That 5427 looks very nice, the blue color with gold hardware is perfect, and I like that they brought back the tombstone inlays and took the “Elecromatic” lettering off the headstock
I have more than eighty guitars. Each time I go to the “vault” to work out with a different guitar, I’d practically go broke taking each guitar for a pro setup. I’m not pro yet at servicing my guitars, but thanks to your video, I’m saving some righteous cash. THANKS!!!
Thanks !! I've been removing all the strings an cleaning the guitar before installing new strings. On a Gretsch G7594T & G6120 with Bigsbys , and using a Capo to hold the strings in place after connecting the top of the string to the tuners and before trying to connect the bottoms: it still takes over an hour. One string at a time should save a lot oof time & energy. Changing strings is still a pain after 20+ years of playing. Of course having the proper tools available is a must: Whenever, a string breaks, it seems those tools are never available. I subscribed.
This could not have come at a better time. Just brought one of these 5427's home yesterday. After letting her acclimatize to our home/climate, I'll be giving her a thorough assessment for setup. While I'd normally just hand this off to a local guitar tech, I feel absolutely comfortable taking this on myself thanks to your tutorial. Thanks much for this valuable intel!
When re-stringing, I do the same and pre-bend the ball end. I use a capo to hold the string to the fretboard to stop it from falling off the Bigsby. I find that medium weight flatwounds are best for my 5420, with a wound third, that makes the guitar intonate well even with the Gretsch solid bar “rocker” bridge.
Thanks for the comment. You are absolutely correct that a wound G is the key to good intonation on that style bridge. I have a Les Paul Special with a wrap around bridge and an unwound G is always sharp.
Thanks for the technical lesson. I'll be using your instructions on my recently acquired Gretsch Streamliner. (Yeah it's the budget model but it sounds good enough for me). Of course a White Falcon would be nice, but hey, I'm not Uncle Neil. I'll let you know how it goes. Keep on hitting the cool notes.
Appreciate the video, just what I needed. I purchased a G5427tg last year and its only now since following your steps that I have the guitar sounding amazing.
Very comprehensive and helpful. Considering it too complicated and without proper tools, I always took my guitars to a luthier. But with 25 guitars, I figured it was about time to learn to do these basic setups myself. Just got a new Gretsch 2655T P-90 and it had some buzzing on the high E first fret. Messed with a couple things, didn’t help so I used your method and now it’s all perfecto. I did order a replacement Graph Tech Resomax NV2, so I guess I’ll have to go through this again.
Top tip: I bought an 'old school' pencil eraser - the thick square block type - cut it to a wedge shape and just wedge it under the pin when I install the string. Admittedly, it doesn't help when you remove all the strings, for the first couple of string you fit. Of course, you still need to bend the end of the string, but I know the string won't fall off the pin, while I'm stringing up.
Great video. You’ve a real friendly and easygoing demeanour, which helps if you’ve screwed things up so badly with your setup that you don’t know WHERE you’ve gone wrong 😆. Also, your instructions were nice and concise, your demonstrations clear and easily i it able. Best setup video on RU-vid; it’s also nice to have one that’s specifically for Gretsches. You’ve a beautiful guitar, btw. I have two: an Electromatic Jet 5230 w/ Filter’Trons and Bigsby, and a Streamliner (can’t remember the model), but it’s the first model that came out with two Fidelisonic P90s and one of the ‘V’ style stop tailpieces. Their tones complement each other very well. I ALSO play flatwound strings; I tried ‘em once, attempting to recreate George Harrison’s early ‘60s tone, and I was just instantly hooked. They’re pricey but they last forever if you take care of them! Anyroad, thanks again for an excellent video.
This was great! I'm new to electric guitars, and really just getting back into playing. I just bought my dream guitar, the same you are working on, and I'm so excited to play it! Your wonderful video will ensure i can set it up and keep it working perfect. Thank you!
Thanks ever so much for your videos, especially this particular one, for reasons I'll address further in this reply. After viewing all the accolades that others have posted in their replies, I simply cannot find anything original to add that hasn't already been said. Kudos to you!!! As to the aforementioned reasons I have referred to, let me provide you with some background information: Longer ago than I care to admit (nor can I remember exactly when) I purchased my first electric guitar, a Dean Stylist hollow body that I bought not for its electrified qualities (the stock pickups had absolutely no redeeming qualities other than they were the same color gold as the rest of the hardware), but because 1; it had nearly the same neck profile as my beloved Alverez AJ-60S acoustic guitar, and 2; it really sounded fairly decent unplugged. I saw the potential this insturment had as an acoustic/electric when paired up with the right P/U combination, mine being a Fishman sound hole mounted dual unit for the Then, as often happens, Life intervened (you know, marriage, 1st child, career & location changes, 2nd child, more career and location changes, separation followed by divorce, health complications, etc.). Finally, at 67, and with Gretch having resumed production of its Blackface Filtrer'Tron P/U's have the opportunity
Thanks for this, i changed the strings, adjusted the truss rod, cleaned the fingerboard etc all today. Question around the bridge, when i tried adjusting the wheel, it just lowered away from the bridge rather than lowering the bridge? I used an allen key instead on the top of the bridge and i think that has lowered it. mine is a 5655tg so may be slightly different?
I own the first blue burst gretsch built in 1991,its a 6120 bought in bakersfield ca,when we went in to buy one all they had was orange and a red tennessee rose,so we asked if they could paint it sunburst blue, the owner of front porch music and the owner called magszine ark. And they said it could be painted that color. I still have it.
