Unmistakably Hers!

1962 Gretsch 6106 Princess.

This 13 1/8-inch white Princess weighs just 6.00 lbs. Solid mahogany body, mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard with 21 original medium-thin frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. With a nice, fat nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches, a wonderful thick profile and a scale length of 24 1/2 inches. Headstock with gold silk-screened Gretsch "T-roof" logo and pink plastic truss-rod cover with three screws. Individual 'open back' Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons. Serial number "41008" stamped in blind on top bass edge of headstock. Lavender plastic pickguard with gold lettering. Two controls (one volume, one tone) with Gretsch 'Arrow through G' control knobs with knurled sides and inset 'ruby' markers. One Hi-Lo'Tron pickup with an output of 3.11k. Single-saddle bar bridge (3/8 inch in diameter) and separate trapeze tailpiece. Potentiometers stamped "6157604 A 6205" (ROC, February 1962). All hardware gold-plated. There is a slight crack in the pickguard around the volume control - otherwise this prime example is in near mint (9.25) and unfaded condition and features the more desirable combination of white and pink. Complete with the original "Gretsch Guitar Guarantee" and "Gretsch Guarantee Registration Card." Housed in the somewhat rare original Gretsch five-latch shaped two-tone gray hardshell case with burgundy plush lining (9.25).

The Princess as she appeared in the 1963 Gretsch catalog: "Now for the first time, a guitar that is unmistakably 'hers'. When she's out in front of others, she'll see the admiration in their eyes. Her guitar especially finished in a variety of pastel colors -- the perfect compliment to the guitarist...a Princess guitar with its own compact matching white amplifier and matched guitar case. Feminine in size, light in weight, the Princess is a double cutaway, solid body guitar with carved edges. The neck is joined at the 21st fret -- everything designed and scaled for her ease of playing. The white back is comfortably padded. 24-karat gold plated metal parts. Rosewood fingerboard. Adjustable truss rod neck. Gretsch Hi-Lo'Tron electric pickup. Shoulder strap is of white leather. Modern new control knobs. Adjustable metal bridge. Tone Twister for that exciting tremolo effect...Available in the following colors: White body with Grape Pickguard -- Blue body with White Pickguard -- Pink body with White Pickguard -- White body with Gold Pickguard...$169.00" (Jay Scott, The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company, p. 215).

In the early 1960s nearly every young kid wanted an electric guitar. In 1963 the Gretsch company introduced the Princess, hoping to attract the teenage girl guitarist market. The 6106 Princess was sister of the 6132/6133 Corvette, which was Gretsch's answer to the very successful Gibson Les Paul Junior. The Princess "was aimed at, marketed to and 'designed for the feminine guitarist.' Essentially a pastel-colored Corvette with a padded back, the Princess was actually offered in four different color combinations [white/lavender, blue/white, pink/white, and white/gold], complete with matching amplifiers (a 6150-type was shown in the ads) and straps. The Princess didn't exactly introduce millions of women to the wonders of guitars, though, and the few that are seen are almost always found in a white with gold pickguard color scheme. The matching amps, straps and other Princess-y stuff are just never seen anymore. One bit of weirdness common to both the Corvette and Princess was Gretsch's 'Tone Twister' device, which was supposed to induce vibrato by wiggling the strings between the bridge and tailpiece. The Princess was dropped after '64" (The Gretsch Pages at http://www.gretschpages.com/models/6132vette/index.php).