Sterling St. Vincent HH vs Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT
Reasons to Get
Sterling St. Vincent HH over Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT
Reasons to Get
Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT over Sterling St. Vincent HH
Other Key Differences
Sterling St. Vincent HH vs Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT
Shared Features
Sterling St. Vincent HH vs Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT is probably the better product overall with its final score of 68 compared to the Sterling St. Vincent HH's 67 score, although not by a lot.
The Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT wins when it comes to sound, playability, value for the money. On the other hand, the Sterling St. Vincent HH has the upper hand when it comes to build quality.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel that the Sterling St. Vincent HH is easier to play.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Sterling St. Vincent HH is the better choice.
The Sterling St. Vincent HH meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Sterling St. Vincent HH- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Short scale
New Player Friendliness
Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT- Comfortable shape
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Sterling St. Vincent HH Overview
- From Sterling's 2019 Artist series
- St. Vincent Signature
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" Fretboard Radius
- Mahogany body
- Hard Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Vintage Tremolo bridge
- St. Vincent Bolt-On neck
- 22 Narrow Tall frets
- Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT Overview
- From Gretsch's 2020 Electromatic series
- Made in China
- 6 strings
- 24.6"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Arched Maple top
- Mahogany body
- Mahogany neck
- Laurel fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Gretsch Black Top Filter'Tron (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Gretsch Black Top Filter'Tron (Humbucker/Passive)
- 3 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Bigsby-Licensed B50 Vibrato bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 22 Medium Jumbo frets
- Die-Cast tuners
- Weight between 7.6lbs (3.4kgs) and 8.3lbs (3.8kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Woods Used in the Sterling St. Vincent HH
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Woods Used in the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT
There are many types of Laurel, but East Indian is the most common for guitar building. Its color can vary from dark to light brown with black lines. Many people find its tonality similar to Rosewood, which favors the warmer frequencies. Find out more about Laurel.
Winner: Sterling St. Vincent HH.
Pickup Configuration
Both pickup configurations are HH. Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
Pickups Quality
The Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT pickups from a more specialized brand than the Sterling St. Vincent HH. Its pickups should give you a fuller, richer sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Hard Rock and similar genres.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Sterling St. Vincent HH gives you 5 switch options while the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT gives you 3. This means that the Sterling St. Vincent HH gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Sterling St. Vincent HH.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Sterling St. Vincent HH compares to the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Sterling St. Vincent HH is built in Indonesia while the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT is made in China.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
Winner: Sterling St. Vincent HH
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Sterling St. Vincent HH has a Compensated nut. Each hole where the string sits at the nut is cut at a different distance from the bridge, which compensates for the different amount of tension that each string is subject to. This fixes most intonation issues across the fretboard, so it gives great tuning stability.
On the other hand, the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The Sterling St. Vincent HH's brige is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
On the other hand, the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT's is a Bigsby Tremolo. Bigsby tremolos are built differently than regular tremolos. They have a stiffer arm, which is something a lot of people like because the arm won't wiggle around a lot. On the other hand, this type of tremolo is more complicated to restring and it might not be as newbie-friendly as other simpler tremolos.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT.
Tuners
The Sterling St. Vincent HH has the best tuners of the two because they are locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.
Winner: Sterling St. Vincent HH.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The Sterling St. Vincent HH has a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
On the other hand, the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT comes with Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
Winner: Sterling St. Vincent HH.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Sterling St. Vincent HH
- Locking Tuners
- Expensive Wood
- Compensated Nut
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- Made in Indonesia
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT
- Expensive Wood
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Weight Relief
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 41.9mm (1.65''). This is a 1mm (0.038'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Sterling St. Vincent HH has the longest scale: 25.5". The Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT is only 24.6" long. This is a 0.9'' (22.9mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Sterling St. Vincent HH has a C type of neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
The Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT, on the other hand, has a U neck. This is also referred to as ''baseball neck'' because of its shape. It's usually thick, which is why some people with big hands like it. However, they can also be thin, similar to a C shape, but with more shoulders for a better grip.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Sterling St. Vincent HH's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT favors large hands more than the Sterling St. Vincent HH.
Sterling St. Vincent HH:
Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT:
Fret Size
The Sterling St. Vincent HH has Narrow Tall frets, which should be taller than the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT's Medium Jumbo frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
