Gretsch G5222 Electromatic Compact Amp

Covered by others

If you want a real tube amp to play at home you can't do better. Perfect for blues. But...it's all a matter of the right recipe. I've found it sounds best in combination with my Telecaster through a Boss BD 2. My Strat sounds weak. One of the mysteries of the universe is why the circuit wasn't designed to keep the hum down. I modified it using an idiot-proof kit from a guy called Alnicopromagnet - worth every penny and now the hum is almost gone. The point is, it only took a very few components. To make it hum free would have added one dollar to the price.

It's still true - nothing sounds as good as real tubes.

Well, it's a tube amp - those tubes are gonna need changing sooner or later. Don't move it till the tubes have cooled off.

I'll give it 8. It's great but there's no excuse for not having made it hum free in the first place when even an electronics dumbo like me can fix it for a little loose change. The speaker is OK - I suspect replacing it would make it sound even better.

just a volume knob, simple class A amp, 1 6v6 GT , 1 12ax7, 6 inch speaker

Okay stock the amp is a 5, got rid of the crappy speaker, put in a Weber 6 inch ALinco, fixed the muddy sound, can crack the amp full now, comes with a crappy made in china 6v6, replaced with a 1952 G.E. 6V6 GT and and 1962 Telefunken 12AX7, awsome tone, nice late break up, true vintage sound, so spend the extra hundred, same as a fender champion 600.

no problems yet

voided it with upgrades

love this amp for recording, disappointed when I first got it, but a few upgrades later it's great

not many features here one volume knob, on off switch and high and low inputs thats it. I dont know how anyone can give this amp a 9 or a 8 for features it dose not have any, it is as basic as you can get, in a way that is a good thing there is no point having a ton of buttons and knobs that do the things that you can achive just fiddiling with the tone and volume on your guitar. but!!! i would at least like a stand by switch or a gain knob. only 5 watts tubed (its a practist amp) thats still about 15 watts in solid state money. great looks a nice yellow and brown tweed effect the handle is the only thing that lets it down for style

this is a clean amp no matter what input you plug into (one is slightly more quiter then the other) the sound that comes out is very pleaseing beats the clean sound of any solid state amp hands down but that is all it can really do when you crank it up it distorts a bit but then the speaker cant really handle it. i was a bit dissapointed in the lack of tones that you can get out of this amp. i wanted an amp that would be clean at low volumes but would get dirty when opened up (clean the sound at high volumes by rolling back the volume knob on my guitar if need be). so i would rate the clean sound an 8 loses points because it hissis and hums a bit and i give a 1 for distorted sounds. it depends what you want from an amp but for me it dose not do it

so far it has not let me down i have had it for 6 months and no probs. one big gripe is the carrieing handle it is made of some cheap leather effect plastic and is not durible i would have happly paid an extra ??15 for a decent real leather handle why ruin the build qulity by fitting a pants handle other then that it is very well built and has a nice vintage feel. because it dont have a standby switch i can see it ruin decent tubes

never delt with them
never bothered to look into warranty

it is a nice cute looking amp but is very limited i am thinking of doing some mods but in the end i will prob save my money and buy something like a orange tiny terror. dont get me wrong i do love this amp but want more there is not enogth tones it is very much a one trick pony good if you want to put effects into it but i like to use just the amp. i have a create solid state amp but it is crap and so i resort to useing this amp with a boss overdrive pedle and play a gibson les paul bfg i am saveing up to buy an orange head and cab or may even really splash out and buy a cornford, once i have got one of them this amp will be demoted to being my front room amp (i have two kids and a pysco cat who ruin any thing that is left in the front room). you may be wondering why i bought this amp, it was an impulse buy i did not even try it out i just loved the looks and was sold, i think there maybe a lesson there!

Purchased blemished from Musicians Friend in 2008. Apparently made by Fender for Gretsch, it is the same amp as the Fender Champ 600 although I think it looks better than the 600. The covering is a beautiful, lacquered tweed in a pattern slightly larger than standard Fender tweed. The only control is for volume. The speaker is 6 inches and there is a built-in jack for an extension speaker. Other than that it is what I wanted: a small and portable 1950's style amp. It is nice and compact and feels like it weighs under 10 lbs which is great. It would be nice if there was a tone control, but hey it is what it is.

