Best Electromatic/Streamliner for slide, Joey Landreth-style

[feedmybongos]

Hi guys,

My first post on the forum. Hope it's in the right place!

Lately, I've been really inspired by the music, playing, philosophy, and general awesomeness of Joey Landreth. It's opened up a world of guitar playing hitherto unknown to me, and that I'm keen to dive into.

As a result, I'm looking to buy a Gretsch guitar specifically for slide, and set it up how Joey has his (because obviously that'll make me sound like him ). That set up, roughly speaking is:

• Standard scale length (i.e. not baritone)
• Tuned to open C (CGCEGc)
• 19-64 gauge strings (apparently equivalent to a set of .013s in E standard tuning)

I'm going to get the guitar professionally set up this way, including cutting the nut slots, so I'd like to try and get the best possible guitar for the job before I render it unreturnable!

Usual guitar forum disclaimer: I know that it's ultimately a matter of taste and sound. However, I have terrible taste, and I'm not in a position to try loads of guitars before pulling the trigger.

I'd be really grateful for any wisdom or guidance on things to look for/avoid, or even just reassurance that I should go for the one that, you know, looks the coolest.

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I've mainly played Strats to date, in case that's relevant...

 

[feedmybongos]

Sorry – think I've put this in the wrong place. Can't work out how to delete it!

 

[cielski]

Sorry – think I've put this in the wrong place. Can't work out how to delete it!

Hi. How's it goin'?
I can't help much with the guitar questions you have.
There are many Gretsch models that range from solid bodies to chambered to center block to semi and full hollow bodies. Then, there are many pickup possibilities. Your best choice is to go to a quality dealer/store and try out as many as you can. Your ears are the ultimate judge.
Sounds like you need a good luthier once you've settled on a particular model of guitar.

As to the delete issue---we need a delete button desperately, but my pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears.

 

[feedmybongos]

Hi. How's it goin'?
I can't help much with the guitar questions you have.
There are many Gretsch models that range from solid bodies to chambered to center block to semi and full hollow bodies. Then, there are many pickup possibilities. Your best choice is to go to a quality dealer/store and try out as many as you can. Your ears are the ultimate judge.
Sounds like you need a good luthier once you've settled on a particular model of guitar.

As to the delete issue---we need a delete button desperately, but my pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears.

Thank you for your reply and the advice. A good luthier is definitely in order – I looked at buying the nut files and doing it myself but it's cheaper to get a professional to do it!

 

[Shock]

Me personally, I have my slide sound, which is TV Jones Setzers through a hollowbody. Bring you slide to the music store and try a few out. See what works (sounds) best. I think a Jet may be best for what you are looking for.

 

[epimetheus81]

Usual guitar forum disclaimer: I know that it's ultimately a matter of taste and sound. However, I have terrible taste, and I'm not in a position to try loads of guitars before pulling the trigger.

If this is the case, then folks will need more details to help you narrow it down. The couple times I’ve seen Joey (those appearances on TPS), he’s had what looks like a hollow or semi-hollow double cut Collings, I believe. If you’re looking at electromatics and streamliners then that would be a 5422, 2622, 5622 or 2655. I have a Korean model 5422 that I love and most others do too.

You’ll need to try them to check the feel of the neck and playability for you. I went with the electromatic over a nice streamliner because it had a slightly thicker neck that was easier for me to play.

Where should I start to get into Joey’s music?

 

[stiv]

I mostly played slide with all my guitars (6120, Rally, SG, Kay, Bruno Regal, Loar and Recording King that now are gone) and I have to say there’s no perfect match. I never listened to Joey Landreth (does he have any relationship with Sonny? He is one I know well…). Probably P90s are the perfect pickups to play slide for me, but also lipsticks aren’t bad. It depends how classic you want to play… lipstick are better for clean, accurate slide licks, p90s for raw, delta style slide. I’m not a fan of Dynas (too bright, they’re re pretty difficult to use properly unless you’re playing with fingers only, no pick or thumbpick) and I never tried Filtertrons or Humbuckers so I can’t tell, but I suspect I’d like HB more as they have more growl and they’re darker, a thing that really works with slide as bottlenecks have a lot of attack and brightness).
For blues rock I’m better suited with my SG (or any solid body), for something more traditional a hollow body could give you that “air” that mixes electric and acoustic sound.
I don’t know about Joey, but Sonny Landreth mostly played a Strat, so in that case I’d probably choose a solid body Streamliner Junior Jet with P90 on neck position. With that you could be after Allman and Trucks.
If you would want a hollow, I think that a thinner body would work better than a big body. I’d go with a Streamliner 2622 with fixed V tailpiece, that’s pretty similar to a 335 and would sustain a pretty high action without problems.
Big hollows are better for a Elmore James type of sound, but I don’t think you’re after it.

