Broadkaster LX Centre Block LX | Fender Music Australia | RRP $4499
I’ve lost count of how many Gretsch guitars I’ve reviewed over the years. Expensive ones, cheap ones, hollow ones and solid ones, I’ve played and loved them all. In my experience, even a base model Gretsch is twice as beautiful as any other mass produced guitar, and they have a sound and a feel that is uniquely their own. Nothing, however, prepared me for how utterly breathtaking and how incredibly special the Broadkaster LX truly is.
Evidently, Gretsch spared no expense in ensuring that the Broadkaster LX sounds as good as it possibly can. A true luxury item.
A top of the line offering from Gretsch and a member of their premium, made in Japan, ‘Professional Collection’, the Broadkaster LX is an accumulation of everything that the beloved legacy brand has to offer. A fully realised and singular maximalist aesthetic, stunning build quality, unparalleled high fidelity tone and a luxuriant, buttery playing feel. The Broadkaster LX exemplifies the qualities for which Gretsch has been admired since they broke through in the 1950s.
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The body shape is perfect. Gretsch’s larger double cutaway shape has always been a winner but they have truly perfected it with this model. Constructed as a semi hollow instrument with a centreblock, the Broadkaster LX is, not to overuse the word, the perfect size. Big enough to give off that proper old school hollow body vibe but thin and compact enough to be practical, the Broadkaster lives right in the Goldilocks zone. The generous cutaways and beautifully rounded neck heel provide unparalleled fret access and the shape is just incredibly aesthetically balanced.
Gretsch’s centre block construction design is mainstay for the brand and involves a solid block of wood at the guitar’s heart, attached to two hollow wings that make up the rest of its body. This semi hollow structure provides the loose, airy, warm tone of a hollow body but retains the firm attack and long sustain of a solid body guitar, all whilst cutting down on unwanted feedback. For the Broadkaster LX however, Gretsch have yet again improved upon their design. In this model, the new ‘Channel Core’ centre block is constructed with both a maple and a spruce layer and features a chambered design that dramatically improves note attack and midrange output.
Broadkaster LX Centre Block
The Broadkaster LX features a stunning black gloss finish with elegant cream binding and glittering gold hardware. It’s a lesson in style, simplicity and elegance whilst not holding back from being bold and ostentatious. The neck too is a matching glossy black with the same cream binding, and features a beautiful ebony fretboard. This guitar feels spectacular in your hands, with a decent amount of weight to it that proudly boasts of its quality construction and maple tonewood.
The neck is incredibly smooth and comfortable, with a thin U shape that allows you to glide up the frets with ease. A 24.6” scale length, 12” radius fretboard and 22 medium jumbo frets provide the familiar Gretsch feel that we know and love, with rolled fretboard edges taking the smooth playability of this guitar to the next level. Glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side dots adorn the neck, allowing for precision fretting in any situation. Most notably, the newly improved and much deeper cutaways on this Broadkaster are a great addition, making room for access all the way up to the 22nd fret.
The Broadkaster’s headstock is loaded with a Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut and gold Gotoh locking tuners, as well as a beautiful gold plated ‘Broadkaster’ inlay. From the Broadkaster’s elegant gold strap buttons, to its iconic pearloid ‘thumbnail’ fret markers all the way up to its beautifully adorned headstock, the attention to detail on this guitar is second to none.
Under the hood, the Broadkaster LX is loaded with two Pro Twin Six pickups, Gretsch’s most advanced and powerful pickups to date. The Neck pickup features an Alnico 5 magnet with a DCR rating of around 5.5k and provides a tone that is warm, clear, and throaty without being muddy or overly compressed. The Bridge pickup features an Alnico 4 magnet with a DCR rating around 12k and provides a tone that is bright and clear, with enhanced midrange punch, tight focused lows, and sparkling highs that never get spiky or shrill.
Overall, the Pro Twin Six pickups provide the crystal clear clarity and high fidelity tone that only a Gretsch is capable of, with an improved capability to demonstrate that full spectrum sound at high volumes. The bright, honest tone of this guitar really allows you unique touch as a player to shine through, and it has enough grunt to handle the heavier stuff.
Additionally, the Broadkaster features a three way pickup selector switch and Gretsch’s classic volume 1/volume 2/master volume/master tone control layout, as well as some premium upgrades to the circuitry. These include a treble bleed circuit on the master volume for maximum tonal clarity at low volumes and a no-load, ‘Squeezebox’ capacitor for the tone control.
No-load tone pots function exactly like a regular tone pot when set between 1 – 9, but between 9 and 10, they act as a true bypass, removing the pot from the wiring circuit. This means if your tone is set to 10, you will be hearing the direct, unfiltered sound of the pickup. ‘Squeezebox’ capacitors, meanwhile, utilise vintage paper-in-oil technology for a smooth, linear and organic sounding tone roll off. Evidently, Gretsch spared no expense in ensuring that the Broadkaster LX sounds as good as it possibly can. A true luxury item.
Between its breathtaking beauty, opulent playability and painstakingly crafted sound, this really is a guitar for the ages. The Broadkaster LX represents the best of Gretsch’s aesthetic past whilst utilising powerful modern circuitry, making it one of the best guitars the brand has ever produced. This is a premium product and it comes with a premium price tag, but if you are in the market for a top of the line, life long friend in a guitar that is as flawless as they come, you can’t miss with this one. I’d give an arm and a leg for it.
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