I play a 1999 Fender American Standard Strat, a 1999 Gibson Smartwood Les Paul, and a 2008 Fender American Standard HSS Strat. Other amps are a Fender Bassman LTD, Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb RI, and Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 w./1960BV 4x12 cab. Effects are an Ibanez TS9, new model Tube King, and various Boss and MXR pedals.

OK, out of the box the sound quality was really disappointing because the little 6 inch speaker is just terrible. Clean, compared with my Fender Bassman there was no tone, just a transparent knarly mess. Forget about any quality crunch or overdrive with the stock speaker, you'll just get a horrible high-pitched buzz. But there's good news: They give you a speaker output jack. Plugged into my Marshall 4x12 cabinet I got instant E.C. Layla and JTM 45 tones with lots of beautiful high end. Paired with the Tube Screamer or Tube King, amp overdrive sounds great. It is also very loud and sounds like a powerful, full size amp.

So I went one step further and replaced the very crappy 6 inch speaker with an 8 inch Gibson GA-5 speaker I ordered from Mojo for $56 delivered in one week. This is the speaker that makes the Gibson Goldtone GA-5 Les Paul amp sound so good, and it makes this amp sound like that one! Because this amp is a little bit smaller than the GA-5 I mounted the speaker offset fully to the lower left on a 3/8" birch baffle. I sacrificed a hopelessly out-of-style green-plaid pillow sham for the speaker grill, and cut up an old mousepad for shock absorbtion because the amp is so compact that the bigger speaker has the potential to vibrate the amp if it were mounted directly to the wood. I also had to rotate the speaker so that the screws did not touch the chasis and make the tubes vibrate. Now the amp sounds like I imagine an original 5E1 champ from the fifties must sound although I've never heard one in person. It sounds as good as my Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb which is saying a lot. In many ways it sounds better. With the TS9 pushing it into overdrive, it has tons of tone and sounds almost exactly like SRV. Clean, it sounds like Steve Miller Band or Jackson Browne and just has great high end. Overdrive is still not too cruchy, but the tone is there now. Before replacing the speaker I would rate the sound a 5. After the speaker replacement it has a total vintage vibe - a solid 10.

I haven't had it very long nor have I gigged with it but after taking the amp apart twice to properly mount the 8 inch speaker, it looks like it was made with quality parts. It's a simple amp and I have no concerns about reliability.

I have never had any Fender product break down on me and this Gretsch amp is apparently made by Fender.

I would be slightly pissed off if this amp were stolen. Because it's so inexpensive it would be easy to buy another, but I put in many hours replacing the speaker and I would certainly do it again if I had to. Though I am not a professional musician I have been playing guitar for 25 years and this amp has one of those sounds I have been looking for all my life. Thanks Fender, . . ooops I mean Gretsch! Feel free to email me if anyone needs help replacing the speaker.

G5222 6 watts and exactly the same as Fenders Champion 600 just cosmetics that differ. Use for home recording. It is what it is a small tube amp (1x12ax7-pre and 1x6v6s-power, not valve rectifier).

Sound quality is good.......but you really need to modify this amp, especially if recording it is on the agenda! I liked the sound of it out the box as a clean amp and I play a variety of stuff Jazz, blues, country, rock which it does seem to do nicely for all. However...hum...hum...yes it hums loud enough to make me D.I. my guitar straight into my soundcard and revert back to that method of recording. Hang on a minute I bought this amp to record with but unfortunately when trying it out in the shop this problems was not quite as apparant. So I looked into modifying it to my needs and what a difference. I would suggest to anyone wanting to record with this amp that sure buy it but add onto the cost around ??30 for the mod kit which you can buy on Ebay from a guy who goes by the name of Alnicomagnet who supplies the parts and very very good in depth instructions as to how to go about it and more importantly why? also takes steps to make sure you're doing it as safely as possible if you're not too sure. If you can read and use a soldering iron you should have no problem with doing the mods which include fitting h.t. filter, a standby switch(looks after those expensive tubes!) and how to revoice the amp to the spec nearer the old champs(5E1/5F1) of the late 50's 60's. Do not replace tubes till you fit a standby as this thing will zap them good and strip the cathode in no time. Pre mod I'll give it a 6. Post mod a 9 loosing a point due to the speaker which is actually ok but I'm gonna fit an 8" soon....it can be done.