 

[nickurso]

Check out a corvette for me they are great slide guitars

Gretsch G5135-CVT Electromatic Corvette with Bigsby 2006 - 2020 | Reverb

This modern recreation of the Gretsch G5135 CVT Corvette has a solid mahogany body with mahogany neck. It comes stock with a Bigsby tailpiece and Adjusto-Matic bridge.

reverb.com

 

[feedmybongos]

S

Me personally, I have my slide sound, which is TV Jones Setzers through a hollowbody. Bring you slide to the music store and try a few out. See what works (sounds) best. I think a Jet may be best for what you are looking for.

Sounds like a good plan. You're not the first person to recommend a Jet, so I'll definitely check one out – thank you.

 

[feedmybongos]

If this is the case, then folks will need more details to help you narrow it down. The couple times I’ve seen Joey (those appearances on TPS), he’s had what looks like a hollow or semi-hollow double cut Collings, I believe. If you’re looking at electromatics and streamliners then that would be a 5422, 2622, 5622 or 2655. I have a Korean model 5422 that I love and most others do too.

You’ll need to try them to check the feel of the neck and playability for you. I went with the electromatic over a nice streamliner because it had a slightly thicker neck that was easier for me to play.

Where should I start to get into Joey’s music?

Thanks for your reply. Yeah it was the red Collings I35 that set me off on this journey – no way I can afford one of those, so I started looking at Epiphone hollows and semi-hollows, but quickly stumbled upon the Gretsch 2622/5622 and just thought they looked killer! I guess neck feel is a big part of it, so I'll try to get my hands on some and see what jumps out...

I got hooked on Joey's music by two songs in particular. The first was 'Our Love', which is the first track off the Brothers Landreth album Let It Lie. Great tune, great slide playing, and a window into just how multi-talented he is as a player, singer, songwriter. That band also has Ariel Posen in, who I'm just started to get into a bit more.

The second was Joey's rendition of 'Hallelujah I Love Her So' by Ray Charles – video here. If the link doesn't work, just search "joey landreth hallelujah i love her so" on YouTube and it's likely to be the first result: he's wearing check shirt and playing the red Collings. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

 

[feedmybongos]

I mostly played slide with all my guitars (6120, Rally, SG, Kay, Bruno Regal, Loar and Recording King that now are gone) and I have to say there’s no perfect match. I never listened to Joey Landreth (does he have any relationship with Sonny? He is one I know well…). Probably P90s are the perfect pickups to play slide for me, but also lipsticks aren’t bad. It depends how classic you want to play… lipstick are better for clean, accurate slide licks, p90s for raw, delta style slide. I’m not a fan of Dynas (too bright, they’re re pretty difficult to use properly unless you’re playing with fingers only, no pick or thumbpick) and I never tried Filtertrons or Humbuckers so I can’t tell, but I suspect I’d like HB more as they have more growl and they’re darker, a thing that really works with slide as bottlenecks have a lot of attack and brightness).
For blues rock I’m better suited with my SG (or any solid body), for something more traditional a hollow body could give you that “air” that mixes electric and acoustic sound.
I don’t know about Joey, but Sonny Landreth mostly played a Strat, so in that case I’d probably choose a solid body Streamliner Junior Jet with P90 on neck position. With that you could be after Allman and Trucks.
If you would want a hollow, I think that a thinner body would work better than a big body. I’d go with a Streamliner 2622 with fixed V tailpiece, that’s pretty similar to a 335 and would sustain a pretty high action without problems.
Big hollows are better for a Elmore James type of sound, but I don’t think you’re after it.

Thanks for replying. AFAIK, Joey isn't meaningfully related to Sonny (like, not father/son/uncle) but I seem to remember hearing in an interview that they are distantly related somehow. Apparently, Joey's dad is a luthier and respected musician so he's got some pedigree!

Interesting what you say about P90s – that's sort of where I'm leaning at the moment, though I've found a secondhand 5622 in walnut stain that looks amazing, so I'm weighing up the pros/cons of Broadtrons vs P90s. I'm also curious to know what difference, if any, a Bigsby would make to the slide playing and that kind of tuning/tension...

 

[feedmybongos]

Check out a corvette for me they are great slide guitars

Gretsch G5135-CVT Electromatic Corvette with Bigsby 2006 - 2020 | Reverb

This modern recreation of the Gretsch G5135 CVT Corvette has a solid mahogany body with mahogany neck. It comes stock with a Bigsby tailpiece and Adjusto-Matic bridge.

reverb.com

Thanks for this tip – they look like great guitars. At the moment, I can't see any on Reverb/eBay that are in my price range, but I'll keep my eyes peeled!

