The Original Gretsch 6120 and Its Rebirth

Posted on 08. Mar, 2010 by amauto in Uncategorized

In 1954 Chet Atkins put down his D’Angelico and made a commitment to Gretsch brand guitars. So came about the birth of the Gretsch 6120. $385 would buy the Gretsch 6120 and it was instantly popular. 30 years in the future, this guitar was still in demand by musicians due to its superior features.

The Gretsch 6120 became known for its Western Orange color, but inexplicably, it was manufactured in red in 1957. As time has gone by, the Gretsch 6120 has slowly been transformed from a western-style guitar to a more conventional, unadorned instrument. A couple of major cosmetic changes were made in 1957 in addtion to the bright red color the arrow embellishments on the knobs were replaced with the “G” logo. The same year the rather overwhelming “G” brand was take off of the right side of the guitar’s body much to the relief of finicky collectors.

In 1959 a catalog advertisement promoted the 6120s features:

This Chet Atkins guitar is the favorite one ever manufactured. It has a slender 16″ cutaway design. The tailpiece and tremolo are by Bigsby. The 6120 features Gretsch’s exclusive twin FilterTron electronic heads. The Actionflo neck is an adjustable rod unit. The high gloss curly maple neck and body are finished in an exquisite amber red. The Neo-Classic fingerboard is silky black. The shoulder strap was crafted of beautifully carved saddle leather. The metal components are all gold-plated.

The Gretsch organization became very forward-thinking in 1958. The Project-0-sonic Sterso wiring, along with humbucking FilterTron pickups (designed to lesson electronic humming) were debuted. The burnished Country Gentlemen also debuted this year, and was the costliest and most superior guitar available.

Gretch brought out a radically different model in 1962, which had a double cutaway hollowbody and false f-holes. Chet Atkins was the one who thought of the false f-holes, which were thought to keep the tone as pure as possible, while also lowering the amount of feedback.

As they released the double cutaway Electrontone hollowboy Gretsch put themselves right where they belonged after a solid ten years of guitar innovation, on and even plane with Gibson and the like. Gibson invented the double cutaway in 1958, but by this time, Gretsch was competing with them as a top-selling model.

In 1967, Chet Atkin’s Nashville Gretsch 6120 model was introduced, and had a gold-plated headstock with ebony Gretsch script on the pickguard.

Today, obviously, the Gretsch organization manufactures the Gretsch 6120 in a number of different styles. Some of these are reproductions of the first Chet Atkins Hollobody, while other are signature versions featuring the autographs of Brian Setzer and Reverend Horton Heat.

The Gretsch 6120 versions available today offer only the best fittings and electronics. If you want a 6120 you are buying a premium guitar with unmatched quality.

The newest reproduction of Chet Atkins’ Gretsch 6120 Hollow Body guitar features a 16″ wide, black fingerboard and Neo-Classic “thumbnail” inlays, Grover Rotomatic machine heads, an Adjustomatic bridge, a B6G vibrato tailpiece by Bigsby, twin High Sensitive FilterTron pickups, a 2.5″ deep full hollow body, and a rock maple neck. These guitars are manufactured in Black, Blue Burst, and Deep Orange Stain.

Tags: gretsch 6120