Gretsch G5420T Electromatic. Legit Gretsch Tone?

Рет қаралды 10,981

6 ай бұрын

In this video I look at another Gretsch Electromatic model. Based on the famous 6120, it promises to provide a cost effective way into the world of the iconic, hollowbody Nashville style Gretsch, orange finish, Bigsby and all. I let you know whether I think it reaches it's goal, giving a rundown of the construction details and features, providing both a basic sound demo along with a playing demo with a full band backing track, to see how it does in a real world mix. After all that, I share my final thoughts and recommendations.

Пікірлер: 69

@renanlopes9144 14 күн бұрын

Perfect, dude! You just told me everything I wanted to know

@leonardgriffieblues5845 13 күн бұрын

Well glad I could help. Thanks for watching

@gahangore111 6 ай бұрын

I don't think Gretsch can be beat in terms of value for money, their sub-$1000 guitars are so good. Plus they're cool as hell because they're a Gretsch 😊

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

They do have a cool vibe. Thanks for watching.

@Jeffcatbuckeye 3 ай бұрын

Numerous videos on KZfaq. Look up Gretsch 5420 setup. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mrWBdMSU3c6afaM.htmlsi=TmE3Y5Rw_cruSc-8

@NovaRedBaron Ай бұрын

Just discovered your channel. Your reviews are awesome, and most important of all, they are honest. I recently ordered a Gretsch Electromatic G5565T QM Sweet Tea. Tried one at a local music store and was very impressed, but I decided not to buy it on impulse. Went back to buy it a bit later but someone else had just bought it. So I ordered one. Gretsch, Epiphone, and other Asian builders have really been upping their game lately. I also own two Limited Edition Japanese Stratocasters and the build quality is awesome. You have a new subscriber. Thanks for the effort you put into your videos. 🎸👍

@leonardgriffieblues5845 Ай бұрын

Thanks so much. Very much appreciated.

@JohnShalamskas 5 ай бұрын

The G5420T nails the "Stray Cat Strut" tone. Around 2015 the factory started building them with treble bleed circuit(s), I'm not sure if it is only on the master volume, or on all 3 volume pots. I bought a used 2014 model that had no treble bleed circuits, and if I turned down the volume at all, the treble disappeared. So I added a Fender style treble bleed to the main volume pot, and it was wonderful - I could use the full range of the master volume without getting muddy tone. Eventually I added a 1 nF capacitor across the input and output of each of the other 2 volume pots to help them stay brighter when turned down. Parts cost for all 3 treble bleed circuits was under 3 dollars since I have a local electronics shop - no shipping!

@leonardgriffieblues5845 5 ай бұрын

Yes. Honestly I think a simple treble bleed should be standard on most guitars. Although some of us who’ve played vintage and vintage style Fenders are in the habit of mellowing our Strats out a little with the volume rather than the tone control. But the majority of guitars, especially those with neck humbuckers, would benefit tremendously. Thanks so much for watching.

@johnduckworth474 2 ай бұрын

An excellent video, and I appreciate the tips on tuning having got one of these models myself. A lovely guitar for the price.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 2 ай бұрын

Thanks so much. Enjoy yours!

@blookbleak 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video! This guitar rocks unbelievably! So versatile, you can cover many styles with it! I love using it especially for a a cover version of "Should I stay or should I go", crank it up and it kicks a**! And that "TWANG"...! Of course it's great for Blues, too.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 5 ай бұрын

I have to agree. There’s really no genre this can’t cover. Thanks for watching.

@ZackyDog 2 ай бұрын

The G5420T sounds very nice in the video. I have owned the original 60s models like the '62 G6120 Nashville (PAF Filtertrons) and a '66 Black Hawk (Supertrons). I have a 2005 G6122-162 Country Classic with Ray Butts TV Jones Ful-Fidelity Filtertrons. To my ears, those pickups are the best at recreating The Great Gretsch Sound of the late 50s/60s. I have tried many Filtertron pickups over the decades.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 2 ай бұрын

Yeah, the TV Jones filtertrons are pretty hard to beat for vintage tones. The 5420T is a good guitar that gets the general vibe and is accessible. Of course you could put TV Jones pickups in it and it’d get very close, but I imagine the majority buying the 5420 are happy with it and the feedback I’ve gotten seems to confirm that. I plan to feature a pro series model down the road, so stay tuned and thanks for watching.

