Description
Presented here is a rare and well preserved 1961 Gretsch 6113, a 'Pre-Tennessean', which became the 6119 Tennessean after resolution of a royalty dispute with Chet Atkins. Perhaps 2000 of these were built at the Brooklyn factory during 1961. This was not the first version of the 6119 Tennessean model, which appeared in 1958 using the basic 6120 body and neck but with less decoration and a single pickup.
This wonderful instrument is in very clean, original and complete condition with light wear for its age. It has been played, giving the fingerboard and frets light to moderate wear. The finish is a light walnut. This lightness is partly due to it being the year Gretsch introduced the finish and not having the final formula settled. Importantly, the body binding is in very good condition with no hint of the 'binding rot' that afflicted many later models. It plays well, and acoustically has a solid sound.
When Gibson introduced the ground-breaking semi-hollow, highly feedback resistant ES-335 models in 1958, Chet Atkins began pressing Gretsch to take steps to reduce feedback on their hollow body designs.
Reluctant to follow Gibson that closely, Gretsch took two steps, the first being the introduction of ‘Trestle’ bracing. This is a much heavier form of bracing that can be visually compared to a railway trestle bridge. On modern Gretsch models, this has evolved into ML bracing.
The second step was the sealed ‘ElectroTone’ body. To maintain the appearance of a traditional archtop, the F holes were added by way of paint or decal. This became very common on many of Gretsch's thin-bodied archtop electrics, including the Country Gentleman with its removable back access panel.
For 1961, Gretsch thinned down the single-cutaway 6119 body, gave it the sealed 'ElectroTone' treatment, added a second pickup, removed all Chet Atkins references, and renamed it the 6113. However, Atkins and his management objected to this modification of his signature line in a move apparently designed to circumvent paying endorsement royalties. Gretsch quickly changed course, and once again the model became the 6119 Chet Atkins Tennessean. As an added note, for 1961, the body was thinned to 2.25 inches deep. In 1962, the body was thinned further to 1.875 inches and a second cutaway was added.
Construction and Materials
As with most archtop electric guitars, feedback rejection is a priority so the body is constructed of wooden laminates, here Maple. The linings were either Basswood or Mahogany, and the body blocks Mahogany. Top bracing, when used, was Spruce, and this includes the materials for Trestle bracing.
The neck is constructed from two pieces of maple with a central walnut laminate, topped with a black peghead overlay displaying the classic inlaid Gretsch logo (without the square model plaque). The unbound fingerboard is flat-sawn Brazilian Rosewood with Gretsch’s iconic Neo-Classic "Thumbnail" position markers.
Hardware includes a set of open-gear Van Gent tuners, a floating Rocking Bar bridge on an Ebony base and a factory Bigsby B6 vibrato tailpiece.
Electronics consist of two original Hi-Lo'Tron single-coil pickups, managed by the control setup introduced with Filter 'Trons in 1958: individual pickup volume controls, a master volume control, a 3-way pickup selector switch, and a 3-way tone switch.
The original hard shell case is included.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: 6113
- Instrument Manufacturer: Gretsch
- Instrument year: 1961
- Instrument Finish: Walnut Tint Nitro Lacquer
- Instrument Class: Thinline Archtop Guitars
- Instrument serial number: 41521, dated to 1961 at Brooklyn, NY
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Good
- Right-handed
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 6.688 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 3.04 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 24.88 in
- Scale Length Metric: 622 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.675 in
- Nut Width Metric: 42.56 mm
- CITIES Documentation Required: Yes
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: Yes
- Items in Case: Previous Sale Receipt, picks
- Case Type: Hard Shell
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 190972
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |