Gretsch 6120

Last updated
Gretsch 6120
Gretsch 6120 G- Brand 1955 vintage.jpg
Manufacturer Gretsch
Period1955–present
Construction
Body typeHollow
Neck jointSet
Woods
BodyMaple laminate
Neck Maple
Fretboard Rosewood
Hardware
Bridge Tune-O-Matic bridge with rosewood base or Bigsby cast aluminum bridge
Pickup(s) two Dynasonics (single coils) or Filtertrons (humbuckers)
Colors available
Antique Natural, Vintage Sunburst, Wine Red, Tangerine, Lime Gold, Purple, Black, Emerald

The Gretsch 6120 is a hollow body electric guitar with f-holes, manufactured by Gretsch and first appearing in the mid-1950s with the endorsement of Chet Atkins. It was quickly adopted by rockabilly artists Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, and later by Eric Clapton, Brian Setzer, Reverend Horton Heat, and many others. Pete Townshend received one as a gift from Joe Walsh in 1970, which he would later use on recordings for Who's Next and Quadrophenia . Poison Ivy Rorschach of The Cramps notably played a 1958 Gretsch 6120, which she bought in 1985. She said it was her favourite guitar to play. After George Harrison played Gretsch Country Gentleman and Tennessean models (which, like the 6120, were developed with and endorsed by Chet Atkins), Gretsch found that they could scarcely keep up with demand.

Contents

Production history

The 6120 was the first in the line of "Chet Atkins" signature Gretsch Guitars. [1] The prototype for the 6120 was first presented to Chet Atkins in 1954 and was labeled as a Streamliner Special with the serial number 13753. A second prototype was made, adding a vibrato tailpiece and a metal nut. Both prototypes had an unbound headstock, which didn't carry over to the production models of the 6120 when it debuted in 1955. [2]

Originally priced at $385, the 6120 was quite expensive compared to models from other companies, such as Gibson's Les Paul Goldtop which retailed at $225 or Fender's Telecaster at $189.50. [3]

In 1958, the thumbnail "neoclassic" fret markers were introduced. The DeArmond pickups were discontinued, with Gretsch using their own "FilterTron" humbuckers. [1]

Due to changes in musical tastes and changes in Gretsch company ownership in the late 1960s resulting in deteriorating quality, production of the 6120 ceased in the late 1970s. Values of the existing instruments soared when rockabilly artist Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats was seen playing an old 6120 in his early 1980s music videos. Gretsch subsequently went back into the guitar business and new 6120 guitars are widely available.

Today, a wide range of 6120 models are available, including an assortment of Brian Setzer signature models and faithful reissues of 1950s classics. Like most Gretsch guitars, production is now based in Japan at the Terada factory, although custom-shop American-made 6120s are also available.

Variants

Note that in the mid-1960s, the proper name of the 6120 changed from "6120 Chet Atkins Hollow Body" to "6120 Nashville", but the original name is again in use, although a Brian Setzer signature model is called the "Brian Setzer Nashville" (another 6120 is called the Brian Setzer Hot Rod).

Brian Setzer Collection

Chet Atkins Collection

Signature models

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Setzer</span> American singer, songwriter (b. 1959)

Brian Robert Setzer is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. In 1987, he made a cameo appearance as Eddie Cochran in the film La Bamba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Cochran</span> American rock and roll pioneer (1938–1960)

Ray Edward Cochran was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", "C'mon Everybody" and "Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. He experimented with multitrack recording, distortion techniques, and overdubbing even on his earliest singles. Cochran played the guitar, piano, bass, and drums. His image as a sharply dressed and attractive young man with a rebellious attitude epitomized the stance of the 1950s rocker, and in death he achieved iconic status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duane Eddy</span> American guitarist

Duane Eddy is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel-'Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Reverend Horton Heat</span> American psychobilly trio

The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A Prick magazine reviewer called Heath the "godfather of modern rockabilly and psychobilly".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-acoustic guitar</span> Type of electric guitar

A semi-acoustic guitar, also known as a hollow-body electric guitar, is a type of electric guitar designed to be played with a guitar amplifier featuring a fully or partly hollow body and at least one electromagnetic pickup. First created in the 1930s, they became popular in jazz and blues, where they remain widely used, and the early period of rock & roll, though they were later largely supplanted by solid-body electric guitars in rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-335</span> Semi-hollow electric guitar

The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES series in 1958. It features a solid maple wood block running through the center of its body with upper bouts that are hollow and two violin-style f-holes cut into the top over the hollow chambers. Since its release, Gibson has released numerous variations of and other models based on the design of the ES-335.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archtop guitar</span> Type of steel-stringed acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar

An archtop guitar is a hollow acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, and rockabilly players.

Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums until his death in 1895. In 1916, his son, Fred Gretsch Sr. moved operations to a larger facility where Gretsch went on to become a prominent manufacturer of American musical instruments. Through the years, Gretsch has manufactured a wide range of instruments, though they currently focus on electric, acoustic and resonator guitars, basses, ukuleles, and drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reverend Musical Instruments</span> American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses

Reverend Musical Instruments, commonly known as Reverend Guitars, is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. The company was established in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan by noted guitar and amplifier technician Joe Naylor, a graduate of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery. Reverend guitars are known for their combination of unorthodox construction methods, retro design, playability and affordable price.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Butts</span> American inventor and engineer

Joseph Raymond Butts was an American inventor and engineer best known for designing several devices that influenced the evolution of electrified music, in particular those used with the electric guitar. Most notably, Butts is the inventor of the EchoSonic, a guitar amplifier with a built-in tape echo, and the FilterTron, the first humbucker guitar pickup. He was active in other fields from studio equipment maintenance to sound engineering, and had intimate working relationships with people such as Sam Phillips at Sun Studios and Chet Atkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Black</span> Signature guitar of Neil Young

Old Black is the nickname given to Neil Young's primary electric guitar. Most of Young's electric guitar work has been recorded using this instrument. Though he has used a variety of different instruments, this Les Paul has remained ubiquitous and an obvious favorite. Young acquired Old Black in early 1968 in a trade with then Buffalo Springfield bassist, arranger and engineer Jim Messina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gretsch White Falcon</span>

The Gretsch White Falcon is an electric hollow-body guitar introduced in 1954 by Gretsch.

The Gibson ES series of semi-acoustic guitars are manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gretsch 6128</span>

The Gretsch 6128 is a chambered solid body electric guitar manufactured by Gretsch since 1953.

TV Jones is a U.S. guitar pickup manufacturer in Poulsbo, Washington. Best known for manufacturing vintage-style Filter' Tron pickups, TV Jones pickups attempt to recreate the sound of vintage Gretsch guitars by using American-made materials and a manufacturing process similar to what was used in the late 1950s and 1960s by Gretsch. The company was founded in 1993 by guitarist and luthier Thomas V. Jones in Whittier, California.

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele, is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful solid-body electric guitar. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Frandsen</span> Musical artist

Johan Frandsen, is the frontman guitarist, main songwriter and lead vocalist in the Swedish rock band, The Knockouts. His trademark guitar is a Gretsch White Falcon. Frandsen is an endorsed artist by Gretsch Guitars, TV Jones, Fender and Peerless.

The EchoSonic is a guitar amplifier made by Ray Butts. It was the first portable guitar amplifier with a built-in tape echo effect, and it allowed guitar players to use slapback echo, which dominated 1950s rock and roll guitar playing, on stage. He built the first one in 1953 and sold the second one to Chet Atkins in 1954. He built fewer than seventy of those amplifiers; one of them was bought by Sam Phillips and then used by Scotty Moore on every recording he made with Elvis Presley, from the 1955 hit song "Mystery Train" to the 1968 TV program Comeback Special. Deke Dickerson called the amplifier the Holy Grail of rockabilly music.

Paul Yandell was an American guitar player from Mayfield, Kentucky. Yandell played fingerstyle, a style he learned to play from his neighbors, influenced by Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. In 1955 he was hired by The Louvin Brothers and performed and recorded with them. From 1959 to 1961 he served in the US Army and on his return was a touring musician with Kitty Wells, Johnnie Wright, George Hamilton IV, and Jerry Reed.

References

  1. 1 2 "Gretsch 6120 models: Gretsch-GEAR: The Gretsch Pages". gretschpages.com. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  2. Ball, Edward. "Earliest Gretsch 6120 | Vintage Guitar® magazine". Vintage Guitar Magazine. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  3. "Gretsch History". ChasingGuitars. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 2019-12-31.