@philnewton2011 5 ай бұрын

Ballsy! Great playing, Leonard.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 5 ай бұрын

Thanks my friend.

@redcatcliveupnorth7338 6 ай бұрын

Another good video Leonard😊😊 I have 2011 G5435, build quality is very good, basswood body ,very resonant ,u shapeneck, the blacktop filtertrons are definitely not normal humbuckers - they do blues to ac/dc. These can be found cheap in the uk, highly recommended. And it looks really Cool in black with a bigsby😅😅

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

That’s great. Finding a guitar you really enjoy is always a very good thing. Thanks so much for tuning in.

@joshfeatherstone8546 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video , man. I love the 5420t. I have a couple Korean ones. One in orange stain and the other in Fairlane Blue. A lot of guitar for the money. 😊

@leonardgriffieblues5845 3 ай бұрын

Solid guitars that won’t require a second mortgage. Enjoy them and thanks.

@GRBAquatics 6 ай бұрын

Very Cool, Thankyou. Awesome Demo/Review of the Gretsch G5420T. I recently purchased an 'Airline Silver' G5420T on 'Black Friday' Sale in Australia saving hundreds of dollars. WOW. What an awesome and Fun Guitar. So Happy with my purchase. But this is my 3rd Gretsch, starting with a G5210 Black single cut, single pick-up rock machine, then a G5248T Gold Sparkle Double Jet with Bigsby and now My Dream guitar a Hollowbody G5420T. I would have preferred an Orange G5420T as in Eddie Cochran Guitar, But I'm still super happy with my bargain 'Airline Silver' Model. So Much Fun To Play and SO inspirational to make me play at my best. All The Best. Cheers

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

That’s great. Glad you’re enjoying it and thanks for watching.

@jeremybaker195 4 ай бұрын

Hay, man. The G 5210 is now the jet with P90s. What year was yours? What pickup? I know they reuse model numbers. I tried to look up a G5210 but all that comes up is the P90 version. I'm always interested in seeing Gretsch models I've never seen before. I really wish they would put out a run of the G5125 ( and other numbers) with the DeArmond pickups again. A Jet with the DeArmonds.🤤 You just know they would fly off the shelf.

@davidwood351 6 ай бұрын

I love the sound of Gretsch guitars, I don’t have one, but I do have the Fender Coronado II, kind of a Gretsch vibe. I enjoy your playing style.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much.

@buddhamus 6 ай бұрын

Nice overview of the Gretsch Electromatic. Gretsch is the one guitar maker from my early influences that I haven't tried. I've often thought of getting one, but could never decide on which model. I've always liked the Country Gentleman because of George Harrison, but I like the Duo Jet as well, along with the models that Steven Stills and Neil Young played. Maybe one of these days. By the way, nice playing.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much. The Electromatics are good guitars, but in my experience do need some setup work. If you don’t do that dork yourself, I’d recommend buying from a shop that includes a good setup. Many do. Thanks for watching.

@steves.5342 5 ай бұрын

I'm really glad you like the guitar since I just bought one. Happy to hear it just likely needs a setup. That much I can do and I have some jeweler's files that seem to work well on the nut slots. Great playing but, since we're probably close in age, you screwed up my possible excuse of being slow because of age. Still, always nice to get just one more guitar!

@leonardgriffieblues5845 5 ай бұрын

Well I’ve slowed up a bit as well, but so far no one’s noticed except me. LOL. Thanks so much for watching and enjoy the guitar.

@garypannone7755 6 ай бұрын

I was so lucky to find one of the last Korean made models. It is a great guitar.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

Nice. I’m happy you grabbed on. There are still quite a few used Korean made ones out there, but if you’re after new they’re going to be hard if not impossible to find. Thanks so much for watching.

@johnwalsh3919 6 ай бұрын

Nice Leonard , I bought that guitar in 2018 and I love it, I have it hanging on the wall and I admire it every day , I’m lucky enough to own quite a few guitars way more than I should have but there’s something about an orange gretsch , have a great weekend and I’m looking forward to your next video ✌️🧷🎸

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

Thank you my friend. I really appreciate regular viewers like you. Enjoy your weekend as well.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

Thank you my friend. I really appreciate regular viewers like you. Enjoy your weekend as well.

