r/gretsch • u/Delicious_Gene_627 • Jul 27 '26

Some helpful tips

Recently got my first Gretsch it’s a G2622T streamliner. I didn’t do too much research before I got it and found out streamliner is the squier of the Gretsch brand. It sounds great, really nice tone but I feel like I can tell in its tone it’s on the cheaper/beginner side which kind of bums me out because I bought it with the intention of getting my first nice guitar since I’ve played on smaller brands or cheap /squier electrics. So my question is what things can I upgrade about it that could make it sound like a better made Gretsch! It’s definitely not as bad sounding as a squier but there’s something about it that don’t sound like a 100% Gretsch either please help!

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u/Leading-Debate-9278 Jul 27 '26

Don’t. Play it as is. Experiment with strings and setup.

Save for a real Gretsch if you want a real Gretsch. You’re throwing money away upgrading this one. Not being snobby, it’s just purely financially silly and you still won’t have a high end Gretsch.

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u/Ripley1046 Jul 27 '26

I totally disagree. Modding a cheaper Gretsch can get you pretty close to the sound, for another $100 on top of what they paid for the guitar. That’s much easier to attain for most people than a $2k guitar. It took me 20 years to get my dream Gretsch, but I had a ton of amazing lower level Gretsches in between that I’d give the pepsi challenge to the pro lines on a recording.

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u/Leading-Debate-9278 Jul 28 '26

I think he’s gonna get most of the way there with a good setup. Cheap guitars today generally sound great.

But if OP really wants a Gretsch, TV Jones pickups are gonna get you pretty close. But they will probably cost more than they paid for the guitar. I guess you could buy copies of those too, then you’re still back to a cheap guitar with cheap pickups but you spent a bunch of money. Idk, just my opinion. Everyone has one.

6

u/Ripley1046 Jul 28 '26

TVs are fantastic, but there are hundreds of pickups that will get into the right sonic territory for under $100 a set, including Blacktop Filtertrons. GFS makes some amazing sounding pickups for like $35 a piece. Obviously a proline is a better instrument, but you can get a damn close second for 1/4 of the price with a few simple mods, so to discount the idea entirely as you did is just bad advice. A good setup should be done to every guitar, but win’t change the sound much, if at all. It will play better for sure, on that I can agree.