Gretsch Guitars Gretsch Tennessean Hollow Body with String-Thru Bigsby and Nickel Hardware Electric Guitar Havana Burst
The Tennessean is Gretsch's modern take on a '60s classic, now with Arc-Tone bracing for feedback control and PRO-FT Filter'Tron pickups for enhanced punch. Guitar World called it "beautifully built" with "brilliant sounds from shimmering cleans to snarling driven tones."
Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Guitar World 4.5/5 review praised the Arc-Tone bracing system for enhancing sustain and feedback control while retaining hollow body openness
- +PRO-FT Filter'Tron humbuckers with Alnico 2 (neck) and Alnico 5 (bridge) deliver authentic Gretsch tone with modern punch and projection
- +String-thru Bigsby B6CP design is far easier to use than traditional ball-end-on-peg systems
- +Torrefied maple tone bars with spruce bracing provide excellent note attack and definition
- +Rolled fingerboard edges, Luminlay side dots, and compound radius make it play like a modern guitar
Cons
- −Zero community reviews means no real-world user validation at the $2,800 price point
- −Deeper body than a Les Paul means more weight and bulk despite being a hollow body
- −Master volume on the cutaway horn is a love-it-or-hate-it control layout from vintage models
- −Still a hollow body—feedback is better controlled than vintage models but not eliminated
The Verdict
Gretsch did their homework on this one. The Arc-Tone bracing solves the biggest problem with vintage hollow bodies (uncontrollable feedback) without killing the acoustic voice, and those Filter’Trons are legitimately punchy. The 90 EJ Score is critic-driven since there are no community reviews, but Guitar World’s 4.5/5 carries weight. At $2,800 you’re getting Japanese build quality, thoughtful modern updates, and that classic Gretsch jangle. If you play anything from rockabilly to indie rock and need a guitar that won’t feed back the second you turn up, this is your move.