@jeremybaker195 4 ай бұрын

Great shirt bro. 👍

@leonardgriffieblues5845 4 ай бұрын

😎😊

@jeremybaker195 4 ай бұрын

My Chinese G5427T ( GC Exclusive flame mapel) has the scarf joint in the same place. You mentioned the blacktop Filtertrons. I was told by Damin Chivers on youtube (who is a Gretsch rep) that the Blacktops are modeled on Tim Armstrong's Baldwin era Gretsch. If you look at the first few years of the blacktop on Electromatics, they look just like the Armstrong model. Same pickup rings same mounting style. Then they went to plastic rings and the mount to the rings ( no mount holes on top of the pickup) in the beginning they had ceramic magnets but before they even switched to the FT-5E Blacktops I believe they switched to AlNiCo magnets. I'm not sure when they did this exactly, but there is more than one post ( probably dozens) in the forums with people saying they took their pickups apart a d they had AlNiCo magnets Gretsch dosen't give much information on their pickup at all until they did the FT-5E pups. They do list those with AlNiCo. Before the Blacktops don't give any specs at all. So yah The Tim Armstrong model is where they started. Modeled after his personal guitar. Where they went from there is conjecture and educated guesses up until the FT-5E were released. I hope that was helpful. Great playing great video. New sub as of today.🙂👍🖖

@leonardgriffieblues5845 4 ай бұрын

Thanks so much. I wasn’t aware of the Tim Armstrong connection and wondered why those blacktop filtertrons were based on Baldwin era pickups. I thought that was a strange choice since a lot of Gretsch guys prefer the older filtertrons. In any case I thought they sounded fine and get the Gretsch flavor pretty well.

@222triple 5 ай бұрын

I picked up a like new 5420T Candy Apple Red 21’ Made in Korea model. Got it with a nice case not a Gretsch case but pretty nice. I jumped on it as the price with case and MIK would be hard to find down the road. Don’t see many Candy Apple Red ones either 😂 Thanks for the video.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 5 ай бұрын

Yeah, you don’t see a lot of the candy red ones. Glad you got a nice one and thanks for watching.

@thomasd9237 3 ай бұрын

I have a 5222 & a 2655p-90 They're both great guitars & affordable 👍👍

@leonardgriffieblues5845 3 ай бұрын

Nice. Yes, they usually need a little setup work, but they’re very well made guitars for very reasonable prices. Thanks so much for watching.

@B49337 4 сағат бұрын

Hey, just wondering if you have a video demo on the 6120?

@guitarzan0515 6 ай бұрын

You know, the only thing wrong with theses types of guitars, is they are Too Big for my 5ft height 😘🥵😆😆😆😆 One of these would go from my ankles to my chest!! But these truly are fabulous looking and sounding guitars!! Great demonstration as usual! Thx!

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

Well, actually you’re in luck because they make a smaller version. It is a centerblock model rather than fully hollow, but it has essentially the same look. It’s the G5655TG. There’s also a quilted maple top version of the same thing. Personally I prefer the plain top. But hey, that’s just me.

@yodasecondave 25 күн бұрын

I’m in the process of shopping for a new guitar. Sold my strat. I’m torn between the Gretsch electro magic 5420t and the Epiphone Les Paul 59 standard. I play a lot of acoustic, old country and folk. I also love to play a lot of punk rock green day, living end, but also into grunge, 90s pop rock like third eye blind, love the 80s stuff ,particularly U2, cure, clash, cult, inxs. I also grew up on zeppelin and like the old blues rock. No idea which way to go….any thoughts?

@leonardgriffieblues5845 24 күн бұрын

In terms of quality, they're similar. Factors like fretwork are likely to be luck of the draw with either model and I don't think there's much to separate them in terms of build quality and quality of materials. But obviously they're very different guitars with radically different personalities. I'm sure I don't have to tell you a big, fully hollow guitar is a very different animal to a solidbody. The Epiphone LP 59 does have the Gibson pickups and that's going to suit most players except those that are after the specific Gretsch, filtertron sound, which is absolutely it's own thing. While the blacktop filtertrons aren't especially accurate, they still sound way more like a Gretsch than a Gibson humbucker. One thing to keep in mind is the neck profiles. The 59 LP has a fatter, 50s style neck whereas the 5420 has a more average, slim neck. For many players, the neck profile is the number one consideration since that is, after all, what you'll be interacting with. I don't know how much help this is. The best thing would be to find local examples and see which feel you prefer. Either can cover a lot of ground.

