Gretsch 7506 Acoustic guitar from 1972 with an unusual bridge.

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This Gretsch 7506 initially caught my eye as it was not what I think of when I see the words "Gretsch" and "Acoustic" together. I'm used to the more ubiquitous triangular sound-hole that I thought was common to all of their flattop offerings. 

Again, I stand corrected.

Here we have a very traditional folk acoustic guitar. This made in the USA guitar has a couple of Gretsch hints, the headstock, the back access panel to the truss adjustment, and the 3 piece sadd..................le......what? Is? Going on?

Apparently I'd never seen the Tri-Saddle that they used on their acoustic guitars in the early 1970s. Is this extremly rare, or have i just missed it all these years?

Currently listed for $1000 Canadian dollars.

R.W. Haller

© 2016, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Gretsch Elliot Easton signature guitar from 2005

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This awesome Elliot Easton Signature guitar has all the awesome "G's" happening. It's a green, gold, and glorious Gretsch. 

What more could a boy ask for?

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Gretsch Superaxe from 1978 with on-board effects

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I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Gretsch had made a guitar with built in effects. They are a pretty unique company in that they often try new ideas and designs yet can still maintain a reputation built on their classic hollow body guitars.

This Gretsch Superaxe from 1978 comes in a very familiar orange and includes onboard phaseshifter, compressor, and sustain. It appears to be in stellar condition and should please any Gretsch fan.

Listed at $2995 Canadian

R.W. Haller






© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Beautifully Vintage Gretsch Synchromatic from 1955

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This all original (except the tuners) Gretsch Synchromatic 100 looks like it still has a ton of songs left in her. I'd really love to write on a guitar of this vintage.

I love the art deco bridge and the simple tailpiece.

My guitar covet-list grows

R.W. Haller



© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1979 Gretsch Committee with a slightly modified body

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This poor Gretsch Committee has been modified to allow reach to the higher frets. It does look like the job was well done at least. To see what it should look like check here for an unmolested version.

I do admit though that the offset nature does not bother me that much and if it would help with negotiating a cheaper price it would be possible to get a nice Gretsch solidbody at a deal.

My "kijiji trade" wheels are turning.

R.W. Haller


© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Gretsch Broadcaster 1970s solidbody oddity

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This Gretsch Broadcaster circa 1975-76 wouldn't win any beauty contests. It's as if they wanted to make a Fender-like solidbody but didn't spend too much time actually designing the guitar, so it's a big slab-bodied affair. Despite that, I'm sure it's a perfectly competent player; the seller claims that "you can obtain tones from twangy country to AC/DC".

Currently listed on eBay with a possibly overly optimistic starting price of US $1,175.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Gretsch Synchromatic Jr. G3967 Historic Series

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Gretsch guitars are usually associated with cool super classic outlines, but the rare Gretsch Synchromatic Jr. G3967 really stands out of the lot, with its claw-like florentine cutaway, thin waistline, cat's eye sound-holes and gold finish!

Reviews say that it has its own specific sound with its floating mini-humbucker creating an almost acoustic quality than people often associate with some kind of jazz, but of course you can play any kind of music with any kind of sound!

It's exactly the kind of guitar I love, a classic base with a twist - well this one has more than one!

Bertram D

PS. exceptionally I take the opportunity of this post to invite you to pay a visit to my other blog, where I posted my first pedal review - for the Inductor Guitars Mellifluous Pussy MP-1. 

I enjoyed making this review, and I plan to do more, feel free to leave comments! 

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Gretsch G6131SMY Malcolm Young Signature

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I love bizarre guitars with too many knobs and too many pickups, too much chrome and awkward outlines, but sometimes I fall for simplicity in its purest form, and I can only bow before this beautiful Gretsch G6131SMY, the Malcolm Young signature version of the Duo Jet, that has nothing too much: single bridge FilterTron, wraparound bridge, two knobs, that's it - and an arched laminated maple top on a semi-hollow symmetrical double-cutaway body. Just perfect.

Bertram D

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Gretsch Roots Collection G9500 flat top parlour-style acoustic guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Guitarz reader Alan writes:

You gotta see this. Gretsch has rolled out a new guitar for their "Roots" series, recreating guitar models from a much earlier era. This time out they put their mark on a guitar that echoes the stylings of old plywood Harmony "Stella" models from the '40s-60s. Right down to the "Steel Reinforced Neck" stencil on the headstock.

