Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Review & Prices

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Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Review
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  • From Gretsch's 2022 Electromatic series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 29.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Mahogany body
  • Maple neck
  • Laurel fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Gretsch Mini Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Gretsch Mini Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Gretsch V-Stoptail bridge
  • Thin U Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Die-Cast tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 72
Sound 72
Build quality 55
Value for money 71
Overall Score 66
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone
  • Expensive Wood
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $400, which means that the Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone costs around 37% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in China.

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Videos

Gretsch G5260T Jet Baritone - Unboxing/First Impressions and comparisons to the Squier Baritone
Why You NEED A Baritone Guitar | Gretsch G5260 Electromatic
The Best Baritone Guitar On The Block? Gretsch Electromatic Baritone
How Does a Gretsch Sound In Drop G?
TONE CHECK: Gretsch G5260 Baritone Guitar Demo | No Talking
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Your feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Is it Easy to Play?

The Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. 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 to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's 29.75" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Scale Length Comparison
Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is a scale used for baritone guitars, and it's probably one of the longest scales you'll ever encounter. Since the scale is so long, the strings will have a lot of tension. This means that bending will require a lot more strength than with a shorter scale. However, it also allows you to use really low tunings without causing fret buzz and without needing to increase your string gauge too much. Standard tunings on this scale will sound a lot brighter than on a normal guitar.

Neck Profile

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Neck Profile
Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a U type neck. This shape usually has more 'shoulders' than a C neck. It's great for guitarists who love the feel of a vintage neck. Most of them are thick, which makes it better for people with big hands. However, some of them can be thin like a C neck but with more mass to the sides for a better grip.

More for different hand sizes

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone has a 12" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's fretboard radius compared to others

This is the same radius that Gibson uses in most of their guitars. When compare to the other popular radius of Fender Stratocasters, you can see that it's a lot flatter. Guitars with this radius are usually made to bring a good balance between single-note and chord playing.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

29.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.685'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
Asymmetrical Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.6'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.685'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Nut Width
Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Nut Width

The Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone has a nut width of 42.8mm (1.685''). This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

Frets

The Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone has 22 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.

However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Fret Size Comparison
Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's frets are Medium Jumbo size. These sit somewhere between a Jumbo and a Medium fret. They're not quite as tall as a full Jumbo, so you'll still feel the fretboard, but you won't feel it as much as with medium frets. This is a good size if you want to make it easy to press the strings but would also like a little bit of ''feedback'' to know when to stop pressing so the notes don't go out of pitch.

More with the same type of frets:

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 80
Solo Playability 60
Playability 72

Tone Analysis

Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.

Wood

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Body
Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple Neck
Laurel wood pattern used for guitar building
Laurel Fretboard

Mahogany Body: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Maple Neck: This is one of the most popular types of wood used in all kinds of guitars. It's heavy, strong and compact, which makes it great for necks. However, it's also used for fretboards, bodies and tops due to its light color, resistance and beautiful patterns. When it comes to tone, it highlights the mid and high frequencies.

Laurel Fretboard: 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.

More made with the same wood:

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Gretsch. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.

The Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's configuration is HH. With this pickup combination, you'll get warmer tones and more output than using single coils. Humbucker pickups cancel the noise that single-coil suffer from, which also results in a warmer tone. This pickup combination isn't only for high-gain music like Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. Their warmness is also popular for Jazz, Indie, R&B, Blues and more.

More with the same pickups

22 Frets
Fixed Bridge
Gretsch Mini Humbucking Bridge Pickup
Gretsch Mini Humbucking Neck Pickup
22 Frets
Bigsby Tremolo Bridge
Gretsch Mini Humbucking Bridge Pickup
Gretsch Mini Humbucking Neck Pickup
20 Frets
Fixed Bridge
Bridge Pickup
Gretsch Mini Humbucking Neck Pickup

Versatility

It comes with the popular 3-way switch that is present in most guitars. For more versatility, players tend to prefer a 5-way switch, although it all depends on what you want to use your guitar for.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.

Diagram

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone's switch options

What music genre is it good for?

As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with HH configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Hard Rock or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.

Sound Score

Pickups 90
Sustain 75
Versatility 54
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 72

Build Quality Analysis

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone is made in China. So you can expect lower build quality when compared to others made in Korea, Japan or the United States. Guitars made in this country are meant for mass production, which translates into less attention to detail and quality control. This doesn't mean the product is made poorly at all. Chinese products have a bad reputation since long ago, but they've definitely improved a lot the last few years.

Bridge

Gretsch V-Stoptail: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

More with the same type of bridge:

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone has a Synthetic Bone nut. One of the best nuts you can have is a Bone nut thanks to their rich tonality and resistance. The problem is that they're a natural material, so different bone nuts will have inconsistent tonal properties. In other words, one bone nut might not sound as well as the other even when they're made from the same piece. Synthetic bone helps with this by giving you a high-quality, consistent nut that resembles the tone produced by bone.

More with the same nut material:

Neck Joint

The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.

This guitar has a Bolt-On neck joint. Even though this type of neck was looked down upon for a long time, nowadays bolt-on necks are well built and provide just as much sustain as any other join method. First of all, it's cheap to make because it consists of simply 4 bolts that attach the neck to the body. And you can travel with the guitar more easily, swap out the neck if you damage it, or upgrade to a more comfortable neck later on.

More with the same build:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 56
Features 50
Quality Control 60
Build Quality 55

All Specs

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone
General
Brand: Gretsch
Year: 2022
Configuration: HH
Strings: 6
Made in: China
Series: Electromatic
Colors: Blue, Brown, Brown Burst, Red, Gray
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Solid Body
Body Material: Mahogany
Bridge: Gretsch V-Stoptail
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On
Tuners: Die-Cast
Fretboard: Laurel
Neck Material: Maple
Decoration: Pearloid Big Block
Scale Size: 29.75"
Shape: Thin U
Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Nut: Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 42.8mm (1.685'')
Electronics
Switch: 3 Way
Knobs: Dome
Volume Controls: 1
Tone Controls: 1
Bridge Pickup: Gretsch Mini Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Gretsch Mini Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive)

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