Did Chet Atkins design The Gretsch Country Gentleman?

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 2 Aug 2001 5:21 pm

Gretsch=repitch!

I have repitched several Gretsch 60s model Country Gentlemen guitars and seen more than I wanted to that needed it. Most of the hack luthiers just plane down the end of the fingerboard and that is just lame! Screws up the pitch of the strings over the bridge from the Bigsby.

Problem with the Country Gent neck joint is that it is cut with so much slop in it you can't believe it. The mortise is filled in on both sides with some pieces of veneer and then glue is virtually poured in and then they string it up! It last for a while and then everything gives up and the neck shifts.

The best repair is to make a wedge out of mahogany that makes full contact with the back, and then make two shims for the sides of the neckslot that are really tight. use a little Titebond glue and press fit it together. 1 million times better!!

VERY expensive repair if done right. You got to take all the binding off the neck, remove the last 1/4 of the fingerboard, drill out that ebony circle that by the way hides a doggone wood screw that goes into the neck joint!!!! The you have to replace all that after repitching.

The thing that makes the Gretsch guitars interesting is the thing that makes all guitars interesting---the sound. Gretsch sounds like Gretsch-Fender sounds like Fender -Gibsons sounds like Gibson--and on and on.

The Atkins recorded sound is a thing of wonder from say 1960-63. Bill Porter engineering is a HUGE part of the sound. 59 or so Country Gent with a lot of wood in the center of it. They only made that model for a few years. Standel amp with 705s in the output!! Neuman mike. Low volume and the EMT plate on stun!! Beautiful bass and the eveness of the guitar is just incredible. My fav Chet period.

The 70s was full of that awfull "isolation" sound and the newer recordings by Atkins with the Gibson guitar are a totally different sound.

This thread makes me wish I had all those 59 Gretschs I bought for $75 each in the 70s back. There was quite a period of time when nobody wanted to be caught dead with a Gretsch!! Not until the Stray Cats came on the scene did the value of the old Gretsches make a comeback.

Gary Boyett · Post by **Gary Boyett** » 2 Aug 2001 7:44 pm

I own a 1963 Country Gent that was my father in laws. What are they worth nowdays?
This guitar is in pretty good condition. Some wear on the gold but no scratches. NO I am not wanting to sell it. It will go to my son when I go to the big band in the sky. I was just wandering.
Thanks for the help.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 2 Aug 2001 11:58 pm

What are they worth nowdays?

I'd say between $1,500 and $2,500 depending in the condition.

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » 7 Aug 2001 5:11 pm

My Country Gentleman is a 1970 or 1971 (left handed). I special ordered it in 1971 (early) and I am not sure if it is that year model. It does not have the muffler, and has the thumbnail markers on both sides of the fretboard. Mine is about as clean as they get with just a little wear on the bridge pickup cover. I did put a gold tune-a-matic bridge (movable) on it that made a big difference. My experience with this guitar is it sounds great through the right amp. I play it through my 1957 Fender Pro with a little echo and it sounds great. I bought my Les Paul Deluxe in 1972, and it has been my favorte guitar since then until I got my G&L ASAT, which is my current favorite.
Lefty[This message was edited by Lefty on 07 August 2001 at 06:13 PM.]

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 8 Aug 2001 3:49 am

Lefty, Gretsch stopped making the guitars with the mutes in '68 or '69. I think that by '71 they had already being sold to Baldwin.

Does your guitar have real F holes? or are they painted on? Does it have the vinyl pad in the back? And does the neck meet the body at the 14th or 17th fret?

The real F holes, and the neck heel at the 17th fret were Baldwin adaptations, as was dumping the vinyl pad. But the company may have produced a few guitars according to the old family recipe before redesigning them. I don't know.

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » 8 Aug 2001 4:06 pm

Mike,
Mine has painted "F" holes and a padded back with snaps for the pad. The neck heal joins at the 14th (not counting the zero fret). It has the Gretsch logo on the pickguard as opposed to the Country Gentlman, and has the square gold plate with Country Gentleman and a number I believe on the peghead. I ordered it in early 1971, and bought it with a silverface non-master twin reverb, and had to wait quite a few months to receive it. It does turn heads at the rare occasions I pull it out and play it out.
Lefty[This message was edited by Lefty on 08 August 2001 at 05:10 PM.]

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 8 Aug 2001 10:30 pm

Lefty, it sounds like your guitar is one of the last made by the Gretsch family before Baldwin took over. By this time them may have been running out of parts, which would account for the different pickguard. This is of course only a guess.

If it's anything like mine (although mine has the mute) I bet it's a killer axe.

Harry Hess · Post by **Harry Hess** » 11 Aug 2001 3:26 pm

I read in an interview with Chet that he liked the Gibson's with his name on them much better because Gibson was willing to put in the solid center like a 335. Gretch refused, so he may not of had that much input into their design after all.

What do you Gretch experts think of the current Gretch line ?

They're made in Japan, right?

Regards,
HH

Tele · Post by **Tele** » 12 Aug 2001 9:42 am

The new/Japan Gretsches are quite okay though overpriced...there were a few US built 6120s back in the 1990s that are now very sought after.
I still wish Gretsch would pay more attention in reissuing their classic models(wrong shapes, colors, parts)...this would justify their prices a bit more.

Still prefers my 1955...

Andy

------------------
1961 Sho~Bud D-9:1962 Sho~Bud D-10 : 1969 Emmons D-10 : Bigsby T-8
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[This message was edited by Tele on 12 August 2001 at 10:45 AM.]

Richard Vogh · Post by **Richard Vogh** » 13 Aug 2001 5:41 am

My 2-cents:

The "new" Gretsch guitars, most or all of which are built in whole or in part in Japan, are really nice guitars.

My impression, the few times I have briefly handled new Gretsches from the 1990's, is that they are rather heavy, more so than the old ones. But that may not be correct. It's just an impression, and not a genuine comparison.

I've read that the switches on new Gretsches are lower quality, and that they can be replaced by better switches.

I'm still looking for the Gretsch, old or new, with just the right combination of features I want, and at a time when I can afford it!. For a while Gretsch had a custom shop in the USA during the 1990's, but I think they have since abandoned that.

I am very glad that Gretsch still exists as a real entity, owned and operated by a real Mr. and Ms. Gretsch, and not bound up in multiple succesive acquisitions and mergers, etc. It's amazing that Gretsch is still around, considering that they were thoroughly run into the ground during the Baldwin era.

Actually, virtually every old major musical instrument maker (of guitars, brass horns, woodwinds, etc.) has fallen on hard times, and has been through devastating ownership and manufacturing changes and a resurgence, sometime between the 1960's and the 1990's.

I like some of the new colors Gretsch has added. Here are some examples: