Gretsch G5220 Electromatic Jet BT

FEBRUARY 2019 TOTAL GUITAR
103
t
hose of you that didn’t nod o in
history class might recall the
old Harold MacMillan quote,
“you’ve never had it so good...” Our
old Prime Minister uttered those
words back in 1957, and he certainly wasn’t
referring to guitar players. In those days, if
you wanted to play electric guitar your options
for a great playing and sounding a ordable
six-string amounted to the square root of
bugger all.
Sixty odd years on, you can’t move for great
a ordable electric guitars. Just look at the
Gretsch G5220 Electromatic Jet BT. The build
quality would be considered excellent on a
guitar at twice the price. We also like the tonal
variety o ered by the Epiphone, and the
addictive playability of the PRS SE and the
Hamer Monaco. No other sector of the guitar
market has seen the vast improvements in
build quality and spec that you’ll  nd in
mid-priced Les Paul style stu . The emphasis
these days is on performance as opposed to
the bling we used to see on guitars like these.
Just like the original model that inspired
them, the four subjects of our test o er a level
of versatility that will endear them to most of
us. Yes, the Gretsch might appeal best to
classic rockers, the Hamer to shredders, and
the PRS and Epiphone to the blues crowd but,
the point is, if you’re looking for a new
LP-inspired squeeze, you need to try all these
guitars. You really haven’t had it so good.
TH
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FINaL VeRdICt
Which single cutaway is the one for you?
TH
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PRS
SE 245
GRETSCH G5220
ELECTROMATIC JET BT
HAMER
MONACO
EPIPHONE LES PAUL
STANDARD PLUS TOP PRO
Features
sound QuaLitY
VaLue For MoneY
BuiLd QuaLitY
PLaYaBiLitY
oVeraLL rating
SUMMARY
Features
sound QuaLitY
VaLue For MoneY
BuiLd QuaLitY
PLaYaBiLitY
oVeraLL rating
SUMMARY
Features
sound QuaLitY
VaLue For MoneY
BuiLd QuaLitY
PLaYaBiLitY
oVeraLL rating
SUMMARY
Features
sound QuaLitY
VaLue For MoneY
BuiLd QuaLitY
PLaYaBiLitY
oVeraLL rating
SUMMARY
Best For
shredders
Best
aLL-rounder
Best VaLue
For MoneY
Best For
PLaYaBLiLitY
TGR315.gear_test.indd 103 1/3/19 4:34 PM