Gretsch Electromatic and Streamliner: Classic Style, Two Different Approaches

The Gretsch Electromatic CVT, with a 24.6-inch scale and all-mahogany design, features a solid double-cut body, a bolt-on neck with a Performance "C" profile, and a 12-inch radius Indian laurel fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets, Neo-Classic Thumbnail position markers, and a Graph Tech NuBone nut. It is equipped with a pair of flexible Twin Six humbuckers inspired by the popular Broad'Tron pickups, a simple but effective wraparound bridge, and the company's tuners.

The Gretsch G2655 Streamliner Jr. features a semi-hollow compact body made of laminated maple, reinforced with a central chambered block, which also eliminates feedback. The glued neck made of nato wood has a Soft "C" profile, the fingerboard has the same specifications as the CVT variant, with a bone nut and an extended scale of 24.75 inches.

The model is equipped with relatively powerful Broad'Tron BT-3S humbuckers with Alnico 2 and Alnico 5 magnets, controlled by separate volume controls, a common tone control, and a master volume control with push/pull coil splitting. The strings are anchored in a V-Stoptail tailpiece complemented by an Adjusto-Matic bridge. You can also get the Steamliner G2655T Jr. version where the tailpiece is replaced by a vintage Bigsby B50 vibrato.

The Gretsch G2622 Streamliner BT-3S offers similar technical specifications to the G2655 Streamliner Jr., including hardware, Broad'Tron BT-3S pickups, and their controls. The main and very important difference, which significantly affects the character of the resulting sound, is the larger body, slightly reminiscent of the Gibson ES-335 guitar style. This guitar is also available in a similar version, the G2622T, with a Bigsby vibrato, this time type B70.

The Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Jet with a mahogany chambered single-cut body and maple top features a glued mahogany neck with a more subtle Thin "U" profile. Once again, it has a laurel neck fitted with 22 medium-thick frets, offset markers and edge binding, a synthetic bone nut, and electronics consisting of two Black Top Filter'Tron humbuckers connected to separate volume controls plus a master volume, a common tone control, and a three-position toggle switch. The Adjusto-Matic bridge is combined with a Bigsby B50 vibrato.

The Gretsch Streamliner Jet Club Bass with a shorter scale of 30 inches provides a comfortable playing experience thanks to its bolt-on neck with a pleasant Soft "C" profile. The body and neck are made of nato wood, the laurel fingerboard has 20 medium jumbo frets and Neo Classic pearl inlays, and the signal is transmitted by two Low Down single-coil pickups controlled by separate volume controls and a shared tone control.

The Gretsch Electromatic CVT Bass has a 32-inch scale, a classic mahogany body and neck, a Performance "C" profile, and a genuine bone nut. It features an ergonomically shaped body with bevelled edges and, like the Jet Club, relies on a Low Down Alnico single-coil neck pickup, but this time complemented by a humbucker of the same name. Both pickups feature a frequency-balanced and specific sound with a clear attack.