GRETSCH GUITARS

Gretsch is a U.S. musical instrument manufacturer currently being distributed by guitar company Fender and drum craft company Kaman. It is known primarily for drums and electric guitars such as the White Falcon and Duo Jet.
Gretsch was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a young German immigrant. His Brooklyn shop was made for the manufacture of banjos, tambourines, and drums. In 1895, at the age of 39, Gretsch died, and the successful company was taken over by his son Fred. By 1916, Fred had moved the company into a larger 10-story building in the Williamsburg district, becoming one of the most prominent American musical instrument makers.
Gretsch's "best" years started in the mid 1950s, after Fred's son Fred Jr. had taken the reins—and when the company introduced distinctive models of electric guitars, including the 6120 and White Falcon. The single biggest contribution to Gretsch's success was the addition of Chet Atkins as an endorser. Atkins was one of the pre-eminent guitarists of his day, and it gave Gretsch a fighting chance against Fender's Telecaster and Stratocaster, and the Gibson Les Paul. The Gretsch Broadkaster line has the distinction of being the reason Leo Fender had to change the name of his pioneering solidbody electric guitar. He originally called it the "Broadcaster", but it became the "Telecaster"—and Fender's short run of intermediate, unlabeled guitars ("Nocasters") are extremely rare and expensive on the vintage market. Gretsch ultimately sold thousands of guitars with Chet's name on the pickguard, most notably the 6120 Chet Atkins model, one of which was purchased in 1957 by a young guitar player named Duane Eddy. The worldwide success of Duane's "twangy" instrumental records, television appearances, and extensive touring helped expose the Gretsch guitar to a huge new market, that of the teenage rock and roll fan.
Unfortunately, Fred never found an adequate successor, and in 1967 Gretsch was sold to Baldwin Pianos,[1] becoming a subsidiary. Gretsch's name lost prestige as its models were seen as cheapening and their signature styles fell out of fashion. Factory fires in the early 1970s caused serious problems, and production was finally halted by Baldwin in 1981. In 1989, the Gretsch family once again acquired their namesake company, and production began anew. Models throughout the 1990s were high-quality but expensive, and mostly consisted of classic reissues.
Finally, in 2003, Gretsch and Fender reached an agreement giving Fender most control over production and distribution of guitars (although the Gretsch family still owns Gretsch Guitars) — and a foothold in the hollowbody guitar market traditionally dominated by Gibson. The Gretsch family continues its involvement in the drum business, which is now part of the Kaman Music Corporation of musical instrument companies.


Gretsch G6120 Review:

Features : 10 This is a 1998 Gretsch 6120. It's not the Setzer or the reissue. The neck and body are maple and the fretboard is "ebonized rosewood". The hardware is all gold-plated. The neck feels a little big, but I'm used to a Fender Jag-Stang which has a tiny body and neck (this is quite a switch!). The inlays are "pearloid" blocks. There's a thin black stripe on the back of the neck. The finish is a lovely transparent orange that shows off the maple really well. It seems almost reddish in some lighting. Looks VERY Chet Atkins (probably because he helped design the original one in the '50's). The headstock has the Gretsch logo and a horseshoe on it, both pearloid on a medium brown finish. It's a 2 3/4' thick hollowbody with bound f-holes, as well as body and neck binding and a black line on the binding's edge. It has standard FilterTron pickups-- humbuckers with 12 screws. These are controled by a 3-way switch and master volume, master tone, neck volume, and bridge volume knobs, all with impressed Gretsch G arrows on them. The bridge is a Gretsch "roller" bridge-- basically a tune-o-matic with small wheels instead of pointy saddles. The bridge is (wonderful) a Bigsby with the Gretsch logo on it.
Sound : 10 I play rocka/psychobilly and surf music (Stray Cats, The Reverend Horton Heat, The Ventures, Dick Dale, Elvis). The Gretsch works out well tone-wise for all of them. I wouldn't use it for a band that's primarily surf, though. The tone is a little too big for most surf on anything but the bridge pickup (though the neck works for Pipeline), and it's easier to get that speed surf picking on a flat Fender than on this huge hollowbody. However, on twangy instrumentals, like Ghostriders in the Sky or Pride of San Jacinto-- songs that sound like range-riding Texas songs-- this guitar is right on the money. Works like magic for psycho or rockabilly. VERY versatile. You can get great blues tones, pure clean, or very raunchy. The bridge can get as tight and trebly as you want, and the neck is really full and jazzy-- wonderfully thick. Using both pickups yields much variety due to the individual volume controls, allowing you to blend the pickups. Very responsive here. I play it into an Ibanez Soundtank Tubescreamer to a DanEcho into a a Fender Hot Rod DeVille and am very pleased. The pickups are SILENT. Moreso than any other humbucker I've ever heard. Very pleased. Also, outside of the context of a band, I enjoy a little Chet Atkins-style finger picking, and this works really well for that.
Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 No problems yet. I've had it for over two weeks and it's all working. The neck is really fast for such a large chunk of wood. Oddly, the neck pickup seems louder than the bridge, but with the individual volume controls, that's non really a problem. The real beauty is how well it stays in tune after a long Bigsby workout. You can push the bar all the way down it comes right back to pitch. I believe this is due largely to the smooth rolling action of the bridge. I'll probably end up lubing them every now and them. All the gold on the hardware looks good, but it demands attention and cleaning to stay good looking. It came set up well for my kind of music-- no buzzes or rattles. Plus there's no center block, which I love.
Reliability/Durability : 10 Yes, this guitar is pretty tough for a hollowbody. The finish is very strong. The strap button near the neck starts to unscrew itself every now and then, but they don't feel like they'll ever break. Yes I will depend on this guitar. I don't think it would be safe to gig without a backup due to and chance of string breakage, but if I ever played with no backup, I'd make sure I had the Gretsch strapped on.
Overall Rating : 10 I've been playing for five years. I started with an acoustic, then to a Squire, then to my Jag-Stang, and now the Gretsch 6120. I'm only sorry I couldn't have been playing it sooner. My favorite thing about it is the sound it gets from a big 7th chord being shaken up by the Bigsby through the neck pickup. Like a dream! I considered the Tennessee Rose, the reissue and the Setzer (which a found a bit pricy), but this had the features I like-- all gold hardware, no useless switches, etc. It doesn't matter what kind of music you play, or if you're lead or rhythm-- try a Gretsch, hollow or semi-solid. FilterTrons and Bigsbys sound like nothing else.