Gretsch G5022CBFE Rancher Falcon Jumbo

I bought this guitar as I wanted a new Jumbo bodied acoustic with pickup, but couldn’t afford to spend a fortune on a Gibson J200.. I bought this to replace and upgrade my old trusted Epiphone EJ200 that ive played to death (loved that guitar).
I’m delighted with my new Gretsch rancher Black falcon.
The guitar sounds lovely but really comes alive when plugged in. The finish is stunning with its black body and gold falcon trimmings and scratch plate.
The guitar is surprisingly light, noticeably lighter than my Epiphone Ej200. Played really well out of the box but did require a slight neck adjustment and intonation check, but no big deal. The finish is gorgeous but has got a few slight pooling blemishes along the side of the frets at the highest point but not really noticeable and no big deal.
The negatives I should point out are the silly Gretsch strap buttons / locks that if you tighten up thinking that its securing the button, it unscrews the opposite end away from the body, mine twisted out on day 1... I got a luthier to glue it in place and use it like a regular button. The built in tuner is not very good, so i use a clip on.. over all though, amazing guitar for the price. I strongly recommend and it makes you stand out from the crowd.

It's a sound guitar, bit of a high action from the factory, so will need a luthier's touch for the saddle especially. The strap cap on the back is not very secure, the one on the front is good. Bought it for it's visual appeal and good overall sound, although for a jumbo guitar expected just a bit more in the sound section when not plugged in. Very respectable guitar, would recommend.

Having previously owned an Epiphone J-200 EC Studio but having switched to an Epiphone DR-500MC because it simply sounds warm and plays wonderfully, I still missed the bulky feel of a jumbo acoustic. This Gretsch gives me back all of that feel and more with beautiful weighting and size, the desired volume projection, and a nicely balanced full tone range across the board (I'd say slightly better than the Epiphone Jumbo acoustic if not quite as warm as the DR-500MC in the mid-tones).

In terms of looks, I was initially a little wary of how flashy it looked with all the gold, but it's far less prominent than it might seem when looked at straight on when you're playing -- and the other aspects like the triangle soundhole and semi-circle fret markers are simply incredibly cool and attractive stand-out features. to balance out that "flashiness"

For the price it's simply a phenomenal beautiful beast of a guitar that I'd wholly recommend