@cliffrhodenizerjr.1333 3 ай бұрын

Thanks Leonard! I have the same model but having trouble getting it dialed in right. Neck relief, string height, and intonation all good, but can't find that optimal pickup height. If you dont mind, could you tell me what height you have your pickups at, and what strings do you like on this? Anyone else with a G5420T care to chime in, I would be grateful.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 3 ай бұрын

Unfortunately I have to sell review guitars on in order to keep my channel from losing too much money. As I recall, I just set those by ear. I believe from 3 to 5 millimeters from the poles to the strings is usually recommended. Some seem to like them as close to the strings as they can get but mine weren’t that high. I’d say start about 4 mm from the poles and move them up or down until they sound best. Sorry I can’t give you whet I did, but hopefully this is helpful. Thanks so much for watching.

@viperBSG 5 ай бұрын

I know the Blacktop's use Ceramic Magnets not Alnico (Not a thing wrong with that) and that the most recent G5420T's have FT5E Filter 'Trons.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 5 ай бұрын

Yes, I discovered the change when researching this video. I haven’t had an opportunity to play the newer pickups yet. Thanks for watching.

@henrychew5604 6 ай бұрын

I have the same exact guitar which is not able to be in tune after some playing. So what exactly did you do to the nut to fix the tuning issue?

@GraemeCampbellMusic 6 ай бұрын

I bought a roller bridge, it makes a big difference

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

The problem was the nut slots weren’t properly angled toward the tuner posts. Very common with 3x3 tuners that flare out from both sides. Especially the D and G strings. Tuning issues on those kinds of guitars (including Gibsons) is the nut slotting 90% of the time. It’s too much to ask for the strings to take a sharp turn and return to pitch. Lubrication helps, but it won’t likely solve the problem unless the nut is cut correctly. All that said, quality nut files and a little experience greatly increase your chances for success. There are plenty of KZfaq videos on this stuff, and I’d recommend studying up before attempting it for the first time. Or just take it to an expert.

@wakan2a 5 ай бұрын

I had a 6120 ( Japan made) which was not that good and an old Anniversary sunburst from the begining of the 60´s with HiLo Tron pick up. The finish was awfull but I definitely love the sound of the HiLo Tron ( Ticket to ride guitar)… I was wondering if there was a significant difference between Japanese and Korean models, apart the price…

@leonardgriffieblues5845 5 ай бұрын

Well, I hope to find out for myself at some point. I briefly owned a pro series jet model a few years back and it was very beautifully built. I’ll be completely honest. At this point my channel isn’t big enough to earn much more than coffee money, and there’s no other financial support, so while I plan to make those kinds of comparisons, up to now I’ve been staying in the under $2,000 range for guitar reviews. I’m interested in the Pro Series though, and I’ll do my best to get one on the channel at some point in the not too distant future. Thanks so much for watching.

@outtabubblegum7034 5 ай бұрын

If you never heard about Duane Eddy, you REALLY should.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 5 ай бұрын

Oh yeah, I’ve been familiar with Duane for decades. Very distinctive player. Thanks for watching.

@choplass Ай бұрын

Guy looks like an O.G.

@alaindeleon2220 2 ай бұрын

last track title please

@leonardgriffieblues5845 2 ай бұрын

There’s no title. I create these backing tracks myself, that way there’re no copyright issues. I’ve been writing songs and creating demos for decades so it’s fairly simple. Thanks for watching.

@michaelrosawatkins3928 6 ай бұрын

They don't make Filtertron's like they did back then. No twang now days. Blacktop just a regular humbucker. I own both. NO comparison

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

I would hardly expect an $800 guitar to perfectly replicate the vintage pickups (or the ones used in the modern pro series for that matter). On the other hand, they don’t really seem to sound like standard humbuckers either and it seems they made a real effort to get the flavor. Thanks for watching.

@michaelrosawatkins3928 6 ай бұрын

@@leonardgriffieblues5845 great channel BTW appreciate your efforts.

@leonardgriffieblues5845 6 ай бұрын

@@michaelrosawatkins3928 Thanks so much. Appreciated. 😎

@ExploreAmerica 4 ай бұрын

Damn I can’t buy China

@leonardgriffieblues5845 4 ай бұрын

Okay. Well as my wife likes to say, you do you. That said, the model I reviewed was from Korea and I believe I mentioned that in the video. But yes, they’ve moved current production to China.