Gretsch Electromatic Bass

It may be cheap but it doesn't play cheap.

Not an entirely clean signal. What to expect from a sub $300 bass. Has some growl and good output levels so I'm not complaining.

Was good for about 18 months then needed some fine tuning on the bridge. New strings helped a lot too.

Very solid bass. Lighter and smaller means less fatigure during long jam sessions or playing out.

I primarily have used this for home recording and it's awesome. Had used it for live jams as well, and it played fine through an amp. Lots of boom and clarity, and even a little growl if you play it a little on the hard side. New strings are a must.

Got one of these as a gift about 6 years ago. Its a single mini humbucker pickup short scale bass with a Plywood body. The neck is great it feels like a Gibson neck. Its got a translucent black finish with a fender type bridge. Tuners are good but mine are needing replacement soon due to heavey useage.

Even though its a laminate plywood body the sound and action is where it excells. This is a great recording bass. Because of its hi output pickup you can plug it directly into a sound card and it records great. With a preamp its even better. Very Deep sound with just enough highs. I put a second Jazz bass pickup in the trebble position. I also put a cap on it in series to give it a rickenbacker sound in the trebble position. Annother pickup would have been better like a EMG passive bass humbucker pickup. The routing was real easy because as I said the body is plywood. I can add some His to the sound now to have it push through when needed.

The neck has very fast action. It plays better with mediun to heavy strings VS Light strings. I plan on refretting mine soon which wont cost much because I'll be doing the job myself. Being a short scale the Intonation is much more critical then a full scale. I found by using stiffer strings either harder metal or thicker gauges it plays better in all positions. The light strings make the low E sound like crap. I played this one out alot because its very light and doesnt fatigue me like my heavier bases do.

Good solid bade bass will be with me a long time. Its always pretty much in tune and can play a whole night without having to retune. I do my own adjustments especially when changing strings. The frets are wearing faster than most but the stainless steel strings like rotos account for most of that plus hard playing doesnt help on any bass.
Definately a road worthy bass that doesnt hum and is great for really fast parts and super deep floor moving notes.

NA

Playing 38 years. Wanted annother short scale bass for a long time. Had a Gibson EBO during the 70s/80s. I'm mostly a guitar player but it seems I make more money playing Bass these days. What I like about this one is my hands dont get so stiff streaching riffs like they do on my precision or jazz bass. I can write riffs fast in this one cause its easier to get around on. Overall these are hard to find now that theyre out of manufacture. If youre a guitar player with a recording setup, This may be the one you want. although Ibanez has a short scale out now for around $200 which bay be a good runner up. The short scale fenders arent so good from what I hear.

I got this little beauty about two weeks ago, MIC. I'm not sure about the year, but it had to be a while ago- Gretsch hasn't been making them new for a long time. It's shortscal, 22-fretted, and solidtop. There's a humbucker in the middle position, and you get a tone knob in addition to volume.

This is a guitar of dualities. Rolling back on the tone knob gives a warm, woody throb that overdrives well. Pushing forwards and digging in produces a resonant, nasal bark that does it even better. There are some slight variances- for example, you can coax out sort of an oversaturation or get a Jazz-like quack- but there's not a lot of tonal variety. It picks quality over quantity.

Factory action was almost literally unplayable. It would buzz on open strings. The intonation seemed fine after a couple of adjustments, and I've had no problem with the bridge, nut, tuners or knobs. The finish is a beautiful grey burst, and it looks great on what could be mistaken for a Les Paul Jr. I got it nicked, but after five-plus years of handling, I would be surprised if it was still mint.

This thing is SOLID. It's been dropped down a flight of stairs and kicked repeatedly, and it's still almost perfect.

I haven't tried it yet, but I feel like I should emphasize that the Gretsch site is horrible. It's like one big magazine ad, except you have to wait for the pictures to load.

Incredibly solid. Great at what it does, even if that isn't much. Looks amazing. Change the action as soon as you can.