 

[Ricochet]

AFAIK, Joey isn't meaningfully related to Sonny (like, not father/son/uncle) but I seem to remember hearing in an interview that they are distantly related somehow. Apparently, Joey's dad is a luthier and respected musician so he's got some pedigree!

Sonny played on Wally(?) Landreth's(Joey's dad) album. They're related in the sense of if you go back far enough in time, everyone is related to well... everyone.

 

[stiv]

Thanks for replying. AFAIK, Joey isn't meaningfully related to Sonny (like, not father/son/uncle) but I seem to remember hearing in an interview that they are distantly related somehow. Apparently, Joey's dad is a luthier and respected musician so he's got some pedigree!

Interesting what you say about P90s – that's sort of where I'm leaning at the moment, though I've found a secondhand 5622 in walnut stain that looks amazing, so I'm weighing up the pros/cons of Broadtrons vs P90s. I'm also curious to know what difference, if any, a Bigsby would make to the slide playing and that kind of tuning/tension...

I’ve had Broadtrons in my 5220 Jet, they don’t sound bad but they always sounded kind of odd to me, considering I bought that guitar in the first place for a certain grade of Great Gretsch Sound… . I never tried them with my slide so I can’t tell, everybody say that they’re more humbucker-sounding that filtetron-sounding, so they may do alright considering the sound you’re after.
As for Bigsby, for my playing style (I’m more a Delta/Prewar/Folk blues lover than a rock blues lover) is almost totally useless, apart for the fact that longer strings and more tension seem to increase brightness and harmonics… like I said, brightness and slide are a bit of a double-sided weapon. On one side, brightness is good for clarity when you play chords or open strings, on the other side all the bottlenecks I tried (plastic/glass/stainless steel/brass/copper, my favorite) it seem somewhat to enhance brightness on their own, so there’s always a fine line between bright and squeaking that you don’t want to cross.
Probably string-through or tuneomatic bridges (shorter strings) give better results, but in the end is all related on which style you play/you like.
I’m a Son House fan. And although they both play slide, there’s a “bit” of difference style wise between him and Duane Allman.,,

 

[RatRod Gentleman]

+ 1 for TVJ seltzers for slide.

With slide though there kinda aren’t rules, or they should be bent. Theoretically a solid body should have superior sustain. High action makes it easier, thick strings adds tone and open tuning gives you better access to scales and chords.. I’m not Derek Trucks by a long long margin but I thread the brass on and slide on a hollow body with 10s in standard tuning for half our live set and play bar chords on the same geet in the next song. For me the bigsby helps as I can get close to a note and use it as a vibrato to blur the edges of said note but keep the brass still. And I rarely mute strings eek: the humanity!!). Most good slide players don’t appear to follow convention in my opinion.

Fwiw I play a 5410 Ratrod (thin) and run an Origin Effects Cali76 stacked pedal.

Get a Gretsch that makes you feel something when u pick it up. They’ll all play slide.

 

[stiv]

Yeah, playing in standard tuning of course it’s a completely different ball park where all the advices I wrote wouldn’t necessarily apply. Of course for me slide is open tuning (mostly G and D) and when I need to play regular chords I just tune the high E to D and I’m good.
Different styles, different ideas.

 

[nickurso]

Thanks for this tip – they look like great guitars. At the moment, I can't see any on Reverb/eBay that are in my price range, but I'll keep my eyes peeled!

Yes just keep looking. The megatron pick ups work great for slide. The guitar is light and a double cut away so full access up the neck

 

[epimetheus81]

The second was Joey's rendition of 'Hallelujah I Love Her So' by Ray Charles – video here. If the link doesn't work, just search "joey landreth hallelujah i love her so" on YouTube and it's likely to be the first result: he's wearing check shirt and playing the red Collings. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Just sat there staring at his left hand going, “don’t be mad, just practice…”. Awesome work on that one.

 

[feedmybongos]

Just a quick update: I went into Andertons in Guildford (UK) and tried a bunch of different guitars, albeit in more or less standard tuning with standard string gauges. The one that I really bonded with in terms of feel and sound was a G2215-P90, in Sahara Metallic. Walked in with my pack of ludicrously heavy strings, paid for the guitar, and left both with their tech department for a full set-up with the new strings. Should be picking it up in a week or two! Thank you to everyone for the warm welcomes and the advice. Much appreciated. I have a feeling this won't be the last Gretsch I buy...