Hi, very beautiful and interesting video, please I have two questions: also the height of the 6th string at the 12 fret is 4/64? I have an Electromatic G5126 with the DeArmond Dynasonic, what is the best height from the top of adjustable poles and the bottom of the strings(pressed at the last fret) for neck and bridge pick up? Thanks and best regards Piero
Hi Piero, thanks for the comment. According to the Gretsch setup manual, Dynasonics should be adjusted to 3/32s bass side of each pickup and 2/32s treble side. Also all six strings are adjusted to 4/64s action at the 12th fret. Manual: www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10003/Gretsch%20Setup%20Specs%20pdf.pdf
Great video! Thanks! I have a Gretsch 5420T (in Fairlane Blue) that I love. This is the best explanation of these tasks I've ever seen. I want to check the setup as you've explained it on my guitar. I play Chet Atkins style and I can't seem to get the punchy bass out of this guitar that I can get out of others like my vintage Hagstrom Viking 1N. Drives me nuts. I suspect it might be the pickup height. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks for the comment Daniel. Pickup height can change the tone of the strings for sure so it might be worth experimenting with that. Try moving the bass side of the pickups a little closer to the strings. Also heavier strings can help because it lets you play a little more aggressively with your thumb to get the strings to really speak, and I read that that Chet liked fairly high action on his guitars. Good luck.
Hello dear, I would like to know if you could tell me if the size of the spring of the Bigsby B60 that comes with the Gretsch (Korea) G5420T guitar is 7/8" or 11/16". I wonder if perhaps the previous owner of the guitar has changed the size of the spring of the Bigsby, because I see it very low almost parallel to the pickguard and does not allow pumping movement or is it like that? Greetings and thank you very much. Sorry for my English
@@hoganshideout Dear Sir, don't worry, I think I found the problem, the plastic handle washer was missing. The spring is 7/8 but the washer is missing so it is under the height angle of the tremolo lever so it can be pumped. Greetings from Buenos Aires
Someone gave me a Gretsch Tennessee Rose to take a look at. It appears the bridge(looks the same as yours, a wooden base below the bridge) is not glued/attached in place. Is this normal? My 1st time looking at a Bigbsby, I do not see any kind of glue mark/ring on the finish. Just curious if I need to have him take this in to a shop or not. Great video, thanks! New Sub
Hi Barrett I don't think the bridge should be glued, but some of them are pinned. Take a look at this thread for a few pics. Btw, some of them are just free floating and only held on by the strings. Thanks for checking the video out. www.gretsch-talk.com/threads/prolines-with-factory-pinned-bridges.164038/
This was an excellent walk thru! I watched it and then felt confident enough to change the strings for the first time on my Gretsch and then be able to set it up properly.
Thanks for sharing this video. I have that identical 5427. Have you had any issues with the strap pins? The one by the neck fell out. I bought some locking pins, but it’s still too loose. I have a great guitar tech who can fix it. I’m a little nervous about doing it myself.
Thanks Gene. I haven't had any issues with the strap pins/buttons, but I'm not playing much standing with a strap. As far as repairing the strap pin/button, did the stud come out of the wood, or is the barrel just loose on the stud?
@@gzackerman Generally there are two ways to fix that; you can either use glue and toothpicks, or drill the area out, glue in a dowel, and redrill. The toothpick/glue repair (I like Titebond original) seems to work well for most people. I did a short video showing how to do the toothpick repair a while back, but if you are not comfortable, definitely take it to someone for the repair. Good luck.
Hi Gene. Nut adjustment is a bit more advanced and requires a few special files. I'll try to do a video on that at some point. Fortunately the Gretschs I've played recently (Fenders too) have had very well cut nuts.
I was searching for the size of the allen key I need to adjust string height. I watched you go through the string height but you did not make any adjustment. I have a bag full of allen keys but none fit. Anyone know how big a key it is?
@@hoganshideout Thanks for the suggestion but the wheels move up and down the pin that goes into the body but the bridge does not move. That is the issue I think,
@@daveallen9921 Something must not be working correctly. When you turn the adjustment wheel it should move the bridge up and down. The post itself should not turn.
@@rogerfranklin83 Hi Roger. You might try raising the action a little -- maybe 5/64 on the low e. Also, are you using 11 gauge strings? You could have a few frets that are high. Remember, any guitar will buzz if it's played aggressively enough.
@@hoganshideout not 11s just a set of ernie ball regular slinky 10-46. Neck seems good. It was fine....."before".....before I decided to take the bigsby off and put on thr tradition G style tailpiece. I have a Gretsch Electromatic 140th Double Platinum edition G5420T, yeah I just didn't need another Gretsch with a bigsby. So I took of and made sure everything was perfectly lined up which it was but yeah no it seems to buzz....checked the neck. That's good. I have noticed the intonation is a little out.
I was probably not very clear in the video. There is a string through version of the Bigsby that is available on some Gretsch guitars. Like this: www.gretsch-talk.com/attachments/20200313_124057-jpg.160373/ Compared to the standard post design on most Bigsbys. Like this: guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DIY-handbook-restring-bigsby-string-ballend@1400x1050.jpg Thanks for checking the video out!
all gretsch have tune problem with G string! I haved white falcon usa, 6120 EC, 5120, 5420 and all this guitars same problem. exept my two ibanez GB 100 and GB200
This is the Dunlop ruler I'm using: www.amazon.com/Dunlop-Action-System-Guitar-DGT04/dp/B07QMMH5WZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=216UNICIJUOJB&keywords=Jim+dunlop+string+action&qid=1653577790&sprefix=jim+dunlop+string+action%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-1
