With its chambered mahogany body with set-in mahogany neck, dual TV Jones Designed Gretsch mini-humbuckers, and Gretsch G-cutout tailpiece, the Pro Jet definitely breaks the sound barrier!
Electromatic Pro Jet
Reviewed by:
Eta Vaga, on january 15, 2010 4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 499
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: -Made in China, in 2006 I believe.
-22 frets, on a Rosewood fretboard.
-Laminated Mahogany top, mine in black.
-Double cutaway body (This is actually a minor variation of the standard Jet. Not sure to what extent it affects the guitar, but I've been told the double cutaway version is quite a bit harder to come by)
-Bigsby tailpiece over a Tune-O-Matic.
-Two passive "Gretsch Mini-Humbuckers"
-Rather simple control setup. Master volume, master tone, three way pickup selector.
-Non-locking tuner and nut. // 9
Sound: I play mostly older hard and classic rock, from AC/DC to Sabbath. The guitar's tone is phenomenal for this. I love it as a rhythm guitar, because it's sound is so rich. The semi-hollow body gives it a very warm tone. I play it though a Marshall MG15 as of now, and even though my amp could be better, this guitar really does make it the best it can be. With the bridge pickup selected, it has a very decent bite to it. On the neck pickup, it becomes rather warm, suitable for a wide variety of styles. I do like the bridge pickup with low distortion and max tone. Sounds like a dream. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: Guitar came stock with a set of 10s on it. Action was low, not buzzy. Looking for that thick Malcolm Young bark, I instantly swapped the strings for a set of Ernie Ball 12s. This required a minor action adjustment, but nothing too extreme. Pickups height is good enough that I've never considered adjusting them. After three years of playing, my only complaint is that the pots fuzz when adjusting them, but that's normal dirt at this point. I'll have them replaced for $20 when I stop being lazy. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I would gig with this without a problem. I'd bring a backup only because the Bigsby makes swapping a snapped string in a timely fashion all but impossible. All the hardware is rock solid. The strap buttons screw on, and with the leather strap I have on it, it isn't going anywhere. The finish is durable, but color (black) makes every.single.tiny.fingerprint show up like day-glo paint. I Drive myself mad trying to keep it clean. // 10
Impression: The guitar matches my style of music to a T. I bought the guitar after researching different tones for a long while, and I must say, I'm extremely happy with it. I've been playing for around 5 years, and this is my first high quality guitar. I have an Epiphone SG Special as well that I like very much, but this one is by far better for just about everything. Except maybe running around that stage like Angus. It is rather heavy. If it was lost or stolen, I would probably purchase another Gretsch, but this time a full hollow-body with f-holes. I was tentative about that at first, so I picked this one as a happy medium, but knowing what is possible with a big, hollow guitar, my eyes are open.
Electromatic Pro Jet
Reviewed by:
GuitarGeekAGard, on may 19, 2011 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: £ 250
Purchased from: GAK
Features: Purchased 2008.
* TOP: Arched Laminated Maple
* BACK AND SIDES: Mahogany Body, 13.25" Wide, 1-7/8" Deep
* NECK: Mahogany, Set-In
* WIDTH AT NUT: 1-11/16" (43mm)
* FRETBOARD: Rosewood
* SCALE LENGTH: 24.6" (625mm)
* PICKUPS: 2 Gretsch Mini Humbucking Pickups
* PICKUP SWITCHING: 3-Position Toggle:
o Position 1. Bridge Pickup
o Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups
o Position 3. Neck Pickup
* CONTROLS: Master Volume, Master Tone
* BRIDGE: Anchored Adjusto-MaticTM Bridge
* TAILPIECE: Gretsch G-Cutout Tailpiece
* HARDWARE: Chrome-Plated
* FINISH: Gloss Urethane
* NO. OF FRETS: 22
* MACHINE HEADS: Chrome-Plated Vintage Style Tuners
* UNIQUE FEATURES:
o Neo Classic "Thumbnail" Inlay Position Markers,
o Matching Painted Headstock,
o Pearloid Gretsch and Electromatic Headstock Inlays,
o White Pearloid Pickguard with Gretsch Logo,
o Bound Top,
o G-Arrow Knobs,
o Knurled Strap Retainer Knobs,
o Adjustable Truss Rod // 9
Sound: I play lots of styles of music mainly grunge, metal and funk and I have to say it handels itself well in these genres but is not as strong as as it could be in the metal section. It can play grunge suprisingly well though and its not hard to get a decent distortion sound ou of this guitar. This guitar though, being mainly a blues style guitar cleans up nicely and has a nice bright sound when played through my Vox AC15, I have also so played it through various other amps such as a Marshall mg30 and an Orange Tiny Terror Combo and it had a nice strong distortion tone and a good bright clean tone when played through all these amps. Although it has a very versatile tone the pickups don't seem to deliver the full sound so my amp has to be turned up full for even the smallest venues. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: To be honest I was very disapointed when I got this guitar as when I first plugged it in to my amplifier the pickup selector was faulty so I had to send it back. They did send another though which was set up perfect. It had a nice low action with no fret buzz. The pickups were fitted to the correct hieght and the Bridge was adjusted perfectly. I did noticed some fingerprints on the body which shows me that it had been fully tested out before being sent to me. // 8
