1958 Gretsch Country Gentleman
A Very Early
Gretsch Country Gentleman
This extremely rare 'first generation' Country Gentleman weighs just 8.40 lbs. and and has a nut width of 1 11/16 inches, a really comfortable medium-to-thiin neck profile, and a scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Laminated maple body, two-piece mahogany neck with ebony center strip. Bound ebony fretboard with 22 original medium/thin frets plus zero fret and neo-classic inlaid pearl thumbprint (half-moon) position markers. With three-ply binding on the top and the back of the guitar and single binding on the headstock and the fretboard. Headstock with inlaid pearl Gretsch "T-roof" logo and "The Chet Atkins Country Gentleman" nameplate engraved with serial number "29308". Two-layer (black over white) dome-shaped plastic truss-rod cover with three slot-head screws. Individual Grover Imperial tuners with 'stair-step' shaped metal buttons and slot-head screws. Two Gretsch Filter'Tron 'PAF' humbuckers with outputs of 4.17k and 3.96k. Gold Lucite pickguard with Gretsch "T-roof" logo engraved in black from underneath. Super rare first generation body with inlaid black plastic 'f' holes. Two volume controls (one for each pickup) and master volume control on the upper treble bout, plus two pickup and tone selector switches on upper bass bout. Gretsch "Arrow-through-G" knobs with cross-hatch pattern on sides. Bigsby aluminum bar bridge on original ebony base and aluminum 'horseshoe' Bigsby 'Patent Number' vibrato tailpiece. All hardware (except bridge and Bigsby tailpiece) gold-plated. This guitar is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. The original medium/thin frets show some playing wear and there is some surface loss on the back of the neck - again just due to honest playing wear. This is an exceptional example of a very rare guitar - it is the only 'first generation' country Gentleman that we have ever seen. Housed in the original five-latch, shaped two-tone gray hardshell with maroon plush lining (9.00).
We purchased this guitar from a local professional player who is a friend of Tito Jackson the original lead guitarist of The Jackson 5. Included is a photograph of Tito playing this guitar…
"In [1958 in] the tradition of the Western-appointed Models 6120 and 6121, Gretsch continued its New York-to-Nashville connection by introducing the Model 6122 Country Gentleman, bringing to four (the Model 6119 Tennessean was also debuted this year) the number of Atkins-inspired and endorsed models. The Country Gentleman was the grand marque of the Chet Atkins line; at a prodigious $525 it ranked only behind the White Falcons in price. Finished in 'rich, mahogany-grained, country-style finish' the [single cutaway] Country Gentleman features a closed, 17-inch-wide, 2 3/4-inch-deep hollowbody design with small, inlaid black plastic f-holes…" (Jay Scott. The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company. p.182).
Gretsch Country Gentleman
This extremely rare 'first generation' Country Gentleman weighs just 8.40 lbs. and and has a nut width of 1 11/16 inches, a really comfortable medium-to-thiin neck profile, and a scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Laminated maple body, two-piece mahogany neck with ebony center strip. Bound ebony fretboard with 22 original medium/thin frets plus zero fret and neo-classic inlaid pearl thumbprint (half-moon) position markers. With three-ply binding on the top and the back of the guitar and single binding on the headstock and the fretboard. Headstock with inlaid pearl Gretsch "T-roof" logo and "The Chet Atkins Country Gentleman" nameplate engraved with serial number "29308". Two-layer (black over white) dome-shaped plastic truss-rod cover with three slot-head screws. Individual Grover Imperial tuners with 'stair-step' shaped metal buttons and slot-head screws. Two Gretsch Filter'Tron 'PAF' humbuckers with outputs of 4.17k and 3.96k. Gold Lucite pickguard with Gretsch "T-roof" logo engraved in black from underneath. Super rare first generation body with inlaid black plastic 'f' holes. Two volume controls (one for each pickup) and master volume control on the upper treble bout, plus two pickup and tone selector switches on upper bass bout. Gretsch "Arrow-through-G" knobs with cross-hatch pattern on sides. Bigsby aluminum bar bridge on original ebony base and aluminum 'horseshoe' Bigsby 'Patent Number' vibrato tailpiece. All hardware (except bridge and Bigsby tailpiece) gold-plated. This guitar is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. The original medium/thin frets show some playing wear and there is some surface loss on the back of the neck - again just due to honest playing wear. This is an exceptional example of a very rare guitar - it is the only 'first generation' country Gentleman that we have ever seen. Housed in the original five-latch, shaped two-tone gray hardshell with maroon plush lining (9.00).
We purchased this guitar from a local professional player who is a friend of Tito Jackson the original lead guitarist of The Jackson 5. Included is a photograph of Tito playing this guitar…
"In [1958 in] the tradition of the Western-appointed Models 6120 and 6121, Gretsch continued its New York-to-Nashville connection by introducing the Model 6122 Country Gentleman, bringing to four (the Model 6119 Tennessean was also debuted this year) the number of Atkins-inspired and endorsed models. The Country Gentleman was the grand marque of the Chet Atkins line; at a prodigious $525 it ranked only behind the White Falcons in price. Finished in 'rich, mahogany-grained, country-style finish' the [single cutaway] Country Gentleman features a closed, 17-inch-wide, 2 3/4-inch-deep hollowbody design with small, inlaid black plastic f-holes…" (Jay Scott. The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company. p.182).
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