This bass was made in taiwan, which I was a little wary of. I went into Guitar Center with the intention of buying a Fender Jazz Bass - probably Mexican made, but still a good solid bass - I played those as well as a few Ibanez models, but I was really impressed with the way this bass sounded and felt! I believe it has 19 frets, it's a four string, the fretboard did look really dry and cheap to me, but that's nothing some conditioner can't help. There's a mini humbucker and a volume as well as tone knob, it's got a Les Paul body with a white pearl pickguard, as well as the pick-burst - black with a grey wood grain veneer. It looks like the body is solid-through, which is nice.
I'm really little and this is a good bass for girls as well as beginners - it provides easier access to the higher frets, as well and manuverability.

I'm playing rockabilly right now, which this is really well suited for - I played it through a custom Randall with rackmounted Ampeg preamp - it sounded rich and full even through that heavy metal amp!
The main reason I bought it was the contrast between the treble and bass - the treble is really bright and brassy - kind of that new string sound, and the bass is really warm - I don't know if it would sound warm without the tube amp, but I imagine so..

The factory action was really low - I prefer mine meduim to high to avoid fret noise. Another feature I liked about this bass were the tuning pegs - they can be tightened through the middle and are contained within their casing, as opposed to the Fender models with the open cogs - they tend to loosen up and buzz. Everything seemed to be fine on my model - the veener is solid throughout - my model that I purchased has a nick taken out of the back, but I got a sweet discount because of it, and I'm sure I'll nick the whole thing up, eventually.

I imagine it will withstand the test of time - it seems to be really solid for how small it is - the only thing I would reccomend is to condition the fretboard continously - it seems to be really chintsy. The strap buttons are solid, the input jack is really well made for the price - it's stayed tight the entire time.

I really don't like the Gretsch website - it was unhelpful regarding this model, but I'm sure that I won't have to deal with them very often at all.

I've been playing a fretless for a long time and I was really hesitant about buying another bass (my band requested it) - again, it held it's own against models that were twice it's price - I even played the Synchromatic model of this bass and the only difference I could see was the toggle switch - more tone control, but it's unnecessary for me. As a girl, I'm really pleased with the way this bass handles. It fits me well, without sacrificing tone.

Bought New (on sale!) at chain store for $200, no case. I got the parts company off Gretsch's website and ordered a OHSC no prob for another $80. (am still awaiting delivery, very good customer srvice over the phone)
Very bassic (sorry!) set-up, ONE mini humbucker, located at center, a la Precision; gives nice tone (not too harsh or boomy), simple Bridge with individual saddles adjustable for height & intonation. Maple bolt on neck, rosewood board (looks like a cheap veneer). Tuners are sealed die cast, two per side. Web site says "Laminated" body wood; the grain showing just barely through the black paint shows no seams, finished very nicely, bass looks much nicer than it should at this price. Oddly, the neck/headstock seam is not only visible but easy to feel with your fretting hand thumb! No big deal. Nice pearly pick guard, (Les Paul Jr/Special style shape & vibe), output jack on body edge (not a cheap top mount like most at this price point), master tone & vol (nice Gibson style speed knobs). Simple, light (7 1/2 pounds!) and effective. Gave it a 7 because it is not very versatile (tone pot is the typical cheapo - treble from 10 to 4, full on Mud from 3 to 1) but it does what it does quite well.

I fell in love with the looks of this little bass, and as a guitarist/sometimes bassist I had to try it as I am partial to short scale models. This looks and feels quite small (the website lists it at 29 3/4", not 30"), 1 5/8" at nut, neck is slender and smooth for this price range. Frets are nicely finished medium jumbo.
I returned to the store a few days later and gave it a unplugged thrashing in the "quiet" room. I was a little disappointed by the rubbery "bloing" typical of this scale size. I was about to put it back on the wall and forget about it but instead plugged it in. Wow! Sounds great! Very full and even all over the neck! I compared it to various Mexican Fenders on the wall costing up to $400 and this little pipsqueak blew them all away. Out came the credit Card!
Other than the tightness of their longer scales and the versatility of multiple pickups, the other basses could not compare. Again, a 7 because short scales are not for everyone. But if you thump a al upright or play driving rock, punk, etc with a pick this is great! Much cooler than say a Epiphone EB-0 in the same price range!