Or, as Gretsch themselves put it:

Crackerjack quality at a sober price! Faithfull to the Gretsch "Rex" parlor guitars of the 1930s, '40s and '50s, the all-new G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top parlor-style model embodies everything that was great about everyone's first guitar. Everything and then some, that is, because the G9500 is crafted with select guitar woods and is fully lined and braced for warm and pleasing tone, with a 24" scale for endless hours of playing comfort.

Indeed, it is a guitar that appeals. I've always had a soft spot for parlour-sized acoustics, and absolutely love those retro looks but with  the added bonus of modern quality materials and construction it should sound and play a whole lot better than its influences.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!

Gretsch Spectrasonic G6144 C Melody Baritone by TV Jones

guitarz.blogspot.com

Another guitar I'd love to play before I die - preferably on stage (the playing - well also the dying if I come to this) - is this wonderful Gretsch Spectrasonic G6144 C Melody Baritone designed by luthier Thomas V. Jones - originally for Brian Setzer. Not only I'm more and more into baritone guitars (preferably with a very long scale like this one - tuned in C), but it is one of best designs I've ever seen - I just love that pickguard!

This model (with chambered body, Powertron pickups and Bigsby trem) - together with a regular guitar version and a bass one was short lived in the early 2000s but TV Jones' own company took over the production since - not for cheap I'm afraid...

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Vinage & Rare Guitar of the Week: 1956 Gretsch Chet Atkins model 6129

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Whoops! It seems I've not featured any Vintage & Rare guitars recently - this is not a deliberate oversight, rather it's just a case of me having been very busy and often not posting on the blog until last thing at night and - dare I say it - without having had the time to put in the research. So apologies to our friends at Vintage & Rare - we haven't forgotten you!

Although it looks like a Gretsch Roundup, this particular beauty - a 1956 Gretsch model 6129 - is believed to be the original Chet Arkins guitar before Gretsch developed his own signature model. It is being offered for sale by The Guitar Doctor via Vintage & Rare. Note the studded leather trim around the sides of the body; on many guitars it could look tacky, but on this Gretsch it looks quite natural and "appropriate".

To see and hear more, check out this video from Vintage & Rare:

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

The Mini-Me version of the Gretsch Electromatic Bo Diddley guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

When I saw the Buy It Now price on this Gretsch Electromatic Bo Diddley guitar currently listed on eBay I did a double take, for $224.99 seems very reasonable for a Gretsch guitar. My next reaction was that it must be a copy or counterfeit. But then I looked more closely at the photographs and read in the item description that it has a 21 1/2" scale length, and I realized that this is not the regular full-size Bo Diddley model. I guess this was designed to suit younger players and those of a smaller stature. It's quite a basic guitar, probably Korean or Chinese-made, with a bolt-on neck and just a single pickup, but as short-scale guitars go it makes a nice change from those mini Fenders or Daisy Rock's earlier (and girlier) guitars.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Davy Jones of the Monkees, RIP

guitarz.blogspot.com:

More sad news, I'm afraid. Davy Jones, famous as being "the British one" in 1960s manufactured pop band The Monkees, has passed away in his Florida home, aged 66. [BBC News story]

Although occasionally seen with a guitar or bass on The Monkees TV show (courtesy of Gretsch who supplied instruments for the programme), Jones wasn't particularly known as a guitarist, but in fact all four Monkees - Jones along with Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz and Mike Nesmith were very musical.

They rebelled against their management's insistence that Monkees records should be made by session musicians and feature only one Monkee at a time on lead vocals (usually Jones or Dolenz), and on later albums they gained artistic control, playing their own instruments and writing the songs.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Red Rubber Ball - The Cyrkle (featuring a Gretsch Bikini bass and guitar doublenck)

guitarz.blogspot.com:

As a postscript to last week's Vintage & Rare post about the Gretsch Bikini Bass, here's the doubleneck version in action! (OK, before some smartarse says it, they're miming. But, still...)

(Thanks Jim!)

