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I love the dose of reality you give such proceedings. Everyone always talks about "just change the pickups and pots" not showing how big of a pain it is, or how much it costs to have a professional do it
On every guitar except a semi it’s a simple job. At worst case you have to enlarge the mounting holes from import to cts size. Step drill is the best tool for the job
I found your channel a few weeks ago and I have to say I'm totally addicted to it now. Your pleasant comical demeanor makes it all the better. Your common sense and your ability to be realistic in your guitar comparison videos is straight up priceless knowledge. Your review on the 59 Epiphone Les Paul convinced me to order it. I couldn't be happier. Thank you, I appreciate all that you do
I can't decide between the '59 and '50's, Colin said he prefers his 1950's Goldtop to the 1959 reissue. The necks on them used to be different, but now they are using the '59 medium C profile neck on the 1950's model too, so I guess the big chunky neck wasn't popular? I have a 1955 reissue, because I was born in that year and I love P-90 pickups, but now I want a "real" Les Paul with maple cap and humbucking pickups, but which one...? Goldtop 1950's is $699 at Sweetwater, while they have the '59 on sale from $999 to $850 on their special unique painted Lester's, so I'm not able to decide. They had a 1950's that was 7lbs. 13oz., but it sold as I was buying it, the screen froze exactly when I was putting in my credit card number - what are the odds? They still have an 8lb. 8oz. Goldtop, and a 8lb. 10oz. 1959 in their special paint job, which is quite striking. Which to get though? I don't want another chunky neck like my 1955 reissue, but if the 1950 model is using the same neck as the 1959 model now, I probably want that one...?
Wow! My heart was in my mouth for a bit there but absolutely A WIN! Pick-ups are lovely - the sparkle and articulation (very noticeable on the couple of strummed chords) and overall your first play-thru took me back to our George on the early Fabs stuff. I didn't realise till recently but the first solid body Gretsch he bought had single coils before he moved on to the semi acoustics, Country Gent etc. What a great upgrade - look forward to Part: 2 . . . thought about a bone nut while you're at it? Cheers.
I think you chose wisely with the single coils. I have never felt that humbuckers were well suited to most hollow or semi-hollow guitars. They are just too powerful for the more resonant platform presented by these guitars. I very much like P 90's in a center-block style. Your Gretsch seems quite open inside, and could be prone to feeding back, so I'm eager to hear your results. Edited here to say how sweet it sounds with the upgrades. 👍
Usually I see folks attached tube or string to the old pots before pulling them out, then you can attached the tubes/string to the new harness and pull them back through. Haven't done it, but that's what I would do.
I use spoons on 2 sides at once, with a microfiber cloth underneath, for equal upward pressure so they dont crack with the sideways angle. I cracked some speed knobs with the single spoon method.
Today's affordable guitars like the 5622 represent significant progress from those of days past. They really are better guitars today, which in turn means they are really good platforms for some experimentation and other witchery. Those new pups are definitely tighter on the fundamental frequencies; harder to tell about the overtones/harmonics what with RU-vid compression and so forth.
Agree. When I started playing, there was no Epiphone or Squier. Your parents shelled out for a Gibson or Fender…..or else it was a Harmony Les Paul from JC Penny for 99 bucks. At age 13 that guitar was my world- but compared to today it was junk! Single coil pickups hidden in a humbucker case, and the “carved top” was a veneer bubble.
@@dmmedic34 Absolutely. Mine (ca. 1968) was a Strat-like pawn shop special with a $12 provenance. As you say, it was my entire world, but honestly, it was nearly impossible to play. It actually came with an amplifier that, if held at the right angle, became a pretty loud AM radio. We indeed have come a long way.
I'd heard that repacing the pickups on these entry level gretsch, let's say for a pair of tv jones ones, was a pain on the neck. Not to mention replacing the potenciometers and the output jack with the use of some plastic trasparent hoses , those for fishing tanks or aquariums was, at the very least, nerve-racking. Cheers
Everytime I see this guitar in a shop, I want it in the exact same color you have. Can't wait to see the the bridge as this would be the same upgrade I would do as well. Cheers! Sounds good.
I had that very guitar, I loved it. Didn’t change the pickups, just adjusted the poles , chanded the pots and harness and add a Les Trem. With the trem it was glorious.
