ordering it in 2018. The 5-string banjo was the first instrument I started playing when I was 14.

At 72 years of age, I'm pretty much set on keeping my current Gretsch G5420TG-59 electric guitar and Fender amps ('57 Champ Handwired, '59 Bassman LTD, '65 Deluxe Reverb). I may once again add a Fender Strat or Tele because what's any stable of electric guitars without a Fender electric?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

...I'm just now posting them posed with my 2021 Gretsch G5420TG Vintage Orange (one of the last Korean-made ones)...

TMK the Sweetwater '59 (their exclusive here in the US; FYI there is/was a Euro version with a slightly different finish) is the last Korean guitar model still in production, along with the G5440LS and G5442BDC long- and short-scale hollowbody basses - the rest of the 5400/5600-Series E-Matics having gone over to Chinese manufacture in 2021:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...vintage-orange
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...g5440ls-orange
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ransparent-red

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

TMK the Sweetwater '59 (their exclusive here in the US; FYI there is/was a Euro version with a slightly different finish) is the last Korean guitar model still in production, along with the G5440LS and G5442BDC long- and short-scale hollowbody basses - the rest of the 5400/5600-Series E-Matics having gone over to Chinese manufacture in 2021:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...vintage-orange
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...g5440ls-orange
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ransparent-red

Thanks, Steve, for that information, and I updated my earlier comment to reflect your correction! I wonder if there is enough demand to keep making the Sweetwater Exclusive and current European-available, Korean-made Gretschs in Korean production, or will their manufacture eventually be moved to China?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

...I wonder if there is enough demand to keep making the Sweetwater Exclusive and current European-available, Korean-made Gretsches in Korean production, or will their manufacture eventually be moved to China?

There's no question the demand is there - the '59 is Sweetwater's most popular Gretsch offering (and, as you've discovered, with good reason - BTW, didja notice that their top four sellers are all 5400-Series E-Matics... ) - but by the same token the demand's always been there, since Gretsch redesigned the line as a successor to the MIK 5100-Series (with the Streamliner-style full-size humbuckers) in 2013, and they still went over to Chinese production (as well as full-size humbuckers on the 5600-Series - don't be fooled by the blacktop Filter'Tron-style covers/surrounds ). FWIW the basses follow the older large-headstock pattern so they may survive a bit longer, but unless they can latch onto the newfound interest in '60s-style hollowbody basses brought about by Guild's Starfire offerings, I don't see much of a future for them either. I owned a G5123B (the predecessor model to the current G5440LS "6120 bass") and it proved to be a total disappointment: tonally uneven (I've owned other hollow/semi-hollow electric basses before - including a '67 Epiphone "Chas Chandler" Rivoli and Hofner 5000/1 Deluxe - so I know how they're supposed to respond), unwieldy and unbalanced on the strap (FYI this is coming from the former owner of a Guild B-50SB guitarron-sized acoustic bass), hard to keep in tune - in short, all the drawbacks of the 1960's 6070/6072 "Country Gent" basses, and I couldn't get rid of it fast enough; while I understand the short-scale 5442 addresses most of the issues (and receives better reviews) I doubt they'll keep the Korean contract open for a single niche model, nor will they retool for Chinese production when their other models are selling as fast as they can make them - and although I have other priorities, I might just spring for one as a stablemate to my 5622 if I can clear the space...

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

There's no question the demand is there - the '59 is Sweetwater's most popular Gretsch offering (and, as you've discovered, with good reason - BTW, didja notice that their top four sellers are all 5400-Series E-Matics... ) - but by the same token the demand's always been there, since Gretsch redesigned the line as a successor to the MIK 5100-Series (with the Streamliner-style full-size humbuckers) in 2013, and they still went over to Chinese production (as well as full-size humbuckers on the 5600-Series - don't be fooled by the blacktop Filter'Tron-style covers/surrounds ). FWIW the basses follow the older large-headstock pattern so they may survive a bit longer, but unless they can latch onto the newfound interest in '60s-style hollowbody basses brought about by Guild's Starfire offerings, I don't see much of a future for them either. I owned a G5123B (the predecessor model to the current G5440LS "6120 bass") and it proved to be a total disappointment: tonally uneven (I've owned other hollow/semi-hollow electric basses before - including a '67 Epiphone "Chas Chandler" Rivoli and Hofner 5000/1 Deluxe - so I know how they're supposed to respond), unwieldy and unbalanced on the strap (FYI this is coming from the former owner of a Guild B-50SB guitarron-sized acoustic bass), hard to keep in tune - in short, all the drawbacks of the 1960's 6070/6072 "Country Gent" basses, and I couldn't get rid of it fast enough; while I understand the short-scale 5442 addresses most of the issues (and receives better reviews) I doubt they'll keep the Korean contract open for a single niche model, nor will they retool for Chinese production when their other models are selling as fast as they can make them - and although I have other priorities, I might just spring for one as a stablemate to my 5622 if I can clear the space...

Steve, what a fountain of information you are on Gretsch and other brands of guitars, and also various brands of amplifiers--Thanks!

Yes, I'm loving my Gretsch G5420TG-59, and it's a lifetime keeper!

[SpruceTop]

Hey, Folks, thanks for your continuing, long-term interest in the Gretsch G5420TG-59 and in this thread! This is a wonderful guitar and a wonderful value and I don't think most players would be disappointed in owning one.

[Steve DeRosa]

Update:

• Both the G5440LS and G5442BDC Korean-made basses have been discontinued (remember boys and girls, you heard it here first )...
• The G5420TG-59 Sweetwater exclusive is listed as "Backordered - more on the way" and I suspect if it reappears at all (as previously stated it doesn't pay for the former Korean operation to continue producing a single model as a dealer exclusive) it's going to be as the current MIC version of the G5420T, with the new Speyside finish rather than the brighter orange of the standard model...
• Hang on to yours: there's already some interest in the MIK E-matics as a whole and prices are beginning to rise - the last red G5622T-CB (my go-to gigging guitar for the last seven years and the rarest color) I saw for sale was going for $1350, versus $700+/- a year or two ago - and IMO yours could see similar if not greater returns, due to its nearly-indistinguishable resemblance (visual and tonal) to the $3500 MIJ Professional Series G6120-59...

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Update:

• Both the G5440LS and G5442BDC Korean-made basses have been discontinued (remember boys and girls, you heard it here first )...
• The G5420TG-59 Sweetwater exclusive is listed as "Backordered - more on the way" and I suspect if it reappears at all (as previously stated it doesn't pay for the former Korean operation to continue producing a single model as a dealer exclusive) it's going to be as the current MIC version of the G5420T, with the new Speyside finish rather than the brighter orange of the standard model...
• Hang on to yours: there's already some interest in the MIK E-matics as a whole and prices are beginning to rise - the last red G5622T-CB (my go-to gigging guitar for the last seven years and the rarest color) I saw for sale was going for $1350, versus $700+/- a year or two ago - and IMO yours could see similar if not greater returns, due to its nearly-indistinguishable resemblance (visual and tonal) to the $3500 MIJ Professional Series G6120-59...

Thanks, Steve, nice information to be aware of! Once again, I'm so happy to have purchased my Gretsch G5420TG-59 a couple of years ago while the model was still being made in Korea.