This is my first non solid body guitar and my first Gretsch, so my perspective may be different but hopefully can help someone else looking for something a little less ordinary. I got the Gretsch bug a while ago and spent quite a bit of time weighing the various options on what model would suit me the best. I recently picked up a gig in a blues/oldies band but I also play in a more conventional rock cover band. I wanted something that would fit the bill with the new gig that could also be comfortably used in more mainstream rock music. I chose the 5622T because it was thinner and has a center block to help with feedback, and the 140th anniversary models have the coolest color scheme :). As always the zZounds order and shipment process was a breeze and the next day I was unboxing my new toy. The first thing I noticed was the weight. I was surprised that it weighed more than my Telecaster. It comes in just over 8 pounds. Still comfortable for long sessions, but I picked up a wider strap to make it a little easier to manage. The next thing I realized was dang this is a big guitar! I’m a fairly short and stout fellow at 5’7 with an aging dad-bod and I found it was more comfortable wearing it a little lower than my other guitars. There is also a bit of a dive to it. Not horrible like an SG but it likes to rest almost fully horizontal. Again the 3” strap helps with that as well. The neck is listed as “Thin U” but I would not consider this a thin neck by any means. It has… read more the depth of a regular Fenderish neck but feels a little chunky and wider on the back. It’s comfortable and familiar, just not shreddy thin. Overall it is a transition to go from a Tele or Strat to the 5622, but it’s not a painful process. Oh and don’t overlook upper fret access. That might be a deal breaker if you spend a lot of time above the 18th fret. They are reachable but you probably aren’t going to be doing many 5 or 6 string runs up there. The setup out of the box was pretty good. Action was a little high for my tastes (2mm low E at the 12th) but still very playable. The intonation was set and the strings seemed like they had been stretched as minor third bends didn’t seem to knock it out of tune. Nice job on the set up Gretsch! The Bigsby is a little clumsy to get used to at first but honestly I like it mostly for aesthetics. I wiggle it here and there and it seems to do ok with those but it will go way out if you try to go EVH on it. They aren’t designed for that anyway. The tuners are ok. Nothing special but they seem decent for stock and it keeps in tune fairly well. I will eventually add locking tuners simply to make string changes faster. Overall I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I like the guitar. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot of instrument for the price and it is really is fun to play. If you are on the fence about a Gretsch I say go for it, you’ll likely be very happy. If not, zZounds has a great return policy so you really can’t lose!

Sound
This is my first Gretsch so I could not tell you with any authority if it has ’that great Gretsch sound’ or not. I can say that to my average ears it sounds great and has its own thing going on. I have played it with levels of gain spanning clean, edge of break up, all the way up to full on 5150 style gain. I had seen some reviewers mention it sounded muddy in higher gain, but I don’t really notice it. I find it sits right at home between edge and crunch. The guitar resonates really well and has a good amount of sustain. You can definitely feel the power chords resonating against your gut when you hit it which is really fun. The pickups seem fairly high output so it won’t fully clean up a dirty amp, there’s almost always a little crunch in there but for me that’s a good thing. It does have a little feedback but it’s the good kind. You’ll just have to take my word on that.

Features
I wondered what was up with a master volume circuit on a guitar, but I have to say I really like having it now. Plus it’s not super easy to reach the main controls without moving the trem arm around. Once you get used to where it is, it is easy to reach down and adjust real quick. The two minor gripes I have are the Adjusto-Matic bridge is the kind that sits on a threaded rod instead of a smooth post. You have to adjust the thumbwheel and then raise/lower the threaded rod to adjust. It’s a bigger pain than it sounds lol but thankfully I will not have to mess with that too much. And secondly, no case or gig bag. Normally that doesn’t bother me much, I’d rather have a more affordable guitar than tack on an extra $100 to the price for something I’ll just toss in the closet, but because this isn’t a run of the mill sized guitar it would be nice if it came with a cheap bag just to get it to and from the car instead of having to scour the internets to find the right size case or bag. Again, just minor things.

Ease of Use
Tune it and play it. That’s about all it takes.

Quality
So the elephant in the room is that these are all made in China now. I was a little hesitant but knew if I had QC issues zZounds would take care of me. I can say without a doubt that the build quality is on par with every other mid to high tier import guitar I’ve purchased over the last few years. The neck and fretwork are great. Fret edges are rounded off nicely and the edges stop at the binding. I’m guessing they are pre-cut frets rather than someone pressing then cutting. The paint is gorgeous. There are a couple of slight goofs in inconspicuous places, but not out of the ordinary for an import and nothing I would consider returning the guitar over. The hardware is decent. The knobs and pots feel sturdy and the tuners do the job. Since it’s a hollow body I have no idea if they are full size pots or not, but it’s not something I would ever want to bother with if they weren't. A lot of work for very little reward. The Bigsby Licensed trem works fine as long as you keep things in perspective. It’s there for a little vibrato here and there, not full on bombs. The strap buttons are a bit of a pain but I think that’s just a Gretsch thing. I’ll have to do some research to see if there are 3rd party strap locks that will fit. They look like they could easily strip the wood if you are overzealous with your tightening. I had read that a lot of folks keep the strap on all the time even in the case. Now I know why..

Value
Is $899 a fair price to pay for this guitar? In my opinion, absolutely! It stacks up very nicely feature and look wise against similarly priced models from Epi and Ibanez. Some folks may be disappointed the Electromatic line was moved from Korea, but these days country of origin has little to do with good or bad quality as a whole anymore. Even PRS has some SE models built in China, and they are asking quite a bit more for them too. What you do get for that $899 is a well built guitar that is its own thing and not a copy of a higher end brand. It’s definitely good enough to gig or record with regularly and it just looks sharp!

Manufacturer Support
I’ve never dealt with Gretsch other than ordering some SWAG off their website. There are plenty of forum posts that will get you just about all the info you could ever want. They are under the Fender umbrella and I’ve dealt with FMIC several times. Their customer service was pretty good.

The Wow Factor
You get to tell your friends you’ve finally got a Gretsch! It makes you feel like you need to go put on a hot rod mechanic shirt and a trucker hat and play some thrashabilly turned up to 11. It’s got a vibe like nothing else.

Musical Background:
Been playing for almost 50 years and still kicking around in local bands

Musical Style:
Blues, rock, prog, CCM read less