I love the differences in the English language between the US and the UK. You call the car trunk the "boot", and call the car hood the "bonnet". And you call the electrical ground wire the "earth" wire. I love it. Thanks. Gotta say the Dynasonics do sound better. Very nice. I've got a couple of these coming from Adorama for 229 and 299 US, a P90 and a Humbucker. I returned one P90 because of an uneven neck and a tilted bridge pickup. We'll see what I get now. As long as you get a good straight neck, you can pretty much work with everything else if you want to. I want a good guitar out of the box though. Great vid thanks. It's good to see disassembly and all the parts, that's interesting that Gibson and Epiphone bridges and stop tailpieces fit.
Wow, Sir, you've certainly earned your biscuits this week. Old hand at the ship in a bottle stuff, making it look so slick. Well worth the experiment with such a different setup. Great videography for interest as much as the very enjoyable playing as ever.
myself i would have just put a push pull split in on the volume knobs that way you would basically have the best of both worlds . Can't wait to see the trem upgrade.
I'm trying to catch up with all your past videos. I have to say, Col, you had me really laughing with the reamer. What makes this channel absolutely brilliant, is your unwavering honesty. Thanks very much mate. Great stuff.
Contemplating about getting a Gretsch Eddie Cochran model with a Dyna in the bridge and P90 in the neck. Twangy in the bridge position and jazzy-bluesy in the neck position. Best of both worlds. I'm glad to hear you didn't notice humming as a problem with your Dynasonics. They sounded sweet !
@theguitaristas, I made a bunch of upgrades on my Gretsch Streamliner. I replaced the toggle switch cap and volume and tone knobs with chrome. The BIG upgrade that I did was I replaced the pickups with P90’s. The last upgrade that I’m going to make is replace the nut with a zero fret nut.
A ballsy endeavour mate. Awesomeness! I walked into the other room when you where comparing the sound; before and after and thought ha' replace the word 'after' with Guitarista ...haa cool vibes.
I was never in love with the Broadtrons in the streamliner series. They are now putting a variant of them in the player series jets and im hoping they are much more responsive than the old ones. The dynasonics have much more character to them.
Accomplished with great care and shall I say dear prudence? What I don't like about Streamliners is that they have a Gretsch logo but they lack a Gretsch sound, now you've fixed that on yours, congrats!
Great video mate. Just an idea that might save you time and bother -- when doing the initial test fitting of the new pot at the 23" mark, instead of mucking around pulling tubing through, you could have simply held the new pot against the side of a pickup hole or an F hole and checked how far the shaft extends above the top that way. The top would be the same thickness all over. But the tubing is a great way to do the final installation. I'll probably be doing a pickup swap on my Electromatic Jet. I'm glad it has rear control plates so I won't need to bother with all that palaver! All semis should have them.
Absolutely love your projects Colin , the way you work on the guitar and don't edit so it looks like Mr Perfection 😁 Without doubt the best guitar channel on RU-vid 🎸
The Fralin Pickups website recommends 500k pots with Dynasonic pickups, so you did good there. Generally, 0.022 uF caps are used with 500k pots and 0.047 uF caps are used with 250k pots. The 0.047 uF will give a darker tone and the 0.022 uF will give a brighter tone.
There's just something about a walnut coloured Gretsch Colin. Changing the pots in a hollow body can be a pain but you handled it well. Definitely sounds better for sure.
