Gretsch has announced the latest addition to its affordable Streamliner electric guitar range – and it might just be the lineup’s sleekest-looking model yet.
As per Gretsch tradition, the 2604T Streamliner Rally II Center Block Double-Cut with Bigsby might not have a model name that runs off the tongue, but its aesthetics are sure to have guitarists drooling nonetheless.
The tastiest addition to the company’s timeless double-cut silhouette is the Plexi pickguard and truss rod cover, which are adorned with vintage-style striping.
Those stripes are color-coordinated to their respective rock ’n’ roll finish: a creamy yellow stripe for Two-Tone Bamboo Yellow/Copper Metallic and Two-Tone Oxblood and Walnut Stain; while Rally Green Stain gets a matching green number.
The Rally II is also notable as the only model in the current Streamliner lineup to feature Gretsch’s Super Hilo’Tron pickups, a relatively low-output, vintage-styled set that promises brilliant highs and mellow lows in comparison with the punchier, modern-voiced Broad’Trons usually found in the range.
Those pickups are controlled via some neat Gretsch G-Arrow radio control knobs, which adjust the usual neck volume, bridge volume, master tone and master volume.
Elsewhere, it’s business as usual, with a spec sheet in line with the rest of the Streamliner double-cuts. So, you get a 16” arched maple body with chambered mahogany center block and Bigsby V70 vibrato, while the laurel fingerboard features a 12”-radius fingerboard for more contemporary playability. The Neo-Classic Thumbnail inlays add yet more aesthetic flair here, too.
Given the aesthetic tweaks, Super Hilo’Tron pickups and the limited-edition status of the model, there is a small price hike over the guitar’s stablemates – the Rally II clocks in at $699, positioning it somewhere between the budget Streamliner lineup and the mid-priced Electromatics.
Mercifully, the G2604T Streamliner Rally II Center Block Double-Cut with Bigsby isn’t available until May 2023, so you’ve got a few months to get saving…
