In this video I demo and review the new Gretsch Synchromatic Falcon, and I’m going to be perfectly honest: I think Gretsch might be inadvertently hurting themselves with this guitar. Zzounds loaned it to me for the review (links below are affiliate links), and the big takeaway is that this thing is so good at its price point that it makes me seriously question why someone would spend an extra $2,000+ on the higher-end Falcon models. I’m not coming at this with any snobbery—I love great, accessible instruments—but there’s a real “what are we paying for?” moment here. I talk about the broader guitar-market implications too: high-quality imported guitars (this one’s made in China) are getting close enough to the premium stuff that it could shake up pricing expectations across the board. I compare it to my own high-end Gretsches (built in Japan) and explain where I think the differences actually are—mainly pickups and a few hardware details—not thousands of dollars’ worth. For the tones, I run the guitar into my Rivera Venus Deux, demo all pickup positions clean and overdriven, and then add a Love Pedal Gen 5 Echo for that key slapback thing that really brings out the “Gretsch-y” sound. I wrap up with final thoughts, plus a reminder that I still think the Electromatic 5420 is one of the best buys in the guitar world.