A Gretsch semi-hollow for high-gain fiends.
Gretsch hollowbodies are icons. Though there’s no shortage of imitators, there’s just something about a Gretsch 6120 or White Falcon that’s untouchable—a feng shui balance of elegance and cool. Even so, for a long time the company missed out on business from a sizable niche of players who want semi-hollow sustain and resonance from a more compact body that’s easier to control at high volume.
Over the last couple of years, Gretsch unveiled a number of large-bodied “center-block” semi-hollow models that aim to combine the best of its hollowbody heritage with features that will appeal to fans of the ES-335 and its ilk. The latest—the G5620T-CB Electromatic—pairs a resonant, 1 3/4"-deep maple-laminate body with a pickup complement designed to deliver high-gain-friendly tones as the spruce centerblock reduces unwanted feedback at high dBs.
Deep-Dive Beauty
The 24.6"-scale 5620 is a shining example of how Gretsch’s Electromatic line has evolved over the last few years. What once seemed a dipping of the toes into entry-level waters has, in many ways, become a deep dive revealing impressive quality and beauty. Our review guitar came in a rich “rosa red” gloss-urethane finish through which you can subtly detect grains of the underlying maple spreading across the sumptuous arches and curves. The rosewood-topped maple neck features a 12.5"-radius fretboard inlaid with 22 remarkably clean, neatly dressed medium-jumbo frets. And peaking inside the cat’s-eye soundholes reveals straight, cleanly cut kerfing and no stray glue.
Ratings
Pros:
Excellent construction and attention to detail. Beautiful neck-pickup and in-between tones.
Cons:
Bridge pickup sounds harsh with moderately aggressive attack. Tuning issues.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$849
Gretsch G5620T-CB Electromatic
gretschguitars.com
Though the 5620 swaps the metallic pickguards and flashy headstock overlays of higher-end Gretsches with plainer black versions, it retains many of the brand’s trademark appointments: Full body and neck binding, knurled metal knobs with the vintage “G” logo, molded pickup surrounds, “thumbnail” fret inlays, and ingeniously practical strap retainers. Rounding out the hardware are smooth-turning Grover tuners, a licensed Bigsby B70 vibrato, and a pinned Adjusto-Matic bridge.
It’s Electro!
At the heart of the G5620’s electronics are two pickups that are less traditional than they look. To some, the bridge humbucker’s Black Top Filter’Tron name might recall both Gretsch’s venerated vintage Filter’Tron and parent-company Fender’s recent Blacktop guitar series. The similar names are coincidental, but if you drew that parallel you’re not far off: Both are optimized for high gain. The Super HiLo’Tron neck pickup looks very much like the vintage single-coil it derives its name from, though it’s actually a hum-cancelling dual-coil unit as well.
It’s all controlled via s 3-way selector and Gretsch’s tried-and-true five-knob scheme—a brilliant array with a volume and tone knob for each pickup, as well as a master volume on the treble bout that lets you dial in nuanced dual-pickup blends but still have the ability to shut everything off with a single knob swipe.
Rev It Up
When I strapped on the 5620, it didn’t take long to appreciate how well though-out everything felt: It was comfortable and balanced across my shoulder, the medium D-profile neck was a breeze to play, and the frets felt great. When I plugged the 5620 into a Goodsell Valpreaux 21 (for more American tones) and a Jaguar HC50 (for British flavors), I was a bit perplexed, though. Despite the hubbub about the pickups and the centerblock making the guitar better suited to high gain, I found the bridge pickup harsh in hard rocking modes. The problem wasn’t feedback or volume: I had the amps loud enough to get the controllable sustain that thinline guitars are famous for, but it was definitely brash. Soft playing with a pick or fingers yielded usable tones, but attacking the strings with even moderate amp gain made it sound a bit strident. Many players will want to avoid pairing this guitar with trebly amplifiers or roll high end back entirely.
The output was easier to manage when I brought the neck pickup into the equation. I haven’t had extensive experience with original HiLo’Trons from the ’60s, but the 5620’s Super HiLo’Tron has a clear, clean, single-coil-like responsiveness that is quite beautiful—so much so that it largely remedies the Black Top’s treblier characteristics when the two are paired. With the pickup selector straight up and the volume and tone knobs at various settings, the 5620 yields everything from sprightly chords perfect for jangle-pop to spunky compressed tones great for Travis-picked alt-country, or sweet tones that blossom into dreamy soundscapes with a little echo. And when you explore similar knob settings with the soloed Super HiLo’Tron, you get everything from warm, jazz-approved fatness to lush, bell-like tones that morph from gristly corpulence to gloriously singing feedback when you kick on the dirt. I can only imagine the magic that would ensue if the 5620 had a matched set of Super HiLo’Trons.
The Verdict
Gretsch’s beautiful G5620T-CB has so much going for it. For the price, it packs a serious punch in almost every category, from visual vibe to practical appointments, control flexibility, and ergonomics. Our test guitar had more tuning issues than other Bigsby-equipped guitars I’ve played—even when I wasn’t using the vibrato—but a roller bridge would likely alleviate the issue. And despite the harsh bridge pickup, you’d be hard-pressed to find another centerblock-equipped thinline that plays as nicely and has as much style and versatility.
From his first listen, Brendon Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great.
