Gretsch 6122 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman Walnut 1964
Gretsch 6122 Country Gentleman, walnut stain, made in USA 1964. In the 1950s, two recording artists cast enormous shadows over the musical landscape and were instrumental in bringing the electric guitar to the forefront of popular music: Lester W. 'Les' Paul, and Chester B. 'Chet' Atkins. Chet's first signature model, the 6120 Nashville, hit the shelves in 1954, the same year as the Stratocaster. A couple of years later in 1957, Chet took a hands-on approach with Gretsch designing a new and higher end model to bear his name alongside the 6120: enter the Country Gent. It got some fun new Chet-requested appointments: half moon inlays, simulated F holes to reduce feedback, a wider 17" body with a thinner 2" depth, trestle bracing and a pair of Ray Butts' new Filter'Tron humbucking pickups, all dressed in a classy walnut stain finish with gold hardware. It's a classic combination, and the Country Gent went on to become one of the most iconic hollow body models of all time, popping up in the hands like George Harrison and Lou Reed. This example dates to 1964: early in the piece, which is very cool. It's not exactly a collectors piece: the binding is a bit crumbled in spots, the pickups have been replaced, it's had minor wiring changes and the pickguard and truss rod cover have been lost to the sands of time. But, this is such an amazing way into the world of 1960s USA made guitars, and it sounds and plays brilliantly. The neck is slim and comfy, with an intuitive rounded C profile and a gorgeous ebony board. The binding is fine around the neck, so it's not much of an issue feel-wise in my opinion; if you wanted the body binding replaced we could arrange that for around an extra A$1k, just get in touch. The sound is awesome: very full and weighty on the bass, with a strong and rounded fundamental note, paired with a gooey, rich midrange dripping with harmonic complexity and an understated, chirpy musical top end. It's amazing for blues, rockabilly and jazz stuff, but handles heavier classic rock stuff with gusto too. This is so much fun, it's a really fun vintage player's grade mojo machine.
Model: Gretsch 6122 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman
Made: USA, 1964, NYC factory
Serial: 77687
Finish: walnut stain, gloss nitro
Body: laminate maple, fully hollow, 436mm across, 51mm deep
Neck: 2-piece maple, ebony fretboard, 24.6" scale, 12" radius, slim C shape
Weight: 3.605kg
Mods: leather back cover removed, truss cover and pickguard removed, pickups replaced, bridge replaced, original mute switch replaced with master tone control
Pickups: Seymour Duncan Psyclone humbucker, TV Jones Classic Plus humbucker (bridge)
Accessories: basic non original hard case, no extra parts
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples and scuffs on the end and edges, checking lines and scuffs on the back, fading, checking and scuffs on the front and yellowing off the binding. Note the truss cover is missing. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, it's got some dimples and scuffs on the back as well as some bald patches near the heel and on the edges around the first few frets. The fretboard is in good shape, and the binding around the neck is in great order save for a hairline crack on the bass side around fret 19. The back has rub marks where the leather cover was attached, scuffs and checking on the horns and some scuffs and dimples in the elbow area, back edge and bottom edge. The sides have checking and scuffs all over, as well as dimples in the elbow area and near the jack. The binding has 10-15cm crumbled sections on the top horn, elbow area, back edge and smaller 2-5cm crumbled sections near the jack and on the bottom horn; it's not too much of a tactile issue in my opinion. The front has scuffs and checking on the horns, dimples around the faux holes, scuffs around the bridge tailpiece and knobs and widespread minor checking over the rest of the body.
Overall: good condition (6/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.
Fret life: 7/10, minor wear only and playing evenly