MusicRadar Verdict
Summary review: Offering retro looks combined with modern playability, the Gretsch CVT Double-Cut packs a lot of punch sonically, and just as much when it comes to value.
Pros
- +
Cool Gretsch styling on a budget
- +
Solid humbucker tones that work for many rock sub-genres
- +
No-fuss design and features
Cons
- -
Factory setup needed a tweak
- -
It's not the most versatile of guitars
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What is it?
Picture a Gretsch, and you’re likely imagining a chrome-laden big-box hollowbody guitar like the White Falcon or 6120. But, amongst the Bigsby vibratos and quiffs, it’s easy to overlook that Gretsch has a rich pedigree in solidbody designs too. Indeed, its doublecut Jet formed the backbone of classic rock in the hands of AC/DC’s Malcolm Young, and another beloved Gretsch solidbody design is the Corvette.
First introduced in 1961, its popularity has fluctuated ever since. Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump gave the Corvette a boost in the '00s, with his three-pickup Stump-O-Matic, and most recently, producer Jack Antonoff set the tills alight with his Princess Antonoff model, derived from the Corvette’s outline.
Now, the design returns, revised with dual humbuckers to the Gretsch catalogue under the CVT moniker, offering an affordable Electromatic take on the Corvette for 2025.
Specs
- Launch price: $414/£499/€549
- Made: China
- Type: Six-string electric guitar
- Body: Mahogany
- Neck: Mahogany, Performance C
- Fingerboard: Laurel
- Scale length: 24.6 inches/625mm
- Nut/width: Graph Tech Nu Bone / 42.86mm
- Frets: 22, medium jumbo
- Hardware: Die-cast sealed tuners, wraparound bridge/tailpiece with intonation adjustment, nickel finish
- String spacing at bridge: 52mm
- Electrics: 2x Twin Six humbuckers, master volume, master tone, three-position selector switch
- Weight: 7.27lb/3.3kg
- Options: None
- Left-handed options: No
- Finishes: Wychwood [pictured], Vintage White, Havana Burst
- Cases: No
- Contact: Gretsch
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★☆
The CVT Double-Cut proposition lies somewhere between a Strat and an SG: a dual-humbucker-loaded, double-cutaway mahogany body meets a bolt-on, mahogany neck with a six-a-side headstock. It looks a bit like it was dreamed up by The Jetsons, and for this review, Gretsch sent the CVT in Whychwood finish - an eye-catching forest green ’burst that echoes the hues of an old school Silverburst after a few years.
The body features carved bevels around the majority of the silhouette, tapering in towards the lower bout on both sides and offering some extra dimension visually, while also serving as comfort contours on both sides of the body.
The finishing has been completed nicely, with the ’burst transitioning smoothly from black at the edge to the swampy green main event, and paired with the black-over-white two-ply scratchplate it looks like a guitar punching above its price tag.
That is, with the exception of a shallow, hairline crack in the finish around the heel - something that is becoming a common complaint on review guitars at this price. That said, I had to look pretty carefully to find it, and it appears to be in the clear top coat rather than extending to through the paint job, so there’s every chance that a bit of careful polishing could diminish it further.
The laurel fingerboard is inlaid with crescent-shaped pearloid Neo-Classic ‘thumbnails’, and at the headstock, there’s an inlaid Gretsch logo, all of which have been applied tidily.
Hardware-wise, there’s a set of Gretsch’s sealed, die-cast tuners which feel sturdy and responsive, while at the other end sits a wraparound bridge/tailpiece combo. It’s chunky without feeling over-engineered, and, rather than being pre-compensated, also features adjustment for intonation.
The controls feel quality too, weighty and fastened with grub screws, the pot knobs stay put, and the all-metal selector switch satisfyingly clunks into each of its three positions assertively.
Playability
Playability rating: ★★★★☆
Out of the box, the CVT came with an action that was a little higher than average, measuring around 2.35mm on the bass side and 2mm on the treble side at the 12th fret. Of course, this is entirely personal and a higher action isn’t necessarily a negative point to ever player, but, with a quick glance down the neck I could see there was a fair amount of relief in the neck. The truss rod is easily accessed by removing the cover at the headstock end, and a half-turn or so later, the strings sat at a more comfortable height, with room to move without buzzing.
Unlike the ‘vintage’ 7.25-inch radius of Jack Antonoff’s signature model, the CVT Double-Cut features a more modern 12-inch radius, giving plenty of space to execute choke-free string bends.
