Gretsch's Streamliners are some of the very best value electric guitars available right now – and they keep getting better. We're especially pleased to see more P-90-style models entering the latest range – arguably the king of all pickup types with a best of both worlds character. And the new Center Block and Center Block Jr is embracing them with their new design FideliSonic pickups.
We first reported on them back at the beginning of the year, but they're now shipping so it's a good time to revisit. These guitars have got seriously high standards to meet as the usual Broad'Tron humbuckers are some of the finest we've tried in this price category. But we have faith in Gretsch and this pair sound promising in the demo above. They look it too.
Lets take a look at the specs…
G2655T-P90 and G2655-P90 Center Block Jr ($599 / £609 and $499 / £539 US Street / UK MSRP)
- Laminated mahogany body with chambered spruce center block that runs the length of the body, "reinforcing the arched top while eliminating undesired feedback for volume-friendly performance on modern stages."
- Enlarged f-holes for enhanced acoustic projection
- Aged White binding on body and neck
- Thin U-shaped et nato neck
- 12" radius laurel fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets
- 2 x FideliSonic 90s pickups – Gretsch says, "These single-coil 90 pickups retain the full warm tone of a traditional P90 with a distinct top-end that is articulate and well-defined."
- Pickup volume controls, master tone control, master volume control and three-way selector switch.
- G2655T-P90 features Bigsby B50 (finish options: Two-Tone Midnight, Two-Tone Mint Metallic, Two-Tone Sahara Metallic)
- G2655-P90 features the V-Stopbar tailpiece (finish options: Brownstone, Claret Burst)
G2622T-P90 and G2622-P90 ($599 / £609 and $499 / £539 US Street / UK MSRP)
- Laminated mahogany body with chambered spruce center block that runs the length of the body.
- Enlarged f-holes for enhanced acoustic projection
- Aged White binding on body and neck
- Thin U-shaped et nato neck
- 12" radius laurel fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets
- 2 x FideliSonic 90s pickups – Gretsch says, "These single-coil 90 pickups retain the full warm tone of a traditional P90 with a distinct top-end that is articulate and well-defined."
- Pickup volume controls, master tone control, master volume control and three-way selector switch.
- G2622T-P90 features Bigsby B50 (finish options: Brownstone, Gunmetal, Forge Glow)
- G2622-P90 features the V-Stopbar tailpiece (finish options: Claret Burst, Havana Burst)
Even better news We're already seeing UK street prices for around £499 for the Bigsby models and £450 for the V Stoptail guitars. For more info check out Gretsch Guitars
Get the MusicRadar Newsletter
Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here.
Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.