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Vintage & Rare guitar of the week: 1962 Gretsch Bikini Bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I guess that without the foldaway hinged "wings" making up the body this 1962 Gretsch Bikini Bass would resemble a LaBaye 2x4. Note how the volume and tone controls are mounted on the top edge of the central section. It makes me wonder if this was an early take on the travel guitar, one that folds down into a small package. I'm pretty sure that Gretsch also made a 6-string guitar neck too which would also fit into the same hinged body. The Who's John Entwistle had a doubleneck Gretsch Bikini in his collection; the foldaway nature of the instrument would be a definite advantage on a cumbersome doubleneck and you would also be able to choose which way around to arrange the necks (bass on top and guitar on bottom, or guitar on top and bass on bottom).

This bass is currently being offered for sale via Vintage & Rare priced at €1344.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Gretsch Corvette Deluxe solidbody from 1976

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I've commented before that I particularly like some of Gretsch's solidbody designs, whereas of course that company is mainly known for its hollowbodies. This Gretsch Corvette Deluxe from 1976 is one such example of a solidbody that appeals to me so, from the all-access neck, the sculpted contoured body, the metal control panel, right up to the unusual 2+4 headstock design. It may not be a model coveted or even held in regard by Gretsch fanatics, but it's not one that I would overlook.

Alas, the eBay France auction has finished already, although seeing as it didn't sell with a starting price of €700, maybe it'll be re-listed.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Traveling Willburys collection for sale includes 5 guitars and a pot of jam

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The Traveling Willburys were a supergroup of sorts comprising members Lucky (Bob Dylan), Otis (Jeff Lynne), Charlie T. Jr. (Tom Petty), Lefty (Roy Orbison) and Nelson (George Harrison).

The group spawned all sorts of memorabilia including these guitars which were marketed by Gretsch but actually built in Korea. They are loosely based on the classic singlecut Danelectro design. I hadn't previously realised that so many variations existed.

Here we have a whole Traveling Willburys collection for sale which includes five guitars, i.e. one TW500 (I think that's the twin pickup model), one TW300T (that'll be the one with the trem), two TW200s (the non-trem TWs with the humbucker pickup) and one TW100 (the single coil equipped guitar).

The collection also includes three Traveling Willburys guitar boxes, a framed Traveling Willburys poster, a Traveling Willburys canvas bag, and a pot of "Genuine Will-Berry Jam".

Currently listed on eBay with a starting price of £999.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Gretsch 7685 with dice fingerboard inlays, dice headstock inlay, and dice control knobs!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Do you think there's a theme going on here?

Although this 1970s Gretsch 7685 could not be called original with its replacement pickups (Seymour Duncans) and non-original gold Bigsby, the dice inlays on fingerboard and headstock are original to the guitar, this supposedly being a rare model.

I can't say that I like dice-shaped volume and control knobs and the dice inlays, but they are infinitely preferable to that other cliché we see all too often on guitars: skulls.

Anyway, this particulary dusty example pictured here (I guess it hadn't been played in a while) recently sold on eBay UK for £621.99.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Gretsch Model 7264 solidbody from 1979

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I can find out almost nothing about this 1979 Gretsch Model 7264 solidbody resplendent in transparent red finish. It has a bolt-on neck, and the eBay seller tells us that the build date is Jan 5, 1979.

It does look remarkably similar to the Gretsch TK-300 that we looked at in 2008; in fact from the photos alone I can't detect any differences. I'm wondering perhaps if I'd somehow come up with the wrong designation for that one. Are there any Gretsch enthusiasts out there who can enlighten us further?

Anyway, it's a beautiful guitar, and is currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $999 with no bids as I write this and only a day and a half to go before the auction finishes.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Gretsch Committee 7628 solidbody circa 1978

guitarz.blogspot.com:

It's a Gretsch but it's not a large-sized hollowbody, not is it equipped with a Bigsby vibrato*. In fact on first sight this Gretsch Committee 7628 looks distinctly un-Gretsch-like other than the giveaway headstock and logo. It has a slab-body with a German carve around the top, and is of throughneck multi-laminate construction as was so popular in the 1980s (those stripey throughnecks!), but this is from the latter 1970s.

Currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,119.99, this is actually priced much more cheaply than some other examples I have seen.

[* OK, so before anyone comments, I know that many Gretsches are Bigsby-less and there are all the "Jet" series of solidbodies, but the hollowbody Bigsby-equipped Gretsch beloved of rockabilly and rock'n'roll artists is probably the popular image that most people conjure up when they hear the name Gretsch.]

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!