The neck itself is cut to a ‘Performance C’ shape, which feels very similar to my Fender Player Strat, offering a comfortable playing experience throughout. This is aided by the curved heel at the neck join which, in combination with the shallow and wide cutaways provides easy access to the upper frets.
It’s a medium-weight guitar at 3.3kg, and balances nicely on the strap, although the button placement on the horn does feel a little precarious at times, so straplocks are advised. Overall (setup aside) it’s an unfussy guitar that plays like a middle-ground workhorse.
It was originally taken from a Latin text written by a Roman Scholar, Sceptic and Philosopher by the name of Marcus Tullius Cicero, who influenced the Latin language greatly.
The "filler" text we know today has been altered over the years (in fact "Lorem" isn't actually a Latin word. It is suggested that the reason that the text starts with "Lorem" is because there was a page break spanning the word "Do-lorem". If you a re looking for a translation of the text, it's meaningless. The original text talks about the pain and love involved in the pursuit of pleasure or something like that.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★☆
Continuing with the workhorse theme, the electronic side of the CVT keeps everything simple. There’s a master volume control, master tone control and three-way selector switch. All of these are here to serve a pair of Gretsch’s Twin Six humbuckers.
Now, the classic Gretsch stock-in-trade is twang, but here, the pickups are aimed somewhat away from that. Described by Gretsch as offering “gut-punching power with remarkable balance and articulation”, they’re home to Alnico 5 magnets, and I’d say that the “gut-punch” part especially, is a fair description.
Hooking them up to a multi-meter, the DC resistance of this review model’s pickups measures at 9.83K in the bridge position and 8.89K at the neck.
If you’re the type of player who is always grabbing for the controls to govern your guitar’s interaction with a valve amp, this might not be your first choice
Both are fairly mid-heavy, offering plenty of the aforementioned punch. Played clean, the neck pickup is round and woody, and a small amount of compression really brings out the attack that’s on offer. Under some crunch, the note separation remains intact and it does a great job of semi-clean indie-style rhythm parts. Beefing-up the distortion takes the neck into slightly woolier territory, but the heft from the Twin Sixes means that it can deliver heavier tones well.
Over on the bridge pickup, things become a little more jabby with some enhanced higher end likely owing as much to the pickup’s placement as tonal shaping. Here, I find the CVT’s steady application for punky powerchords and classic rock driven sounds, with that hard-hitting output and pokey midrange bringing out additional harmonics under distortion that makes it a solid sounding six-string that will cover a lot of ground.
If you’re the type of player who is always grabbing for the controls to govern your guitar’s interaction with a valve amp, this might not be your first choice. But then, given the one-of-each configuration, I’d suspect neither is it aiming to be. The Twin Six models maintain their attack quite well with the volume rolled off, meaning that your dynamics are somewhat kept in the heavy-handed zone.
Verdict
In some ways, it’s a shame that the scale length is 24.6 inches. As vintage fans, and fans of PRS guitars will know, that’s pretty much the same scale length as many vintage Gibsons, and as such, puts it very close to Gibson’s 24.75-inch scale.
With its tonality, (and in the case of the Wychwood finish) and looks, a little more room to manoeuvre would open up the possibility of deeper downtuning. The review model copes just fine with Drop D, but if you want to enter baritone territory, it’ll certainly need a more specialised setup.
Under some crunch, the note separation remains intact and it does a great job of semi-clean indie-style rhythm parts
The CVT Double-Cut checks a lot of boxes. For a start, Gretsch hasn’t applied any visual cues (such as the vertical Electromatic logo) as to the era of level of this guitar. It looks the business, and for beer-soaked garage, punk, and rock styles, it’s got the tonal firepower on offer too. It’s a fun, affordable electric that offers dual-humbucker tones at an affordable price point.
MusicRadar verdict: Offering retro looks combined with modern playability, the Gretsch CVT Double-Cut packs a lot of punch sonically, and just as much when it comes to value.
Test | Results | Score |
|---|---|---|
Build quality | Very well put together with the exception of a small paintwork blemish. | ★★★★☆ |
Playability | With a small truss rod adjustment, the CVT plays very nicely for the price. | ★★★★☆ |
Sounds | It's not the most versatile of guitars, but what it does, it does very well. | ★★★★☆ |
Overall | Gretsch has delivered a great, affordable electric outside of the usual visual blueprint. | ★★★★☆ |
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