You should like it. I have 4 of them. 2 are six strings and 2 are 12 stings. I leave 2 at church and I have an identical set at home. BTW I found it sounds better with a wound 3rd string.
I played a double cut Gretsch in 1962, I was a slender 15 year old and I remember how huge it was and heavy, but a great sounding guitar. This was too if the line not an Electromatic, the 500 series do not have proper Filtertrons only the rather expensive 600s, but as others have said change the Pups for Lollars or TV Jones
A word of caution, if you keep it. The nut may be cut too high, and you may have to deepen the nut slots. I have a stewmac nut action gauge, with their nut files. So this was rather easy to remedy. If you go with TV Jones pickups, make sure to get the adapter kit, so the new pickups can go in the Electromatic.
It's a very nice guitar for that price point. Mine played well right out of the box and the fit and finish is nearly perfect. I'm still undecided on how much I like the Filtertrons. Might swap them out for a couple of TV Jones at some point.
I agree. Great guitars. These did not have the Filtertrons though, they had the Broadtron pickups. Those don't sound as good as the Filtertrons in my opinion. But I still think the TV Jones or Seymour Duncan Filtertrons are the best sounding ones, outside of the Gretsch custom shop ones. So you can't go wrong if you put a set of TV Jones in yours.
For the China vs Korea thing, there is no difference in terms of quality, as demonstrated by the observations, with an imperfection spotted in the supposedly better made Korean one. In that case, it is even a bad call to go for an older Korean 5422, as they are loaded with regular blacktop Filtertrons, while the newer Chinese 5422 have a trestle block, and are loaded with the new FT-5E Filtertrons, and lean a bit more towards the TVJones Filtertrons, with a bit more presence, clarity and definition than regular Blacktop FTs. The only reason why one could still opt for a Korean one is in term of playing preference, because the newer Chinese have a c-shaped neck, while the Korean are a bit chunkier. Otherwise, there's really no point to do so, since the electronics are a step lower in the Korean one.
@@andythefrenchy8026 Concur with all you say. Chinese production is flawless. Those FT-5E Filter'Trons are a noticeable step up from the Black Top Filter'Trons too if their truer Filter'Tron chime is what is wanted. It was for me. Love the neck. Easy swapping between my G5232T and G5422TG necks.
Your Electromatic 5422 is not the same sahpe as your former Streamliner (in a previous video you posted).Your original Streamliner was a 2655 with a smaller body shape, unfortunately, the smaller double cut body does not exist in the Electromatic series. Also, the G5422TG is not fully hollow, but semi-hollow (center block).
True, both the previous Gretsch videos I did were slightly different models (double cut vs single cut, etc), but they were all the thinner body styles. They were all great, but the previous two just didn’t grab me. The 5655 is the first one that just feels right for me. Not sure why exactly. :)
@@IamMusicNerd G5655 is semi-hollow (centre-block) with a notably smaller Gretsch body bout (the Gxx55 annotation) bout like the ES-339 (reference). Definitely a more comfortable body English fit for medium build players or those used to solid body electrics. Only thing I dislike about the G5655 series is that (P90 variants excepted) they come with Black Top Broad'Trons rather than Filter'Trons. Not what I'm looking for in a pickup, but it if it is, they are a superb guitar choice and arguably better for Blues and Modern Rock IMV.
To offer perspective. I'm 5'9" generally proportioned but tending to the shorter side of arm length with smaller hands and fingers for height. I utterly detest Dreadnought acoustic bodies to offer a basis of comfort comparison, but this is fine. Pretty much the same body size as an ES-335. I find this Gretsch is a VERY comfortable physical fit, and light, much lighter than my Ibanez AS113 semi-hollow (same ES-335 style body).
@@theblytonian3906 well, thanks for your comment, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy it, I'm 5' 7'' with light fingers but I know I'll get used to it, as everything else haha
Thanks for the advice! Do you have a recommendation between the TV Jones or Lollartrons? I’ve heard good things about both, as well as Fralin and Seymour Duncan filtertron style pickups. Can’t decide. :)
@@IamMusicNerd You're probably pretty much safe, with those brands. See if they have sound samples on their websites, or here on youtube. I do know that TV Jones does have a conversion kit, so their pickups can be put in an Electromatic.
You should like it. I have 4 of them. 2 are six strings and 2 are 12 stings. I leave 2 at church and I have an identical set at home. BTW I found it sounds better with a wound 3rd string.
Thanks for the tip.
Nice! Thanks for the suggestion!
I played a double cut Gretsch in 1962, I was a slender 15 year old and I remember how huge it was and heavy, but a great sounding guitar. This was too if the line not an Electromatic, the 500 series do not have proper Filtertrons only the rather expensive 600s, but as others have said change the Pups for Lollars or TV Jones
I have one like that. Super happy with my purchase
Great to hear!