Slayer guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman formed the original searing 6-string front line of the most brutal band in the land. Together, they created an aggressive mood of malcontent with high-velocity thrash riffs and screeching solos that’ll slice your speaker cones. The only way to create a band more brutal than Slayer would be to animate them, and that’s exactly what Metalocalypse (and Home Movies) creator Brendon Small did.
From his first listen, Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great. Together, we dissect King and Hanneman’s guitar styles and list their angriest, most brutal songs, as well as those that create a mood of general horribleness.
This episode is sponsored by EMG Pickups.
Use code EMG100 for 15% off at checkout!
Learn more: emgpickups.com
Katana-Mini X is designed to deliver acclaimed Katana tones in a fun and inspiring amp for daily practice and jamming.
Evolving on the features of the popular Katana-Mini model, it offers six versatile analog sound options, two simultaneous effects, and a robust cabinet for a bigger and fuller guitar experience. Katana-Mini X also provides many enhancements to energize playing sessions, including an onboard tuner, front-facing panel controls, an internal rechargeable battery, and onboard Bluetooth for streaming music from a smartphone.
While its footprint is small, the Katana-Mini X sound is anything but. The multi-stage analog gain circuit features a sophisticated, detailed design that produces highly expressive tones with immersive depth and dimension, supported by a sturdy wood cabinet and custom 5-inch speaker for a satisfying feel and rich low-end response. The no-compromise BOSS Tube Logic design approach offers full-bodied sounds for every genre, including searing high-gain solo sounds and tight metal rhythm tones dripping with saturation and harmonic complexity.
Katana-Mini X features versatile amp characters derived from the stage-class Katana amp series. Clean, Crunch, and Brown amp types are available, each with a tonal variation accessible with a panel switch. One variation is an uncolored clean sound for using Katana-Mini X with an acoustic-electric guitar or bass. Katana-Mini X comes packed with powerful tools to take music sessions to the next level. The onboard rechargeable battery provides easy mobility, while built-in Bluetooth lets users jam with music from a mobile device and use the amp as a portable speaker for casual music playback.
For quiet playing, it’s possible to plug in headphones and enjoy high-quality tones with built-in cabinet simulation and stereo effects. Katana-Mini X features a traditional analog tone stack for natural sound shaping using familiar bass, mid, and treble controls. MOD/FX and REV/DLY sections are also on hand, each with a diverse range of Boss effects and fast sound tweaks via single-knob controls that adjust multiple parameters at once. Both sections can be used simultaneously, letting players create combinations such as tremolo and spring reverb, phaser and delay, and many others.
Availability & Pricing The new BOSS Katana-Mini X will be available for purchase at authorized U.S. Boss retailers in December for $149.99. For the full press kit, including hi-res images, specs, and more, click here. To learn more about the Katana-Mini X Guitar Amplifier, visit www.boss.info.
Snark releases its most compact model ever: the Crazy Little Thing rechargeable clip-on headstock tuner.
Offering precise tuning accuracy and a super bright display screen, the Crazy Little Thing is approximately the size of your guitar pick – easy to use, unobtrusive and utterly dependable.
Housed in a sturdy shell, the Crazy Little Thing can be rotated for easy viewing from any angle, and its amazingly bright display makes it perfect for the sunniest outdoor stages or the darkest indoor studios. You can clip it to the front of your headstock or on the back of your headstock for extra-discreet usage – and you can easily adjust the display to accommodate your preference.
As the newest addition to Snark’s innovative line of headstock tuners, the Crazy Little Thing is rechargeable (no batteries!) and comes with a USB-C cable/adapter for easy charging. Its display screen includes a battery gauge, so you can easily tell when it’s time to recharge.
The Crazy Little Thing’s highly responsive tuning sensor works great with a broad range of instruments, including electric and acoustic guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin and more. It also offers adjustable pitch calibration: its default reference pitch is A440, but also offers pitch calibration at 432Hz and 442 Hz.
Snark’s Crazy Little Thing rechargeable headstock tuner carries a street price of $21.99. For more information visit snarktuners.com.
Trey Anastasio unveils plans for a special solo acoustic run starting in March, 2025.
The tour gets underway March 8, 2025 at Springfield, MA’s Symphony Hall and then visits US theatres and concert halls through early April. Real-time presales begin Wednesday, December 4 exclusively via treytickets.shop.ticketstoday.com. All remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, December 6 – please check venues for on-sale times. For complete details, please see trey.com/tour.
TREY ANASTASIO - SOLO ACOUSTIC TOUR 2025
MARCH
8 – Springfield, MA – Symphony Hall
9 – Boston, MA – Wang Theatre at Boch Center
11 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – The F.M. Kirby Center
12 - Rochester, NY - Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
14 – Columbus, OH – Mershon Auditorium
15 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater
16 – Nashville, IN – Brown County Music Center
18 – Chicago, IL – Orchestra Hall
19 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre
21 – New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theatre
22 – Birmingham, AL – Alabama Theatre
23 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
26 – Orlando, FL – Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
28 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
29 – Savannah, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre
30 – Charleston, SC – Gaillard Auditorium
APRIL
1 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre
2 – Greenville, SC - Peace Concert Hall
4 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre
5 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Center for the Arts
More info: TREY.COM.