Gretsch Country Gentleman Customized for Bill Frisell Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar , c. 1959
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Item # 12593
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Gretsch Country Gentleman Customized for Bill Frisell Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar, c. 1959, made in Brooklyn, NY, walnut grain lacquer finish, laminated maple body and neck, ebony fingerboard, blond tolex hard shell case.
Here's one of the more unusual and amazing customized guitars we have ever had, a real deluxe over-the-top showpiece of a Gretsch festooned in pearl and gold. It started life as a c.1959 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman with a single cutaway body and inset simulated F-holes. Many years ago it was heavily customized for a player who obviously felt the "Gent" as it stood lacked sufficient flash; super fancy Martin Style 42 abalone trim was added all around the top edge and amazingly also into the shallow F-hole cutouts in the top. This took considerable skill; the work is extremely clean done to a very high level. The guitar was also fitted with a custom neck which apparently did not age as well. At one time the guitar belonged to someone who went by the moniker "Dr. Sluggo" but we don't have any details on that!
Some years later the guitar was passed along to Bill Frisell, one of our favorite players but not known as an avatar of flashy pearl-trimmed instruments, in fact one of the most genuinely modest great performers we know! Bill commissioned considerable reconstruction to restore the guitar to a playable instrument, which apparently it was not. This included a full restoration with an entirely new repro neck by Saul Koll to period Gretsch specs. using what appears to be a NOS Gretsch headstock veneer (which used to be fairly easily found on the parts market). What emerged is a great playing, superb one-of-a-kind Gretsch unlike any other on Heaven or Earth!
Here is the breakdown top-to-bottom: The body is an original single cutaway Gretsch Country Gentleman made between 1958 and 1961, when they used inset plastic F-hole inserts instead of decals. It has added pearl trim all along the inside top edge and in the F-holes, which were additionally triple bound. The finish is later thin lacquer with the correct "Gent" mahogany stain, showing off some beautiful curl in the maple.
The Celluloid body binding appears original styled showing no deterioration; the only non-matched piece is the small vertical section in the cutaway along the neck heel. The Bigsby is recent, as are the Tune-O-Matic bridge and rosewood base. The bridge pickup is a TV Jones Power'Tron, the neck is an original Filter'Tron with a re-plated "Pat.Applied for" cover. The plastic pickup rings are original. The wiring rig is entirely recent, correct pattern for a 1959 Gent. The knobs are 1970s Gretsch pieces with amazingly well done "Yin-Yang" insets in pearl and abalone. The pickguard is an unmarked Gretsch-style gold-backed Lucite piece, the strap buttons re-issue Gretsch.
The neck is a superbly crafted near-perfect reproduction of a period Gretsch. It is made of laminated maple with a bound ebony fingerboard featuring the "Neo-Classic" inlay used on the original. This is the work of Saul Koll, who usually only builds his own distinct models but has a background including stints with TV Jones and Gretsch. The construction and feel are extremely accurate while also being rather neater than the original! The only variations are the nut does not employ a zero fret and the fret wire is larger than vintage Gretsch style. A cool detail is the deep red position dots in the binding are exactly correct.
The headstock veneer as noted appears to be an older Gretsch factory leftover, single bound with the horseshoe inlay used on the Atkins Model 6120 in the 1960-70s. The tuners are recent single-unit openback Waverly machines, the truss rod cover is a repro. This one of a kind creation really has to be seen to be believed, but beyond its visual appeal is a very fine player mixing vintage Gretsch sound and character with modern playability. It seems like this unapologetically flash guitar is simply too gaudy for Bill, so he has decided to send it out into the world in all its glory to find the perfect forever home. It would go perfectly with a Nudie suit, the ultimate Vegas or Nashville flash stage guitar!
Overall length is 42 1/2 in. (108 cm.), 17 in. (43.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This hybrid Gretsch shows very little wear since its last re-working anyway and is an excellent player. There is hardly any finish wear just minor scuffing and some general aging and loss to the gold plating. The frets and fingerboard show hardly any wear. This is a lovely sounding guitar, set up as Bill played it with flatwound strings for the traditional warm purr and darker twang. It resides in a modern re-issue Gretsch "Cowboy" case, truly a one-of-a-kind creation. Restored to Excellent Condition.