Ha ha Cole yer some man . Ah had a chat with someone no too long ago on reverb was a guy about a tele build I’m just starting.🙄😁 He was kind enough to let me have some tuners for ma build . Total gentleman so he is . Looks like a pure hoot that did 🤣. It’s a nice thing . I was thinking about the dearmond gold toil or a fire bird for the neck on my wee build . Have a great rest of the week fella .paul
@@theguitaristas Lols Ha aye he’s alright yae know Colin man ✨💯. Cut fae a similar bolt ay cloth as maself fella . How’s that Gretch (I know it’s no spelled like that) coming on ? I enjoyed the squire trouble tele one ,I’ve done that whole chip the paint on the headstock to pieces thing too 🤣🤣🤣🙄 Have a cracking day fella
Your last ES335 upgrade videos inspired me to upgrade my D’Angelico DC. Pickups, wiring harness, roller bridge and. Deusenberg Les Trem. Good fun. No drilling required, and no vibramate either. A drop in trem so to say
Good work! That was a job well done. A couple of things, though: First, always check what you can _before_ you put stuff back in the guitar (so you don''t have to pull everything back out). In this case you could have tested your wiring before you put the pots and pickups back in the guitar. Next, get a violin sound post setter. If you have problems with something and need to work inside the guitar, and you definitely will eventually, they're very helpful tools to have around. Another thing or three, if you plan to do this sort of stuff a lot, there are special knob-pulling tools and tools for the knurled retaining nut on the switch, not to mention loads of specialty reamers in large and small diameters that don't have the long point on them. Having the special tools is one reason why you (might want to) pay pros to do work like this. Finally, and it's one reason I have a mixed feeling about some of the pre-made wiring harnesses that I've seen, we used to take it as a point of pride and an indicator of a well-done job of wiring hollow and semi-hollow guitars that you don't see any wires through the f-holes--a pro not only gets things to work, but routes the internal wiring so you can't see it from the outside.
Excellent no major mishaps 👍 Colin your definitely getting better at it man👍 The upgrades made a nice difference listening through my Naim active audio system but saying that the original set up was to shabby.Looking forward to part two 👍
I look forward to watching this one. The single best simple upgrade or change to a guitar was putting a Tru- Arc bridge on my Gretsch Tennessee Rose. These only work on the old school floating bridge Gretsches and you have to be able to move the bridge base. (But I thought you might find it interesting to hear about anyway) After I put it on there was a marked difference acoustically with better resonance, sustain and projection. I was a bit worried about intonation going from a roller bridge with individual saddles but I did it about ten years ago and have only had one intonation problem on the g string that lasted about 30 seconds (it had some fluff or something in the nut, lifted the string, retuned and it was fine).
Looking forward to this. I had a G5222 which had the Broadtrons. Loved the guitar but absolutely hated the pickups. I should’ve swapped them out but like an idiot I traded it instead. The new Dynasonics are such an improvement. If I wasn’t having a self-imposed No New Gear ‘23, I’d be looking for another 5222.
Hey Colin, Cool Video! And I agree, you truly are becoming quite the guitar tech, very cool! You're giving me the confidence to upgrade my solid Mahogany Epiphone Dot Studio. Would love to install the best electronics possible. Love the way it feels. AND....I must share something cool!! Last night, 2-23-2023, 8pm at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee WI, my lady and I saw Joe Bonamassa LIVE!!! OMG Colin!! The entire theatre (2500+) was dancing and full of joy! Two hours of non-stop Blues. He had a new band, and the encore was Mountain Time. This morning we're still on cloud nine jamming to Utube:) Have a great day! - Will the Polisher
A great fun video on these cool Gretsch guitars. The more expensive Gretsch's are fitted with a treble blead mod on the master volume pot. That is a capasitor & resistor wired up in paralell so that when turning the master volume down it dosn't sound muddy. When upgrading the pots this is a good time to also do this treble blead mod on the master volume pot.
What a beauty, and even more so with the upgrades! two things: How would it sound with flat wound strings - giving you the Beatles set up: Gretsch + Flat wound strings; and - will the Bigsby and new hardware change the sound/sustain?
I hope you know l wish you success on every project but I have to admit, I would have been on the floor laughing if you would have run that reamer through the back of that guitar!!! Keep the videos coming Colin!!!!
Well done Colin, that was a definite win, well worth the effort. I rewired my G2655 with a pre wired tv Jones harness and it was a very stressful total pig of a job (gap from pickup hole into guitar wasn’t big enough). Caused a lot of swearing and almost tears, but 5 hours later got it sorted and results were worth it.
You are the King! I spotted a Gretsch 2622 on a local auction site and halfway through your video, I grabbed it. Thanks Colin for all of the information and entertainment.
I missed you man. Kept looking to see if you put a new video out. Of course I knew it would be Friday but thought there might be a slim chance you appear earlier. Glad to see you today and cheers to you!