Reliability & Durability: The guitar can handle live playing but your amp must turned up full aswell as the volume on your guitar. I have had my guitar for about three years and it has only just started to develop small signs of rust and erosion on the control knobs and bridge. I will probably go another 2 years before I order and new parts for my guitar. The strap buttons have have have attendency to come loose so I had to use a larger screw to keep the in place but they do keep the strap on and can with stand the guitar being jerked around. The finish has lasted amazingly its been through alot over the few years I've had it and still no major signs of wear. I always have a backup just in case because you never know what can happen to be honest so its always best to have one even if your guitar is reliable. // 10
Impression: Overall I am not in any way disappointed of my purchase and think it is a good guitar for anyone who has a wide variety of music to play because it is very versatile. If it were stolen or lost I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new one as it has been my main guitar ever since I have bought it but I am planning to buy a new guitar very soon. The best thing about it is either the great sound you get out of it when just playing in my house or practicing or the looks because wherever I go peole always guess the price to be around £550 + but when I tell them I got it new for £250 there shocked that you can get that good a look and sound for the money. // 10
Electromatic Pro Jet
Reviewed by:
redprojet, on may 10, 2011 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: eBay
Features: Year: 2006 Made: China as far as I know. Has Bigsby tailpiece. Everything is the same as regular Pro Jets except mine is a special Australian model that is in Fire bird Red. If you have ANY information on red Pro Jets, please contact me! Oh and the sell threw in two nice Fender guitar straps, a Fender chromatic tuner, and some picks. // 10
Sound: The guitar sounds beautiful. I play anything from 1950's rock and roll to heavy metal and the guitar works pretty good on all the genres. I use a Fender G-DEC and a FirstAct bass guitar amp and with the G-DEC, I can get just about any effect I want out of it and the Gretsch does a great job with all of them. I wouldn't mind putting P-90's on it, but not on the special model. If I buy another, I would put them on it. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar looks beautiful. Not to brag, but it looks much better than all the other Pro Jets that I have played. Finish is almost like a sunburst but it's red (not to good with guitar terms LOL). Neck is very easily to play on and I prefer the action of the Gretsch over my Epiphone Dot Archtop. The only "'flaw" is the trim of the guitar. If you look closely, there are some portions of the black part of the trim that are grey for some reason. At first, I though the guitar was originally silver, but then I found other red Pro Jets. Either way, it's a very small problem and I still love the looks. Other than that, the only "problem" I have ever had was that the Bigsby tremolo like to squeak, but WD-40 fixed that. The overall quality, in my opinion, is better than any of the higher priced guitars I have played. I would prefer this guitar over most of the Les Paul models. // 10
Reliability & Durability: The guitar is reliable. No doubt about it. Only problem I have had, is while playing the guitar standing up, on of the strap knobs ripped off and basically stripped out the hole to where I can't play the guitar standing up. However, I should be able to fix the problem pretty easily. // 8
Impression: I have been playing for about seven years now and have owned about ten guitars. It is by far my favorite out of any other guitar out there and I would never sell it. I would probably go as far as putting it in a gun safe to make sure nothing happens to it. // 10
Electromatic Pro Jet
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on march 04, 2011 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: C$ 600
Purchased from: Ed's Music
Features: Made in Mexico, mini-humbucker pick-ups, no accessories included, volume and tone knob, Switch for Bridge and next pick ups. Black finish, with Bigsby, semi hollowbody and single cutaway. // 9
Sound: It's really great for any type of music, blues, punk, rock, indie, really anything... there are claims that this guitar can't do metal, but it quite easily handles distortion. Bride and neck pick ups all have a very nice resonating sound, which is what is called the signature Gretsch sound, and I absolutely love it. My only complaint about the sound (about the entire guitar really) is the poor output. I have to double the volume for the Gretsch to get the same sound that I have on my Peavey. I wouldn't let this be a stopper for buying it though, because in my opinion, it just gives me an excuse to reach closer to double digits for volume. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: No complaints here, no factory flaws. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This guitar would be perfect for gigging, but like I said earlier, you are going to have to turn your volume on your amp up to be as loud as you need to be. I would bring a back up to a gig only because of the Bigsby... if you break a string, it can take a while to replace it. // 9
Impression: Like I said, I absolutely love this guitar... the feel of it (it's not very heavy at all), the thumbnail fret markers, the Bigsby is fantastic (you really don't need to worry about it being thrown out of tune unless you really don't know what you're doing... it keeps it's tune remarkably well). The look is one of a kind, and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. My only warning would be if you're planning to play extremely loud, you may want a different guitar, but for gigging it's great, (you really only need to be about double the volume that you usually play at and if you get it and find the output to be a drastic problem, replacing the pick ups shouldn't cost too much). I wouldn't let that stop you from buying it though. It's a great guitar for a great price. To get a Gretsch brand new for only $600 is a great buy, because it delivers that resonating Gretsch sound perfectly. // 9
Electromatic Pro Jet
