Gretsch G2622 Streamliner Center Block Review (2026)

Why you should trust this review

I bought the Gretsch G2622 Streamliner Center Block in Walnut Stain at retail specifically to evaluate it as a budget hollowbody for cleaner styled gigging. Gretsch did not provide a sample. The guitar lived on a stand for four months and saw roughly 45 minutes of daily play plus one band rehearsal at full volume through a Marshall DSL40CR. That rehearsal matters more than any bedroom session, because the entire pitch of a center block hollowbody is feedback control at stage volume, and you cannot test that quietly.

I leaned on Gretsch’s published specs, the pool of owner feedback, and four months of direct play, with an A/B against an Epiphone ES-339 in the same rig. The questions I cared about were specific: does the center block actually tame feedback, do the Broad’Trons earn the Filtertron comparison, and where does the Indonesian build show its price.

How we evaluated

I started with a full out of box setup check: action, neck relief, intonation, bridge height, and pickup heights. For tone I recorded clean, edge of breakup, and medium gain passages through the Marshall DSL40CR, and A/B compared against the ES-339. For the feedback test I played at progressively higher gain settings to find the squeal threshold, which is the test that justifies the whole design. The rehearsal at full stage volume with drums and bass checked real world behavior, and four months of daily play plus a string change to heavier gauge filled in the long term and setup picture.

Tone: Filtertron chime through humbucker bones

The Broad’Tron BT-2S pickups are the personality of this guitar. Through a clean Marshall channel they have the bright, clucky midrange that defines Filtertrons, with slightly higher output that pushes the front end of an amp into breakup a little earlier. Edge of breakup tones are vivid, with a clear attack and a gently compressed sustain that suits rockabilly, surf, and indie work. A/B against the Epiphone ES-339 in the same rig, the Gretsch is brighter and more articulate while the ES-339 is warmer and rounder. They are different jobs, and for modern rockabilly, surf, country, and indie the Streamliner is the more interesting voice.

To be precise, the Broad’Trons are closer to Filtertrons in character than a standard humbucker, not identical to them. The clucky midrange and unmistakably Gretsch cleans are there, but push into very high gain and they move into harder humbucker territory than a real Filtertron would. For the clean and edge of breakup tones this guitar is built for, that is exactly the right voice.

Feedback control: the entire reason it exists

The spruce center block under the laminated maple top is why this guitar exists at this price. It kills the runaway body resonance that makes a true hollowbody howl above bedroom volume. At rehearsal volume through the Marshall DSL with the gain at 6, the Streamliner stayed controllable, with some squeal that a small stage position adjustment fixed and no actual howling. That is a genuinely useful result, because a cheap full hollowbody at that volume and gain would be unusable. The honest boundary is metal level gain, where the center block helps but cannot save you above about gain 8. Within its lane, the feedback control delivers exactly what it promises.

Playability: shorter scale, slim neck, friendly radius

The 24.6 inch scale is shorter than both Fender and Gibson standards, so string tension runs lighter, which makes bends easier and the guitar feel a touch more relaxed. The trade is that standard light strings feel under tensioned and a little floppy, and moving to a heavier set brought the tension back into a more familiar range and suited the guitar better. The slim U neck profile is a comfortable middle ground between a chunky vintage Les Paul neck and a flat shred profile, and the 12 inch fingerboard radius is the modern call over the 9 inch vintage Gretsch radii, giving better bending tolerance without choking out.

Hardware, build, and where the price shows

The anchored Adjusto-Matic bridge is the conservative choice over a wobbly student grade Space Control, and the chromatic V stoptail is correct for a fixed tailpiece player, saving the cost of a Bigsby that often disappoints at this price. The honest limit is that the Adjusto-Matic lacks the player adjustability of a real Gretsch bridge. After four months including a rehearsal and several recording sessions, the Indonesian build showed no body or neck movement, which is a good result. The one quibble is that pickup heights shipped set conservatively from the factory, and raising the bridge pickup roughly a millimeter closer to the strings added noticeable presence. The 9 pound typical weight is heavy for a hollowbody, which is simply the cost of the center block.

Who should buy the Gretsch G2622 Streamliner Center Block?

Buy it if you play rockabilly, surf, indie, country, or 60s rock and want genuine hollowbody chime. Buy it if you play live and need a hollowbody style guitar that does not feed back at stage volume, if you love the visual presence of a hollowbody but cannot stretch to a higher end Electromatic, and if you want a Gretsch sound and feel without the full Gretsch markup.

Skip it if you play metal or very high gain, where the center block helps but cannot tame the feedback above gain 8. Skip it if you demand absolute Gretsch authenticity, where saving for the Electromatic is the better path. And skip it if you are a beginner, since the shorter scale and 12 inch radius are not the easiest learning ergonomics.

The verdict

The G2622 Streamliner Center Block does the hard thing it sets out to do, which is deliver hollowbody chime that survives a gig. The center block tames the feedback that ruins cheaper hollowbodies, the Broad’Trons bring genuine Filtertron flavored character, and the hardware choices are sensible rather than corner cutting. It is heavy, the bridge is basic, and it wants a heavier string set and a pickup height tweak to play its best, but none of that undercuts the value. It delivers roughly eighty percent of the Gretsch experience for a fraction of the price, and for a non pro player who wants that chime without the howl, it is the cheapest credible way in.