My first Gretsch - advice please!

[AngusH]

Having accepted that a Country Gent is likely to remain beyond my budget for the foreseeable future, I've just bought a secondhand Electromatic G5122 DC, partly inspired by a recent thread on the Chetboard.

I absolutely love it - gorgeous looking and sounding guitar, but it's my first electric (I've always played acoustic steel string and more recently nylon), so I'd appreciate any advice on how to get the most out of it.

What make and gauge of strings do people recommend? (I know this is an entirely personal thing - I've always played D'Addario lights and custom lights on my Taylor GS, despite Taylor's recommendation of Elixir mediums.)

Should I look to upgrade the pickups to Filtertrons and the bridge to a Tru Arc as and when I can afford it?

I'm a complete novice when it comes to amps as well - I'm playing it through a Roland Cube30. The Black Panel setting seems to work best with a bit of reverb (I think it's based on the sound of a Fender Twin Reverb), but again I'd appreciate any tips on getting the best sound/tone.

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Angus

[Joe Hudson]

My first Gretsch was also the Eletromatic (5120), and I still am very very pleased with the guitar. There will be several responses yo your quest for advice, and this board is a great resource for it, as there are many people here with far more to offer than I. That being said, here is what works for me: I have round that the guitar, for my taste, likes an .011 gauge string (using .011 - .049 with a .018 wound G string) - The guitar seems to get a good tone, has a good feel, and responds well to this. I have tried .010, and the tone did suffer, and I did not like the feel as well either. Other upgrades I have is the TV Jones (Filtertron in bridge, Supertron in Neck) - this was a great upgrade, but is a bit pricey. Though I have had no issues with the tuning gears, I have heard that others have upgraded them as well. I also currently still have the factory bridge, but again, that is an area you could upgrade in time. There are many ways to go with this. I have had no issues with the factory one, so I will probably keep it as is. Amp - The cube is a great amp in the solid state world. I use a Cube 60 at times, and like the tone well. One big difference though is the 60 (newer model is the Cube 80) uses a 12' speaker, vs. a 10" , out of the cube family, I prefer the 12" for the music we play. Ultimately, we all pretty much agree that tubes are the way to go, and there are a world of choices! That depends entirely on budget. Some popular ones are the Fender Deluxe Reverb (reissue for the sake of budget), the Princeton (reissue again), Music Man RD50 (no longer in production, but can be found on ebay), Peavey Delta Blues (still in production - 15" speaker - lots of potential, especially with a speaker change..) - I highly recommend trying to listen to as many amps as you can, as in the end your ears are the ones you must first make happy! I know that this is wordy, but wanted to help as much as possible. Others hopefully will chime in and add to this, take away, or otherwise. That is how we all learn. I will leave you with one final word of warning: I have found that Gretsch guitars are somewhat addictive - before long you will find a way to bring that Country Gentleman home! Welcome to the family!

Joe Hudson
Executive Director
National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame
http://www.ntphf.com

[Norm]

I don't know much about that model guitar so I googled it and it looks to me like it comes stock with the 12-pole Filter Trons. Like Joe said, upgrading the pickups to TV Jones would be pricey.

I'm not a fan of those kinds of bridges that come stock on that so that would be my first upgrade personally. Even a regular Gretsch bar bridge might give you a better tone and sustain that what you have stock. Maybe one of the guys who upgraded to Tru-Arc will sell you their old regualr bar bridge

Strings are a matter of personal taste. I kind of agree with Joe that 11's is a good place to start. The FAQ on this site has Paul's comments on his and Chet's strings. I prefer a wound third. Other folks don't.

Action is to personal taste but since you come from an acoustic guitar background I'd try to keep the action as high as you can stand it because you Will get a better tone out of your guitar that way.

I have no opinion on amps except to say don't overdo the reverb. People tend to do that a lot.

I'd rather use a smaller amp that I have to turn up a little rather than a big amp I have to turn down. Again, you'll get better tone. When Chet was using his D'Angelico he used a little Fender Deluxe. The last road amp he and Paul used were Musicman RD-50's I think. We all know Chet loved his Standel but he seldom took it out on a show.

Chet and Paul both grumbled about "too many highs" so use more bass, less treble on the amp tone controls.

that's how it looks to me

[AngusH]

Thanks both - and wordy's fine by me Your insights are much appreciated and will be put to good use - new strings and eventually a new amp seem to be the order of the day. And if anybody out there in Chetboardland has a bridge that's looking for a new home (in the UK), just let me know.

Thanks again,

Angus

[Johnpat1]

Hi Angus - As you are from the UK. you may want to keep an eye out for a small amp called the 'Ant'.
They were amps made by a company from Somerset back in the 1990's called SJB AUDIO. I believe
the company no longer exists but the amps they made were all valve. I have one & my son plays
his 6120 Electromatic thru it & gets a great tone. They made one with a built in reverb as well
but the one I have dosen't have that. As Norm says - you don't need too much reverb.

[AngusH]

Thanks for the suggestion - looks like I've just missed an Ant which went for £50 on GuitarMart, but I'll keep looking.

Angus

[synchro]

I would definitely recommend a bar bridge, Tru-Arc or Compton. A solid bridge will make a huge difference.

Strings are a matter of personal preference. I use either a 10-47 or 10-50 hybrid set.

A clear, clean amp should get you in the ballpark. You can dial it in to suit your tastes. I use a Deluxe Reverb but have heard plenty of other amps that will do the trick.

Some people find the stock humbucking pickups on the 5120/5122 to be a bit muddy. If this proves to be the case with you there are some alternative including GFS pickups or TV Jones in English mount.