Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar 

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

I bought this guitar in December of 2012. I've now had enough time to practice, gig and record with it and while I like the sound of the pickups I can no longer recommend this instrument for the following reasons,

1.) The tuners feel cheap and are very course.

2.) The volume and tone control knobs are also cheap and are very course. There is a pronounced roll off very soon into the taper of the controls.

3.) The bridge woobles back and forward when the tremolo used.

4.) The body is make out of pressed particle board and it has very little resonance. I accidentally dinged the finish and it flaked off to reveal the wood underneath.

With all of that being said, the neck, fingerboard and the pickups perform well.

For me this guitar is now relegated to practicing and other non critical uses.

This guitar is over-priced and should be at least 1/3 off the current price.

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

I think this is a good price for something so hard to find right now.

Unlike all the other death-metal targeted baritones available, this guys gruff, twangy rumble reflects its rockabilly appearance, which was just what I had been looking for.

Its made in China, and feels a bit like that in the fretwork, hardware, and light weight, but its sound is full and mean.

I had read that it came set up as a bass, therefore requiring a new nut to run baritone strings, so I was pretty happy when mine showed up as a baritone, already tuned to B (ish). I guess Gretsch got the message.

I decided to negate the rhythm only position of the non-adjustable neck pickup by spring-loading it with two longer screws, then backing it out to the same height as the bridge pickup, which gave me a strong, deep, bluesy option.

The Bigsby is attractive and nice, and I look forward to using it effectively, but unfortunately, that will require a bridge replacement. It came with a fixed bridge instead of the much-needed, tremolo friendly roller bridge, as pictured. As the tremolo is activated, the bridge actually rocks a bit forward and back on its body mounts, making it difficult to keep in tune, and promises frequent string failure. It has been said that the strings touching the back of the bridge make it impossible to keep it in tune. They do touch, but this is actually not an issue at all and cant effect the tuning in any way, but it could be a problem with the roller bridge.

I like this guitar and Id say buy one if youre looking for a unique, gruff, humbucker rockabilly baritone with a tremolo (plus a little work).

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

This is a very simple guitar with a very unique tone. I described it as an applachian twang with attutide and some soul. It lacks the clarity of a strat and the warmth of a les paul but if you take the time to play some of your songs and listen I'm sure you will find that there is a nice place for it.

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

There's not much out there for Baritone guitars, but I'd skip over this guitar.
Strings resting against the back of the bridge = tuning impossible. Whoever designed this guitar should have their fingers chopped off. Bigsby on a baritone ok, but when the string angle is so great that it rests against the back of the bridge answer me this? How is this supposed to stay in tune?

DUH!!!!!

Mine did not come with a roller bridge as pictured. But a standard TOM bridge and since the strings rest on the back of the bridge, tuning and intonation is impossible. The inserts are actually rocking out of the body when the Bigsby is used. Awesome design and manufacturing Gretsch. Very impressed. NOT!!!!!
The guitar itself is decent, no major finish flaws and whatnot.

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

It comes with Bass strings, very long scale nearly 30". The Bigsby tail Wow! It's good for the occasional sweet, subtile vibrato and stays in tune quite well. For what I paid for, this is a very well made instrument. Some of the hardware sucks, but I just replaced it and saved some money. The alder body is soft but tight sounding, the strap hardware has already come loose. I was a bit disappointed that it had no arched top and that the pickups were too basic to taste. It sounds UNBELIEVABLE not hooked up, I had to buy a full range amp for a flat response. You can actually play an E (low E minor) and it will sound decent (no kidding). tight, uniform, and glassy like sustain. THIS IS THE MOST UNIQUE BARITONE EVER.

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

I was looking for a baritone tuned E to E because you can play bass or restring for a baritone B to B. I was originally looking for a fender Jaquar V1. But they are all discontinued. The original vintage used guitars are very expensive to buy. I settled for this. It comes in handy when jamming and you don,t have a bass player handy. Very nice maple neck and the bigsby tail piece is a definite plus. Looks great also. (Nice finish)

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

I ordered this instrument in December of last year. I had to return it twice because the first one did not produce a sound and the second instrument was clearly a B-Stock quality and the strap buttons were completely ripped out. The one that I received after that worked like a charm for about two months, since then it has been a nightmare. The action is unplayable,the bridge is useless for intonation, and have discovered the body is actually plywood.

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

It's a bit disappointing to open the box and find what is essentially a six-string bass; that is, a guitar tuned one octave lower. So CAVEAT: you'll need to order bari strings and replace the nut (I had to) in order to tune it up a 5th or 4th below standard guitar tuning. That said, it looks fantastic and sounds lush & dreamy, with great low end (obviously) and an almost chorusy vibe to the tone.

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

Got the 5265 Baritone a month or so ago. Came shipped with wound bass strings on it tuned E-E. It sounded pretty cool that and I thought about leaving it as a "guitar players bass" but I really wanted a baritone. I swapped out the strings for some 13-56 guitar strings that barely fit the scale length, tuned it to B-B and WOW!. This thing is a blast to play. Capo to the 5th fret and play it like a guitar and it's got a rich woody sound, play it open and its deep and growly. I play it through my Behringer BXL450 bass amp mostly. The aluminum cone speaker keeps the highs clean and crisp and the lows just roll right out. Because of the string change I am in the process of putting a new nut on it for the smaller strings and I swapped the stock Grover tuners for Grover locking tuners to help with the short-ish strings. It's so much fun that my guitar teacher is thinking of getting one after we played some harmony duets the other day. I may get another one (even after the price increase) to leave as a bass for when I want to play a bass part.It's a simple guitar, so it doesn't need many features, although having a Bigsby on a bass or baritone is definitely a plus and I may put on a Wilkinson roller bridge to help that at some point. The build quality is o.k., the ground wire to the bridge was just poked in the hole and didn't really contact it (fixed that) and the finish is roughly sprayed into the control cavities (fixed that) but it pretty solid and the fit and finish on the exterior are great. Neck is slick and fast with well finished frets and even though it is just shy of 30" short scale bass length, the reach up the neck isn't bad at all due to the layout of the guitar.It's not a perfect guitar or baritone or bass, but its pretty good and not expensive for what you get. basically; it is what it is, but you can make it what you want to a certain extent. I sing baritone, so having the ability to play lower is a plus for me. You don't have to make all the changes, other than strings, that I have made for it to be a good guitar, but you can if you want.I am a Gretsch fan anyway, this was my second Gretsch, and since then I've traded for a Gretsch Corvette so thats where I'm coming from.

Comments about Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone Electric Guitar:

I am not knocking the looks, sound, or quality of this instrument. But, if you are looking for an instrument that tunes to either A-A, or B-B standard baritone tuning, this ain't it. This guitar comes with the equivalento of Fender VI strings. It tune to E-E an octave below a standard guitar and cannot be tuned up to A without breakiing strings or damaging the neck. I have located a set of D'Addario bari strings: XL157, that are long-scale strings that range from 14 to 68, I haven't received them yet so I don't know if they will solve the problem of getting into "A" baritone tuning. Once that problem is solved I will then be better able to evaluate this instrument. So, if you want an instrument that tunes to "A" or "B" right out of ther box this is not it. It may become that if you want to do the leg work. However, it would be better for all if this instrument was described as a six string bass rather than a baritone guitar.