Plays extremely well for this price; Great beginner's bass, for small hands and short limbs. I am 5'8" with medium sized hands and this feels very comfy standing or sitting. balances well, no flaws, no complaints. You will not want to slap pop or perform acrobatics on this but it whips any other bass of this type I've tried.

I feel it would hold up fine over normal use. The bridge looks a little flimsy but it could probably be replaced easily enough. Only the Fret board looks a bit cheesy to me; however I imagine if it lasts five to ten years (which I imagine it would) that's pretty damn good for $200! Plus you can replace the neck!

So Far so good.

Primarily a guitarist, I do use a long scale bass (gibson EB3-L) and prefer its sound but these short scales are cool for zooming around with a pick. This is a nice toy for me, good for projects and jamming. It fits in a guitar gig bag and is great to toe around to studios, etc, even though I have owned nice light 34" fenders this one is so small and convenient for transporting. I would recommend you also look for Gretsch's upmarket Synchromatic model; they are both on the web and look identical in specs, so I have no idea why one is the lesser model. It might be worth your time to investigate, especially if thsi will be your main/only instrument. For a few dollars more the Synch may be a much better deal. But this one is more than adequate, overall I highly recommend it!! It is a one trick pony, very old school but great vibe and surprisingly good sound & operation. For the record I played the Electromatic line of guitars and was very unimpressed. They looked great but felt & sounded very cheap; This bass seemed to offer much better bang for the bucks somehow (perhaps I am less critical of basses being a guitarist?)

Made in Korea,2000.Nice little bass if you want a short scale (30")without spending a ton of money.They can be bought on the 'net for less,but when I saw it I had to have it.This one has 2 PU's,mini Humbuckers;1 each volume and tone;pickup selector.Don't know body wood,but it is very light weight;neck is smooth,slim and fast.Setup as bought was fine,haven't changed it.Strings were good too,but I restrung with TI Jazz Flats.No 'mud',maybe a little 'boomy';good trditional bass sound.Can't give it a 10 because it only comes 1 color;'blackburst'.Wish they offered some color choices.If you are a big guy (or girl/woman),try it first.Really good for players with small frames or small hands (like me).

Suits my style fine,which is a variety-blues;classic rock;some country.I don't think Flea or Jaco would pick this one.I played it thru a '66 Bassman and a Peavey Musician,sounded good.Have gotten no noise out of it-no static or hum at all.I'd say it has a full/warm sound;playing with the pickups and tone control makes it somewhat brighter.Another tone or volume control might would be an improvement;but it don't got 'em ,so who knows.I really like seperate tone/volume for each pickup;just my personal preference,but I can get the sound I want out of this one.I'm not presently playing out,but I would gig with it,no problem.

The bass was actually setup real well,even in tune.I bought it as a display at a local music store;other than a few fingerprints,found no flaws. I took it home,plugged it up,and started playing.Fit and finish is fine,have found no problems so far.The blackburst is not my favorite,but only color they come.

I can't see any reason it wouldn't stand gigging as well as any other.Hardware,strap buttons seem OK.Finish is nice and smooth;how it will last,who knows.I don't think anybody puts a lot of paint on their guitars anymore.Was impressed with it in general;being made in Korea I was expecting some flaws of some kind.Gretsch has been known for quality since day one;maybe they have a hand in quality control in Wokduc or wherever they build basses in Korea.

Haven't had to deal with them as yet;I gave 'em an 8 based solely on their reputation.The guys at the store I got it at were great;they plugged it (and some other basses)up and handed 'em to me to try.Didn't rush me at all(nice surprise).

I've been playing (off and on)for 30 years.Recently traded Peavey T-40(bought new in '77,nice bass,hernia maker);also own a 32" scale Precision and a ??P-bass copy,30" scale.If it were stolen or lost,I'd buy another one just like it.Overall,I really like it,no real complaints except for the Model T deal;any color,as long as it's black.White,red,silver,even turquoise would look good if they offered it.I also played an Epi SG;I know everybody says they are a cheap POS but it played well and the main reason I didn't buy the Epi was the one PU.9 for no choice of colors