Here's one of the more unusual and amazing customized guitars we have ever had, a real deluxe over-the-top showpiece of a Gretsch festooned in pearl and gold. It started life as a c.1959 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman with a single cutaway body and inset simulated F-holes. Many years ago it was heavily customized for a player who obviously felt the "Gent" as it stood lacked sufficient flash; super fancy Martin Style 42 abalone trim was added all around the top edge and amazingly also into the shallow F-hole cutouts in the top. This took considerable skill; the work is extremely clean done to a very high level. The guitar was also fitted with a custom neck which apparently did not age as well. At one time the guitar belonged to someone who went by the moniker "Dr. Sluggo" but we don't have any details on that!
Some years later the guitar was passed along to Bill Frisell, one of our favorite players but not known as an avatar of flashy pearl-trimmed instruments, in fact one of the most genuinely modest great performers we know! Bill commissioned considerable reconstruction to restore the guitar to a playable instrument, which apparently it was not. This included a full restoration with an entirely new repro neck by Saul Koll to period Gretsch specs. using what appears to be a NOS Gretsch headstock veneer (which used to be fairly easily found on the parts market). What emerged is a great playing, superb one-of-a-kind Gretsch unlike any other on Heaven or Earth!
Here is the breakdown top-to-bottom: The body is an original single cutaway Gretsch Country Gentleman made between 1958 and 1961, when they used inset plastic F-hole inserts instead of decals. It has added pearl trim all along the inside top edge and in the F-holes, which were additionally triple bound. The finish is later thin lacquer with the correct "Gent" mahogany stain, showing off some beautiful curl in the maple.
The Celluloid body binding appears original styled showing no deterioration; the only non-matched piece is the small vertical section in the cutaway along the neck heel. The Bigsby is recent, as are the Tune-O-Matic bridge and rosewood base. The bridge pickup is a TV Jones Power'Tron, the neck is an original Filter'Tron with a re-plated "Pat.Applied for" cover. The plastic pickup rings are original. The wiring rig is entirely recent, correct pattern for a 1959 Gent. The knobs are 1970s Gretsch pieces with amazingly well done "Yin-Yang" insets in pearl and abalone. The pickguard is an unmarked Gretsch-style gold-backed Lucite piece, the strap buttons re-issue Gretsch.
The neck is a superbly crafted near-perfect reproduction of a period Gretsch. It is made of laminated maple with a bound ebony fingerboard featuring the "Neo-Classic" inlay used on the original. This is the work of Saul Koll, who usually only builds his own distinct models but has a background including stints with TV Jones and Gretsch. The construction and feel are extremely accurate while also being rather neater than the original! The only variations are the nut does not employ a zero fret and the fret wire is larger than vintage Gretsch style. A cool detail is the deep red position dots in the binding are exactly correct.
The headstock veneer as noted appears to be an older Gretsch factory leftover, single bound with the horseshoe inlay used on the Atkins Model 6120 in the 1960-70s. The tuners are recent single-unit openback Waverly machines, the truss rod cover is a repro. This one of a kind creation really has to be seen to be believed, but beyond its visual appeal is a very fine player mixing vintage Gretsch sound and character with modern playability. It seems like this unapologetically flash guitar is simply too gaudy for Bill, so he has decided to send it out into the world in all its glory to find the perfect forever home. It would go perfectly with a Nudie suit, the ultimate Vegas or Nashville flash stage guitar!
Overall length is 42 1/2 in. (108 cm.), 17 in. (43.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This hybrid Gretsch shows very little wear since its last re-working anyway and is an excellent player. There is hardly any finish wear just minor scuffing and some general aging and loss to the gold plating. The frets and fingerboard show hardly any wear. This is a lovely sounding guitar, set up as Bill played it with flatwound strings for the traditional warm purr and darker twang. It resides in a modern re-issue Gretsch "Cowboy" case, truly a one-of-a-kind creation. Restored to Excellent Condition.