Sellers remorse? G5230T or G5220?

Guys, need help here! (and sorry if it is going to be a bit of a read!)

I am a big fan of the Gretsch brand and a few years back I pulled the trigger on the Electromatic G5230T. Loved the way the guitar looked and I "kinda" liked the sound. Why "kinda"? Well... I remember it did not leave such a big impression that I would not sell it. A few months after getting the Gretsch, I stumbled upon upon a nice (and my first) Les Paul. Having too many guitars and with the Les Paul and the Firebird studio around, Gretsch did not get a lot of air time so it went away soon after. But so did the Les Paul (too heavy) and the Firebird (odd shape). I miss the sound of the Firebird and I think I have nailed it now with my current non-oddly-shaped humbucker guitar. But, I also wonder if I have given the Gretsch the proper benefit of the doubt with those two Gibsons lying around...

Now, coming to my question to the wizards of Gretsch on this forum.

I already have the G5230T in my crosshairs, but going through the videos on YT, I actually noticed that the non-tremolo version (G5220) actually has different pickups in. To my ears, these Blacktop Broadtrons (G5220) actually sound more like "normal" humbuckers, while the Filtertrons (G5230T) sound more like an angry Telecaster?

Which one should I get?

 

Ok ok... you've convinced me. I had a listen to this video:


...and concluded that soundwise, the Player series with the Gretsch Filtertrons might have that something that I missed in my G5230T. I pulled the trigger and ordered a G5220! If it will play nice as the G5230T I had previously, I will upgrade it to proper Gretsch Filtertrons. And maybe sometime in the future I put a Bigsby on it.

Any other recommendations aside Gretsch Filtertrons for pickup upgrade? (I prefer a 65 strat to a 54, 64 Tele to a 52 and Pearly Gates to a standard PAF. So I guess, I'm after a low output, gritty and midrange-y pickups)

And that Firestick red? My god it looks good on the photos, hope it will be at least as good in real life...

 

Soo... the Gretsch is in!


First immediate impression plugged into my 57 Champ at low volume (clean) was quite underwhelming to be honest. Also, the color looks quite a bit different in life than what I expected (less vivid than in this photo). Similarly, the binding is very white and looks cheap compared to what I remember was on the G5230T. I am short on guitar space in my apartment and I was seriously considering returning it. But...

Then I decided to give it an another shot through my standard rig (Boss BD2 into Two Notes Torpedo CAB). Sounds vaaay better with a bit of dirt on. I also see that the neck PU is set very low, and so is the action for my taste so it should get even better after a proper setup. And then I plugged in my hybrid Fuzz Face, tuned it in and - bam! Just amazing how good does this thing sound with a Fuzz Face. I even plugged in my Troublemaker Tele with Wizz PAFs to compare them and Gretsch has some of that unholy in-your-face presence that's difficult to explain.

I find it interesting that (if I remember correctly), the knobs are positioned differently than how they were on the G5230T (the tone and bridge knobs are the other way around!).

@new6659 and @hcsterg, thanks for the tip. I was actually thinking the same, the pickups do sound quite good. It's just that on the video that I posted above (to my ears), the resonant peak seems to be somewhat higher on the Broadtrons. That's something I have successfully tuned with a capacitor on the Wizz neck PU, so I will give it a shot before ordering the Filtertrons.

 

Yup,I went for the G5220.

I'm still thinking about a Bigsby. I am not a heavy vibrato user, but I did like the feel of the Bigsby on the G5230T!

160€ for a Bigsby is a bit on the steep side for something that I am not sure I will use...