The "Top Dog" of the Chet Atkins Models!

This "top dog" of the Chet Atkins models weighs 8.40 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a short scale length of 24 1/2 inches. Laminated maple body with painted f-holes, three-piece rock maple neck, and ebony fretboard with 22 frets plus zero fret and neo-classic inlaid pearl thumbprint (half-moon) position markers. The body has four-ply binding and the neck and headstock are single-bound. Headstock with inlaid pearl Gretsch "T-roof" logo and nameplate "The Chet Atkins Country Gentleman 77979." Individual closed-back Grover tuners with kidney-shaped metal buttons. One Super'Tron II (neck) pickup with an output of 3.93k and one Filter'Tron (bridge) pickup with an output of 4.07k. Gold Lucite pickguard with Gretsch "T-roof" logo and "Chet Atkins Country Gentleman" engraved in black from underneath. Two volume controls (one for each pickup) plus a stand-by switch on the lower treble bout, one master volume control on the upper treble bout, plus two pickup and tone selector switches on the upper bass bout. Gretsch "Arrow-through-G" knobs with cross-hatch pattern on sides. Double string damper (the sponge pads on the damper are no longer present) and two string damper controls with red felt pads. Gold-plated bar bridge on original ebony base and gold-plated V-cutout B-6 Bigsby ("Gretsch by Bigsby") vibrato tailpiece. This guitar is in excellent plus (8.75) condition. There are a couple of tiny little surface marks on the top of the guitar, a small area of surface wear on the back of the guitar by the heel, four small surface marks on the back of the neck, a few surface marks and scratches on the bottom edge of the guitar, and a very small amount of fret wear. The original pad is intact on the back of the guitar, but there is some surface loss due to moisture under the lower edge (measuring approximately 4 x 1 inch) of the pad (not visible unless the pad is removed). This guitar is an excellent example of this Beatlesque model. Housed in the original two-tone gray hardshell with maroon plush lining (8.50).

"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...The introduction of the Electrotone Hollowbody in 1962 led to the singularly most successful guitar ever produced by Gretsch the double cutaway Country Gentleman. Influenced primarily by Beatle George Harrison's use of the model, Gent sales soared...Like the 1962 and '63 White Falcons, the features of the first two years' double-cutaway Country Gentlemen are identical and the model itself is sometimes referred to among collectors as the 'Harrison' model because George Harrison did, in fact, use a 1962 or '63 Model 6122. The characteristics that distinguish the Harrison model from subsequent (1964 and on) versions are: Grover Imperial tuners, two Filter'Tron pickups, a pickguard that only says 'Gretsch' and not 'Country Gentleman', a very dark-brown mahogany finish, and red felt pads under the double muffler switches...The 1965 catalog presented the Country Gentleman on its cover and this represents the third incarnation of the model. Produced in 1964, '65 and '66, it differs from the 1962 and '63 Harrison model in the following ways: the Grover Imperial tuning machines are replaced with Grover tuners with kidney-shaped buttons in 1964; the headstock nameplate no longer carries the guitar's serial number beginning in late-1965 with the introduction of coded serial numbers imprinted on the back of the headstock; a Super'Tron II pickup replaces the rhythm Filter'Tron in 1964; black felt pads appear beneath the two muffler switches in early 1965" (Jay Scott, The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company, pp. 180-190).

"Gretsch Country Gentleman: When The Beatles started getting more and more famous, George switched to this splendid guitar. According to himself, you can hear George playing on it for the first time on 'She Loves you'. In 1965, sadly enough, the instrument feIl to pieces on one of the band's tours. On February 19th, 1964, the group played on the famous Ed Sullivan Show. Especially for that show, George received his second Country Gentleman from the factory. The manufacturers saw it all very cleverly, judging by the considerable production-increase of the Gretsch Country Gentleman that followed: up to a hundred guitars a day. The Country Gentleman was a curious guitar with a large, closed body. The guitar's f-holes were painted on" (George Harrison part 1, George the G[u]itarist, THE BEATLES HOME PAGE (NEDERLANDS TALIG) at http://home.quicknet.nl/mw/prive/boslibos/george_harrison_e.htm).