Cheers John thanks for the support! 😁👍… every Friday at 12 noon GMT on RU-vid but extra content every couple of weeks over on the TV channel if you can’t wait! 😎
The original pickups sound great to me. I own this guitar and it's very enjoyable to play, I also have a large collection of vintage guitars Fender, Gibson, Heritage and G&L's. I just can't justify the cost and labor of pickups and control pots on a guitar I paid $185 for used. The cost would be well over $300 for labor and parts. Your videos are the best brother. Cheers from Los Angeles
Hello Colin, I've got me tea, and am anxious to watch and hear you once again with a mod Project. Perhaps after watching your work a few times, I'll get brave and try it myself. And a nice evening for you! Cheers Mate
Sounds definitely better in my opinion. I believe it's always nice to have full size pots. It makes me feel confident that I won't lose my pot during live performance. I especially like the fender pots that have the shaft which comes out the back casing. Those are bulletproof. Looking forward to phase 2.
I heard the same thing (differences) you heard Colin. Additionally, what ever amp you use will change the sound too. I just love this guitar. I want one, (funding not available) the only thing I don't like about the original is the tail piece, which I could live with. To me, this is the best of ALL of the affordable guitars, which you have reviewed, even without upgrades. The upgrades are like frosting on a cake, it makes it sweeter still. I can't imagine why there should be a part 2, it's already nearly perfect. Well WE will soon find out. I wonder, would Chet approve? He played Gretsch guitars. I think he would. ;-)
my son has the left handed version of this very model, ( you can see it in action in the video Underwear, by Gen and the Degenerates) he uses it mainly for record now . but I know he does love it I did have to put a Les Paul style jack plate on it due to it being pulled out !. Though he uses a Squire Jazzmaster! as well as a Mim telecaster.
"Ello Colin! You are a much braver man than I regarding changing pots/wiring on that guitar. Snaking all those wires through the F holes scares me to death. Relly looking forward to how those single coils sound (big fan of single coils) and best of luck with that Bigsby install. I think the V shaped tailpiece looks great but...to each his own. Be well and thanks again for a great episode!
It's occurred to me that, if you still have this guitar, a Duesenberg Les Trem would slot in beautifully where that stop tailpiece is. They're also available under the Goldo name, who make them for Duesenberg. A Gretsch needs a tremolo!
Great job on the upgrade! As a longtime Gretsch owner and a lover of both Dynasonic and Filtertron flavors, I've found that for me, the "magic" Dyna sound is in the middle switch position (both pickups on). It's just the right balance between bass and "jangly".
Would have liked to hear the stock gretsch with only the pots upgraded as a most affordable beginner mod but Colin your upgrades probably double the cost of the guitar😂❤ you crazy diamond you😊
As ever Colin, fantastic video mate. I’ve said before numerous times. Unarguably the best RU-vid channel in the UK 🇬🇧 for an unbiased breakdown, analysis and play through. Keeping it real. Love Gretch Guitars, better value for money snd tone (in my humble opinion) over Epiphone and Gibson. Beautiful guitars. Have you seen the new limited edition Gretch 140 year’s celebration series yet. Amazing ! Check out the new Anderson’s Guildford, UK video on this new range launched this week. Disclaimer: I am not connected to, or related to Anderson’s or Gretch but know a good thing when I see it. Cheers Mitch 😊 🍺
It sounded great to start with, but it sounds better now. It's a project I'd be unlikely to undertake since it sounded good at the outset (I have stock blacktops on my Gretsch), but it really does sound prettier and more expressive now.
Göldo makes some high quality made in Japan pots with the smaller shaft diameter that are a direct replacement for pots in cheaper guitars like this one. And they're only half the price of a CTS pot.
I agree too, you are getting really good at changing pickups! Good on ya ! I stuck around until the end like I always do, I love your videos! Looking forward to the next one!
So you know brother I NEVER skip ahead. I totally enjoy watching all the videos. I can’t wait to watch this. I feel like you and me are the same except I’m Les Paul where you’re SG. I have also a streamliner that I want to upgrade. My bridge is a bit different though. I’ll have to see how compatible this video is to my Gretsch
Had one...nicely made...had to replace the tuners (one was shot!)...with nice Hipshots... Tone was no match for my Eastman T486 so I sold the 2622 to a buddy. Added a Vibebramate to a Les Paul Tribute with P90's...turned out very nice indeed. Yeah, sold it too...
