Gretsch G5220 Electromatic Jet BT

W
e all have our
preconceptions
about guitar brands
and models; players
and styles we
associate with tone and aesthetic.
But Gretsch has been taking some
interesting steps to give serious
pause for anyone who only thinks
of them as the home of
aspirational rockabilly daddios and
country gents. In 2016, Gretsch’s
Streamliners graced TG’s cover for
good reason; the range brought
the undeniably cool Gretsch style
to double-cut hollowbodies and
semis that appealed to new players
in look and sound. And, crucially,
the price was very right. Could
these Jets now be the
Empire
Strikes Back to their New Hope ?
This is certainly a fi nish Lord
Vader would approve of. And no
matter how much we dance
around it, looks matter with
guitars. And the G5220 looks great;
slim by the standards of the
Gretsch line but satisfyingly thick
in depth, this is a mahogany
single-cut that off ers a genuine
alternative to the Les Paul
approach without trying to ape it.
It feels good on the strap, where
the Streamliners could be
neck-heavy, and because it’s
chambered it’s lighter than it
looks (just under 8lbs for our test
model). The Bigsby-toting black /
silver chrome Duo Jet was favoured
by icons such as Cliff Gallup, Chris
Cornell and George Harrison (see
boxout overleaf), and the colour
and the shape is echoed here, but
a V stoptail bridge brings its own
dose of Gretsch aesthetic.
There’s a care and attention to
the aesthetic that Gretsch brings
throughout its line and it’s here in
healthy doses. Closer inspection
confi rms a guitar that could pass
for one a couple of hundred
pounds above its price. Okay, it’s a
CITES-friendly walnut ’board
rather than rosewood, but that’s a
necessary compromise and it’s
dark enough here to pass for
ebony. Playing it acoustically,
there’s a projection that suggests
good things ahead, but do they
manifest when it’s plugged in?
The Gretsch Broad’Tron pickups
here soon get us excited. And they
reveal themselves to be a key
factor that takes this guitar beyond
the preconceptions it’s just a new,
good-looking entry level
Electromatic. The Broad’Tron is a
humbucker-sized Filter’Tron-
style (PAF warmth and single-coil
brightness) and if you wrinkle your
nose at some of the darker
character in humbucker-loaded
single-cuts, these could be a
surprising treat. Cleans ring piano
clear with a side order of vintage
twang and even the neck pickup
has some chime where a ’bucker
might get woolly, while the bridge
really jangles and cuts. The
responsiveness of the Broad’Trons
here yields impressive harmonic
detail when we test it with both
tube amp drive and a Tube
Screamer - for expressive,
sustaining violin-esque lead work
it’s inspiring and touch-
GRETSCH G5220
ELECTROMATIC JET BT
Has Gretsch just thrown down the
gauntlet for single-cut value in 2018?
1
2
3
£432
BODY: Mahogany
NECK: Mahogany
SCALE: 625mm (24.6")
FINGERBOARD: Walnut
FRETS: 22
PICKUPS: Broad’Tron
CONTROLS: 2 x pickup
volume, 1 x master
volume, 1 x master
tone, three-way pickup
selector
LEFT-HANDED: No
FINISH: Black
(reviewed), Casino
Gold, Dark Cherry
Metallic
CONTACT: Fender
EMEA
01342 331700
gretschguitars.com
AT A GLANCE
CLEANS RING PIANO CLEAR
WITH A SIDE ORDER OF VINTAGE
1
MASTER
VOLUME
Each pickup has its
own volume control
and there’s a master
tone, but there is a
master volume, too.
It has a treble bleed
circuit to give you
easily accessible
control over
your sound
2
CONTROL
KNOBS
The chrome G-Arrow
control knobs not only
look the business,
they’re tactile and
digit-friendly in
practice, too
3
ALL IN THE
DETAILS
The silver plexi pickup
surrounds match the
scratchplate and the
screw-in strap
buttons add to a
classic Gretsch
aesthetic
Photography: Adam Gasson
REVIEW
91
july 2018 ToTal GuiTar
TGR307.gear_lead.indd 91 23/05/2018 16:12