Gretsch G2655T Streamliner Review (2019): Let’s Rock

While it’s certainly true that Gretsch has a reputation for great hollow-body guitars, you may not relate ‘Gretsch’ to ‘rock & roll’ all that much. With the G2655T Streamliner, Gretsch brings a rock & roll machine to the masses at an incredible value for under $1,000.

Body and Neck

Hollow body guitars have a traditional look to them that can’t be matched, and that’s certainly the case with the G2655T. You have several finish choices, and each is equally stunning — take that plus the double-cutaway design, and you’ll be sure to make an impression on the stage.

Looking great is one thing, but it doesn’t mean much if the functionality isn’t there to make it a great guitar. No worries here with the G2655T! It has a laminated maple construction with a spruce center block, and the double-cutaway design gives easy access to the upper frets as well. It’s a little thinner than some hollow-body guitars, making it much less bulky and more comfortable to play.

Featuring a set-in design to help with vibration transfer and overall resonance, the neck is also a bit of a departure from traditional construction. It uses Nato instead of maple, which is a variant of Eastern mahogany – a very stable and reliable tonewood. Topping it off is a laurel fretboard (instead of rosewood) that has 22 medium jumbo frets.

Hardware

The G2655T Streamliner was designed from the outset to lean a little on the harder side. Two Broad’Tron BT-2S humbuckers — coupled with the spruce center block in the body — will let you turn things up a bit without the feedback that can come with most hollow body guitars played at higher volumes. A traditional 3-way pickup selector switch lets you craft custom tones as well.

The volume control setup is a bit unique as well, as the four knobs aren’t the typical ‘volume/tone’ for each pickup. There is a volume knob for each, but the other two are a master volume and an overall master tone control. That may take a little getting used to if you are coming from Les Paul-land, but it certainly is a usable configuration.

The G2655T's icing on the cake is the Bigsby B50 vibrato, which adds to the overall Gretsch vibe and expands its flexibility. An Adjusto-Matic bridge gives you rock-solid intonation, and the die-cast nickel tuners work well to help keep things in tune.

Sound

The G2655T was meant to be a rock & roll monster, and it certainly lives up to that expectation. It’s small and light enough to easily be played all night long, evoking your inner Malcolm Young from AC/DC at the same time. It’s a lot more than just a rock axe, though. With a little tweaking, you’ll find that evoking country, jazz, and rockabilly tones out of it can be done with relative ease.

Playability really needs to be mentioned here as well. The G2655T has a comfortable neck profile and can handle a good low-action setup, letting you slide and swing all over the neck with little effort. When you take the sound, mojo, and fast-playing action and put it all together in one package, you’ll be impressed at the amount of guitar you’ll get at this price point.

Conclusion

The Gretsch G2655T Streamliner is a well-designed guitar that would be a good fit in just about any discerning guitar player’s collection. Featuring rock sensibility and the ability to fit into almost any style that you may need, it’s a very versatile model that is sure to put a smile on your face.

For more info about the Gretsch G2655T Streamliner, click here.

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