A word of caution, if you keep it. The nut may be cut too high, and you may have to deepen the nut slots. I have a stewmac nut action gauge, with their nut files. So this was rather easy to remedy. If you go with TV Jones pickups, make sure to get the adapter kit, so the new pickups can go in the Electromatic.
Yes, I noticed that as well. My local luthier fixed that for me. Thanks!
It's a very nice guitar for that price point. Mine played well right out of the box and the fit and finish is nearly perfect. I'm still undecided on how much I like the Filtertrons. Might swap them out for a couple of TV Jones at some point.
I agree. Great guitars. These did not have the Filtertrons though, they had the Broadtron pickups. Those don't sound as good as the Filtertrons in my opinion. But I still think the TV Jones or Seymour Duncan Filtertrons are the best sounding ones, outside of the Gretsch custom shop ones. So you can't go wrong if you put a set of TV Jones in yours.
My nut cut was great too. Well set up too for a factory setup.
Yes, I bought my G5422TG used, and it's Korean made.
Nice!
For the China vs Korea thing, there is no difference in terms of quality, as demonstrated by the observations, with an imperfection spotted in the supposedly better made Korean one. In that case, it is even a bad call to go for an older Korean 5422, as they are loaded with regular blacktop Filtertrons, while the newer Chinese 5422 have a trestle block, and are loaded with the new FT-5E Filtertrons, and lean a bit more towards the TVJones Filtertrons, with a bit more presence, clarity and definition than regular Blacktop FTs. The only reason why one could still opt for a Korean one is in term of playing preference, because the newer Chinese have a c-shaped neck, while the Korean are a bit chunkier. Otherwise, there's really no point to do so, since the electronics are a step lower in the Korean one.
@@andythefrenchy8026 Concur with all you say. Chinese production is flawless. Those FT-5E Filter'Trons are a noticeable step up from the Black Top Filter'Trons too if their truer Filter'Tron chime is what is wanted. It was for me. Love the neck. Easy swapping between my G5232T and G5422TG necks.
Your Electromatic 5422 is not the same sahpe as your former Streamliner (in a previous video you posted).Your original Streamliner was a 2655 with a smaller body shape, unfortunately, the smaller double cut body does not exist in the Electromatic series.
Also, the G5422TG is not fully hollow, but semi-hollow (center block).
The G5422TG IS a full hollow. I have one. It has NO centre-block (semi-hollow).
True, both the previous Gretsch videos I did were slightly different models (double cut vs single cut, etc), but they were all the thinner body styles. They were all great, but the previous two just didn’t grab me. The 5655 is the first one that just feels right for me. Not sure why exactly. :)
@@IamMusicNerd G5655 is semi-hollow (centre-block) with a notably smaller Gretsch body bout (the Gxx55 annotation) bout like the ES-339 (reference). Definitely a more comfortable body English fit for medium build players or those used to solid body electrics.
Only thing I dislike about the G5655 series is that (P90 variants excepted) they come with Black Top Broad'Trons rather than Filter'Trons. Not what I'm looking for in a pickup, but it if it is, they are a superb guitar choice and arguably better for Blues and Modern Rock IMV.
Thanks for the info!
Those pups are still not Filtertrons, put some TV Jones on it
how tall are you?, I wanna buy one, but is it too big if I'm short?
I’m 5’ 11”, but I’ve seen shorter people play them and love them. I just prefer the smaller body style.
To offer perspective. I'm 5'9" generally proportioned but tending to the shorter side of arm length with smaller hands and fingers for height. I utterly detest Dreadnought acoustic bodies to offer a basis of comfort comparison, but this is fine. Pretty much the same body size as an ES-335. I find this Gretsch is a VERY comfortable physical fit, and light, much lighter than my Ibanez AS113 semi-hollow (same ES-335 style body).
@@theblytonian3906 well, thanks for your comment, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy it, I'm 5' 7'' with light fingers but I know I'll get used to it, as everything else haha
It's more cost effective to keep it, and just replace the pickups with TV Jones or Lollartrons.
Thanks for the advice! Do you have a recommendation between the TV Jones or Lollartrons? I’ve heard good things about both, as well as Fralin and Seymour Duncan filtertron style pickups. Can’t decide. :)
@@IamMusicNerd You're probably pretty much safe, with those brands. See if they have sound samples on their websites, or here on youtube. I do know that TV Jones does have a conversion kit, so their pickups can be put in an Electromatic.
@@jjdillon2007 OK, thank you!
Did you sell this already?
Yes, I did. Still looking for another one. I have not given up :)