1964 Gretsch 6120 Orange, Excellent, Hard, $2,995.00

Now here’s an unusual one. It is, by serial number, a late-1964 Gretsch 6120, with the word “Nashville” below the Chet Atkins signature on the pickguard, but the odd thing is that the fingerboard is rosewood rather than the standard ebony; I’ve never seen another like it. Not only that, but all the ones I’ve seen from early-1964 and into 1965 have a dark-stained peghead veneer with a horseshoe-shaped plastic inlay. Not his one; it’s got a light-colored lightly-flamed maple veneer, no inlay, and it also has one of those gold-plated metal plates up there, engraved with “CHET ATKINS/NASHVILLE/MODEL”. And those things were indeed engraved, not stamped like the new ones. I oughta know; I worked at that Brooklyn, NY Gretsch factory in 1964-65, and one of the things I did there, for what seemed like days, was to engrave those plates on a clattery old machine that they had gotten from the original Epiphone factory. So why the unusual neck? Special order? Possible but doubtful. Someone was hung over and grabbed a neck from the wrong stack in the middle of production? Quite possible. Someone screwed up the last one, on the last guitar, on a Friday, took what he could find and figured no one would notice or care? Hmmm… Regardless: it’s unusual, it’s rare far as I know, and it’s original; I’ll vouch for that. And it’s a great guitar. All just set up to play fabulously right here by those who know; all original finish in beautiful condition, not even any wear on the back of the neck; just about no fret wear; none of that “Gretsch binding disease”, just a wee bit on the heel cap and no matter. And, as they useta say, it has “That Great Gretsch Sound!”. Foam pad on the string damper about gone (we used window weatherstripping from the local hardware store back then; can you believe that?!?) and I say good riddance; the damn things never worked anyway. A fabulous original, classic, older Gretsch. $2995 w/hsc