Hi there,
My son has a G5222 which he loves. I think it would be fantastic if Gretsch brought out a similar retro-tweed Electromatic amp of around 15-25w with tone controls and maybe reverb.
Does anyone know of any plans Gretch may have along these lines?
Also, I have a feeling that the G5222, like the identical Fender Champion 600, will be considered a sales success. Is that also what you guys think?
To my knowledge no new Electromatic amps have been added to the line. I don't recall seeing mention of any in the extensive NAMM coverage here either.
Last I heard, Billy Zoom was building some prototype amps for Gretsch but I doubt those would fall in the Electromatic line. (Hopefully they'll be a third line between the Victoria-built Gretsch amps like the G6163 Executive and the Electromatic line so I can afford one.)
You'll find a lot of fans of the 5222 here and a lot of great ideas from people who have modified theirs as well. I've kept mine stock but have considered buying a second one just to try some mods on. It's a good little amp, particularly for its price bracket, and I'm sure it'll be a sales success.
Sounds like a nice idea. I love my g5222 - the tone is beautiful, and I can't imagine how the various mods may sound - I wonder how good it can get! - plus I don't have the guts to try them. But I use that little amp for live performances and just mic it. I'll stick a pedal in front of it when called for - such a sweet sound.
Hmm, I'm new to Gretsch amps, and agree their top of the line amps do sound beautiful, but are just too pricey for someone on social security like me.
For playing around the house, I'm using a Vox Pathfinder, while all the vintage Voxes and the Bassman 100 are stored away. Crank up the bass and treble, put that puppy on neck pickup and I'm in Heaven!
How does this small amp sound in comparison to others?
Thanks
You can get an idea by checking youtube for the Fender Champion 600 amp - same amp in a different covering. My g5222 has a warm and brilliant sound, sort of a fender clean. I don't really crank it too often, but it gives a nice overdrive when you do. I like keeping the volume down so I use an overdrive pedal.
Some have reported hums and hissing. Mine doesn't. I think the grill cloth made some flappy noises at first when I pushed the volume, but I stretched it a little and it doesn't do that now.
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Billy did mention he was designing amps for a cost effective price point. I dunno what kind of cost, but it's nice to hear he had it in mind.
A Deluxe Reveerb or Blues Jr. in Western trim? The G5222/Fender Champ seems to be popular, and a 15-20 watt tube amp from an industry standard like Fender seems like a no-brainer.
At 15 watts, the Fender Pro Junior floats my boat. I tried a Blues Jr. and it made strange noises when the "fat" button was pressed. But the G5222 reminds me of a small Pro Jr. A tweedy Gretch version would be sweet, maybe with a little earlier break up.
I made a suggestion to Joe and Mike about creating an Electromatic amp based on the 100 Watt Fender Frontman 212 (of course I own one)
I think that if Gretsch brought out an Electromatic amp that looked Retro (tweed, cream chicken head knobs etc) preferably valve, rather than solid state, say 25w, they'd sell loads of them in the UK to the Rockabilly players, providing the price was right.
It could be one of the prettiest amps of all time, with careful design.
The timing could also be right, because there are signs that maybe Rockabilly could be in line for a commercial re-surfacing.
maybe they could even just repackage small fender amps, like Pro Jr., Blues Jr. etc. into Gretsch skin. I'd like that.
Of course, they'd be a bit pricey. Me, I'd take a Gretsch Super Electromatic "XD" for around the same price! That'd be the day! 
Slightly off-topic regarding any new Electromatic amps in prospect.
Tonight, I had a practice session in the house with my youngest son playing his Black Electromatic Pro-Jet with Bigsby through an old Evans Echophet box which I had set to give a single slap-back echo. I sang into a mic also going through this echo, again with the same slap-back effect. So both the guitar and vocals were going into the little Electromatic G5222 valve amp. I was playing slap-bass using my plain gut-strung upright bass, unamplified. We had a fantastic authentic 50's Rockabilly sound, and the little G5222 handled it brilliantly.
What a great little amp the G5222 is.
I spoke to another Gretsch player this week and she agreed that if they brought out a valve Electromatic tweed amp of say 15-25w it would be a sure-fire winner.
well, yeah, that's what i was saying - they don't even need to "bring out" anything new - they (fender) just need to re-sking several of their popular small amps into gretsch (and preferably also fender) RETRO styling.
too bad i won't be able to afford any of them :(
Dead right. Retro styling is so important, particularly from a sales point of view IMO. My eldest son has a Fender Champion 600. Same amp, different skin. It's a pretty little amp, but the Gretsch G5222 is just dead gorgeous.
we're going to have another practice session tonight, this time including my eldest son with his Telecaster, Danelectro echo and Fender Champion 600. More pure Rockabilly!
I thought G5222 IS Champ 600 reskinned? I don't really know when Fender decided to make it a Gretsch, but it was a great idea. That's why I said what I said, what's stopping them from reskinning the Juniors. I like them both - if I owned a Gretsch, I'd want the G5222, otherwise I'd go with the Fender, which looks like a little retro TV or radio, cool.
GearJunky. Sorry I didn't make it clear, but I'm aware that the Gretsch amp came after the Fender one. And yes, it really was a great idea. As you say, they should also re-skin the Juniors.
My lads had both the Fender and the Gretsch amps for Christmas and they sound identical. They have next to no background hum which I've read the early Champion 600s had, so maybe they've improved them somehow.
No sense waiting for a re-skinned Pro Junior in Gretsch Tweed that has no promise of ever being made - I finally bought a Pro Jr, used. Looking forward to receiving it. What I like about the Jr. is that it sounds so much like the G5222 - only a bigger sound. Hope this one is right...I think I did well at $201 on Evil-Bay
OK, let me get my two cents worth in here. How about a re-skinned Princeton Reverb Reissue, but with a bigger cab and a 12" speaker. 
Anything with Western Trim.