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on july 20, 2006 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 498
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Sound: I play all types of rock and this guitar is perfect for all of them. At the moment I am using a Marshall Practice Amp because my other one broke but I have to say even with a bad amp like that it still produces an amazing sound. The only problem I have is that since it has such a big wammy bar since mine has the bigspy it picks up radio stations when its in the amp since we live less than a mile from a radio tower. however, I highly doubt it would do that anywhere else. I've also had problems with that with my 1970 Fender Strat. I just think it's my house location. Its not noisy at all which I love because then I can play at 2 in the mourning without waking my parents up. It can sound like anything you want it to. It's somewhat of a bluesy guitar, however, I dont play blues and I fits metal, classic rock and all those others just fine. By the way the whammy on this thing is incredibly sensitive so when u play it you hardly need to bend it. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: When I first got the guitar it kept getting out of tune. But after retuning it 3-4 times it should keep its tune. Besides that it is an incredibly reliable guitar. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I have never played gigs with this so I don't know how well it would withstand a live playing but this is one tough guitar. I have banged this thing around a tone and it seems to hold up pretty well. I would say this is a very dependable guitar. The finish is ok mine has chipped a little here and there which dissapoints me but as long as it keeps producing the same good sound I really dont care. // 9
Impression: When I first saw this guitar it was a used on that they had at the guitar center where someone had replaced the pickups with ones that were far to big for this guitar. It made it so you couldn't pick the high E string so I asked if they had another one and they did and I loved it. If it were stolen I would highly consider getting another one. // 9
Electromatic Pro Jet
Reviewed by:
Livvo, on september 24, 2005 0 of 2 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 549
Purchased from: Bonners
Features: This guitar is Chinese made in 2004. It has twenty two large frets and with a rosewood neck. It has a laminated top in black. I believe it is made out of walnut. It is like a les paul in terms of body shape with a tune-o-matic bridge. It is really heavy in terms of weight, it does hurt your back a bit if you stand up too long. There is one volume and one tone control and one 3 way pickup selector. The humbuckers are 2 mini Gretsch ones. // 7
Sound: I play mostly rock, punk and a bit of metal and when I whack up the distortion on my Marshall it is pretty good, on the bridge humbucker, the neck pickup was a bit weak but I made it stronger by unscrewing the pickup screws. I am using it with a Marshall valvestate 60w, a boss turbo distortion and a small stone phaser, it's not too bad, but when you pay £300 for a guitar what do you expect? It has a little variety; it's not too bad on cleans and thats the same with distortion. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The set up was ok, the volume knob and the tone one were loose so I got the man at the shop to tighten them but apart from that the guitar wa great in terms of set up. I was quite pleased with it. // 8
Reliability & Durability: This guitar chips very easily but it would withstand live playing, it's pretty solid and big. I would gig with it without a back up and the strap buttons are solid, it's a Gretsch, the strap buttons are pretty good. // 8
Impression: I have been playing for four years and I own a Fender Strat and a Tanglewood acoustic. If this guitar was stolen I would not do much but I think I would buy a Les Paul or SG because compared to those guitars it sucks! I just use it as a workhorse and as that it serves its purpose. // 8
its no heavier than a strat. i have them both. but yes a les paul is much better quality for the money. don't get an sg, its just not...well...a les paul.
i just bought it today. its heavy and it is bluesish. sounds great on a marshall or fender, I chose the fender because the marshall the store had was humming too much. the fender sounded much better with this setup.
i got the silver sparkly one and i love it, i only got the silver one cuz it woz the only one they had and id prefer black or summit but the guitar itself is excellent for rhythm and does alright 4 lead
tried to write a review of this but UG wont let me upload it..... so....er.... basically if this guitar was stolen i'd track the man down and stove his face in with this beast of a Gretsch. he's lucky that its chambered to be lighter.....
I just purchased one in black for my 12 year old son from Sam Ash, for the price it was the most guitar for the money. If he stops taking lessons, it would look good as a piece of art on the wall.
Bought one of these today, gold top with out the Bigsby. I have a USA and wanted a humbucker guitar not quite as full on as a Les Paul. It is great, just wanted. Nice rich sound, not to boomy. I know it is a Gretsch, but for a China built lower end model, it really is good and sounds like a Gretsch, if you know what I mean.
I have a 2008 double jet in silver, and I Love it!!!, but I have to say the set up out of the factory wasnt great. Strings were binding on the back edge of the bridge, one fret came loose, the Bigsby isnt a great fit as the guitar has a contoured top, which caused the lower horizontal bar to bend out of shape a little (I dont even use the bigsby much). Had to bend it back and put a washer under the bigsby where it doesnt sit on the body flatly. Three frets up near the body had to be dressed and the nut filed out a bit on 4 strings. played much better after a £45 set up. Despite that, I love it!
