The Gretsch Streamliner series introduces a modern take on the vintage aesthetic that Gretsch has championed for almost 150 years
Delivering intuitive tone sculpting and lightweight comfort at a very affordable price point, the new Gretsch G2655 Streamliner is here.
I’m calling the G2655 Streamliner an air guitar. Not in the sense that it’s an imaginary instrument to be thrashed around while jumping off furniture and skinning the knees of your jeans, no, I’m referring to its weight. Remember when you were a kid and you made your first guitar by wrapping a couple of rubber bands around an empty tissue box? That’s what this guitar feels like in your lap, albeit at only 1.75” deep. The entire instrument clocks in at a tiny 2.7kg (5.9lbs), so not much more than a 2-litre bottle of Coke. The petite arched maple body houses a brand new chambered centre block—dubbed the Centre Block Jr.— designed to maximise the sustain and presence of the body, giving it a lively resonance (even unplugged) while keeping the whole package as light as a feather.
Combine the ultra-lightweight semi-hollow body with a soft “C” shaped 24.75” scale length neck and 12” radius laurel fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets, and you’ve got a guitar that is so comfortable to sit with, it’s the closest thing I’ve felt thus far to an extension of my own body. You don’t even have to think about what you’re doing with your left hand; the fretboard just knows what chords you want to play and brings the frets to your fingers. This gives back a bit of cognitive focus for tone shaping with the right hand. The model that I test-drove came in Steel Olive; a luxurious, metallic pale green gloss finish over the laminated maple body, with ‘aged white’ purfling binding. The sides and back of the body, along with the neck (which I was surprised to discover is neck-thru and not bolt-on) retain the gorgeous natural coppery red tones of the maple wood, which seems to shift in hue depending on the lighting.
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The strap locks and tuning machines are stock standard, and the headstock is full sized as opposed to the thinner headstocks that you will find on Gretsch’s Electromatic models. With double cutaways, mirrored F holes either side of the Adjusto-Matic bridge, Pearloid Neo-Classic Thumbnail fret inlays, and 3-ply pickguard with gold Gretsch logo, the G2655 Streamliner evokes all of the vintage characteristics of a classic 1950s American car. Even the black and gold Streamliner Speed Knobs resemble the AM radio dials you might find on the interior of a classic car. The V-shaped stoptail solidifies this aesthetic, punctuating the fittings on the front of the body like the emblem on the hood of Harry Truman’s 1955 Chrysler New Yorker.
The G2655 Streamliner is fitted with neck and bridge Broad’Tron BT-3S humbucking pickups. Each pickup has its own volume pot, providing precise control over the blend of neck and bridge tones. You’ve got a classic 3-way pickup selector switch for toggling between bridge, bridge/neck, and neck. There’s also the obligatory master tone and volume knobs. In this case, the master volume utilises push/pull functionality to double as a coil-splitter. When it comes to electronics, I’m easily overwhelmed by too much customisation. But the Broad’Tron BT-3S pickups respond so intuitively to my tweaks, it’s like they know exactly what tone I’m after and they just give it to me. With a tasteful amount of crunchy gain dialled into my amp, the bridge pickup delivered a surprising amount of mid-range snarl and clear, precise treble, ideal for smashing out a set of soulful blues licks. Then I missed how good it sounded clean, so I dialled the gain all the way back down and re-sculpted a smooth, rich clean tone.
A highlight here is the way the humbucking pickups thicken up the sound and dampen some of those abrasive quacky tones you get from pick attack when the bridge pickup is pushed to max volume, giving you an array of velvety, creamy textures that sound like falling asleep on a bed of chinchilla fur. By pulling up the master volume pot and engaging split-coil mode, you can thin out the sound and regain a bit of shimmer and twang.
The Indonesian-built G2655 Streamliner is the perfect entry point into the world of semi-hollow bodies, with a price tag that won’t break the bank. Of all the guitars I’ve reviewed so far this year, this is the one that feels the most like it belongs in my collection. It’s understated but classically beautiful, handles like a dream, the tone control is effortless, the left-hand ergonomics are faultless, the craftsmanship is flawless and just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, they threw in the split-coil function to add another dimension of tone colour and texture.
Gretsch have become well known for providing high quality guitars at affordable price points with their Streamliner series, and the G2655 is no exception. If you’re in the market for an affordable, lightweight guitar that really packs a punch, try one today and you wont be disappointed.
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