Another great show. Your guitar tech skills are definitely improving. The pickup swap sounded great. I look forward to Friday mornings when your videos pop up. Gives me incentive to continue on my own path with the healthy addiction of guitars and chasing the sound. Just a big ass rabbit hole. Lol
Love the sound of those Dyna-Sonics, rich but well-defined. Damn, the original pickups sound good, too. Definitely consider a pair of those for my G2420T when the time comes.
Another outstanding video Colin. I own this guitar and it has become one of my all-time favorites. I'm excited to see how the bigsby tailpiece works out. Thanks for all the work and time you put into this content. Also, I'm loving the telecaster series.
Hi Colin! I really enjoyed this video. I mean, I always do but I really learned a good amount here. First of all, I hadn't seen the tubing method for replacing pots in a hollow or semi-hollow guitar. I'm instantly less afraid now of partaking in such a project now that I've seen that. Brilliant man! Also, I'm doing a Guitaristas style project on an old Kramer that I've had since the late 80s with a pretty stubborn speed knob that I need to take off. The spoon and credit card method is exactly what I need to do with it. Thanks for that and I'm going to apply both methods that I learned from you here when the time comes. I'm really impressed with how the pickups turned out. I'll admit, I didn't think that the 500K pots were going to work with the new Dynasonics. I don't think that that was what Gretsch used back in the day with those pickups. I could be wrong about that, but I thought that they might be a bit much for the Dynasonics. I was wrong. They sounded great! That little bit of fuzz that you used at the end also sounded great. I wasn't expecting all of this greatness from these pickups to be honest. Dynasonics are probably my least favorite pickups for guitar. I normally prefer the Filtertrons for Gretsch guitars, but you made these work really well. That was great tone. Maybe the 500K pots were what these pickups needed for me to like them. About the B7. I can tell you right now that it won't fit on this guitar without drilling. It's not long enough to reach the tailpiece. I have a Les Paul Tribute that I put a B7 with a Vibramate on in a previous Guitaristas style project that I did, and it was perfect. The bigger body on the Gretsch however means that it won't line up right. I think that other tailpiece that you have will be your better option. Thanks for another great video and all of the useful information. You managed to help me solve a current problem that I have and how to approach future problems that might arise. Also, props on not putting a hole through the back of the guitar. 👍😉 Cheers Colin and have a great weekend! ✌
A heroic upgrade Col, a brave man to attempt that lot, sold my Streamliner cos I could never get the tone I wanted, but that sounds a lot brighter and Bluesy, got me thinking Gretch again, cheers man , if only for the effort !!!👍👍
I just purchased a G2622. This is the best video I could imagine! I'm not one to consider what is inside of a guitar, but this was super. I'm considering removing the pick guard. I wonder what this will do the to sound and acoustic volume? The last New Electric guitar I purchased was in 1964, a candy apple Strat. Loved it forever but it became so valuable made me nervous to take it anywhere. Sold it for Lots of money. I tell ya, I really like my new Gretsch. This was an excellent video.
Capacitor polarity should not matter when used as a tone control capacitor in a passive pickup configuration. Some people will swear it can make a difference, but it's one of those things...
Beautiful 👍 The ground wire has to touch the Bigsby...perhaps the ground exiting rear strap button hole and then making contact with Bigsby's underside? Looking forward to part 2😉👍 😎👍❤🖖 Love Brother
The upgrades sound great! Think I'm the only one that likes the stock Broadtrons in these. Kinda surprised you didn't go ahead and change out the knobs for "proper" Gretsch chrome knobs ;)
I put the 'G' knobs on my Streamliner (without doing anything else), and it sounds heaps better. I don't know why you bother with all that other guff Colin, just change the knobs!
It sounded much better after the upgrades to my ears, well done Mark at Mojo pickups. The feel is not your imagination Colin, when you have more articulation you can get the sounds you want more accurately, they actually respond to your playing. I guess tone is in the fingers. For my money I think tone is in the pickups, the wood, the hardware, the strings the pick, the mind, the heart, your lucky undies, your Crocs.....personally I drink 9 glasses of tone water everyday......tone is all around us, it binds us..... Well that escalated but the point is you get your tone from wherever you find inspiration