I think this amp is gonna be very reliable(but only time will really tell) and should anything go wrong shouldn't be to big a problem to fix as there ain't too much under the hood!

Never had to deal with them.

I would suggest anyone looking into buying the fender/gretsch versions of this amp to think about modifying it so as to get a much better amp at the end of it than that which is stock. I modified mine, didn't take too long (an afternoon/evening) and I am very happy with what I have ended up with. I changed the cheap 12ax7 tube for a GE5751 with very satisfying results and left the EH6v6 as it sounds ok but I'm sure I'll try some different ones. One thing with the stock valves the 6v6 one seems to vary from unit to unit. I have nothing bad to say about China's manufacturing but if you got Chinese valves in there......change them once you fitted the standby:)

Made in 2008 I got this amp about a month ago two channels one is a little brighter than the other one volume knob 5watts and that's it.
I've had a few amps in my time and this one is the most simple of all of them and I like the idea of set it and forget it.

I'm using a Gibson ES 335 with crybaby to change things a bit it only does one thing but the tone I'm getting and so easily make this amp worth looking at.Two things to watch out for you need a good pickup and
don't expect it to work in a room with wall to wall people the 6" speaker won't push air

Seems ok so far

don't know its cheap so you repair might cost the price of a new one
and i will do some mods so that will void warranty

well I liked this amp so much that I have bought another 5watt this one is a gibson GA5 les paul I thought the GA5 would be a lot better and yes
it is louder and bigger it looks the part I can push it a lot harder but as far as the tone goes they are much the same when you find the sweet spots which are real easy to find

So cool! I am the first reviewer of this amp!!!
This is the new for Winter 2008, G5222 Electromatic Compact Amp.
All the specs are here:
http://www.gretschguitars.com/new08/pdf/5222.pdf
Five watts. Two tubes. Two inputs. Tweed! (or something like it)
No channels, loops, headphone jack, but who cares? This is exactly what you are looking for, a practice, great sounding, very cool looking tube amp. Your fingers and your guitar against the amp. Period. What you get out is what you put in.
I have tried rock, jazz, rockabilly, swing, all sounds good.
Excellent volume and tone for basement, apartment, small combo practice.

I have tried this with a Fender Strat American Deluxe Ash, which has the SCN pickups (noiseless). There is no hum, rattles, hush, nothing.
Actually, I bought a Fender Champion 600, but I returned it to the store as it rattled like crazy at high volumes. Went to another store, and found the 5222, for 50 bucks less!
I think this amp is how the other was intended to sound and perform.
The clean sound you get from this is perfect, and the overdriven sound is just smooth and creamy. No farts or shaking pieces inside (like the F.Ch.600)
I put a Crybaby+TS808+Chorus+DD6 in front of it, it sounds huge, full and musical.
As I was looking for a tube practice amp, in the past 36 hours I have tried the Champion 600, the Epi Valve Junior and the Fender VibroChamp XD and this one is BETTER : Looks, Sound and Price.
Now I am thinking in getting rid of my bigger 40W amp. If I could mike this amp in my gigs, I would have the perfect tone :)

Looks pretty solid, I am planning in taking it with me to gigs and practices, will need to mike it.
Just need to take care of the fabric so it doesn't get stained or ripped.

New Amp, perfect out of the box.
5 years transferable warranty.

Apparently is the same layout and design of the Fender Champion 600, but the materials are way better. The look is vintage and so cool...
It has to be seen (and heard) to appreciate it.
I have owned and/or tried almost all the Fender line of amps, some Marshall (JCM and Valvestate), Roland (JC120, Cubes), but this little guy plays on its own league. If this breaks or gets lost/stolen I would buy other immediately. (Actually, I should get one more now just in case they go out of production)
As I said before, the direct competitor is the Champion 600, but this one just looks better and sounds better. The materials seem to be of a higher quality (just compare the volume knob, it oozes 'vintage')
Probably they are made in the same factory, after all Fender owns Gretsch, but apparently they applied all the lessons learned to the G5222.
I am just very thankful that I found this one in the right moment, I was ready to surrender and get the Epi Valve Jr, after the FC600 fiasco. This is a very happy and proud owner.