In 1964 and '65, when the Beatles appeared live across America on the famous Ed Sullivan Show, it wasn't just television viewing records that were broken – sales of Beatle model guitars went through the roof! Paul McCartney's Hofner bass, John Lennon's Rickenbackers, and George Harrison's Gretsch model 6122, the Chet Atkins Country Gentleman – all saw the various guitar manufacturers struggling to keep up with sudden and massive demand. (Little known fact: Elvis Presley was also a Country Gent fan)
Electrotone body
George owned two Country Gentleman models, both with dual string mutes, (or "mufflers" as Gretsch called them), while our slightly later model here features the single "flip-up" mute. Very few players ever used the mutes, most preferring to palm or hand mute the strings when required, so whether it's a single or double system is pretty much irrelevant. Alongside "mufflers", Gretsch also decided the body style needed a name, so the Country Gent features an Electrotone body! To be fair, Chet Atkins' concept of a hollow body to reduce feedback issues, but with painted f-holes for the traditional appearance, was almost worthy of its own name.
Walnut nitro
Basic Country Gent features are Maple back & sides and a hard rock Maple neck, all finished in walnut nitro, with a bound Ebony board, featuring "fingernail" markers, (or neo-classic, as Gretsch called them). Throw in a set of adjustable pole-piece FilterTron pickups, all gold-plated hardware, including the B-6 Bigsby, zero fret, full body and neck binding and it's easy to see why "America's best-known guitarist" was more than happy to have his name on the headstock. And all those knobs and switches! Individual volume controls for each pickup, plus master volume and 3-way selector, with mute switch, standby switch, 3-way tone selector... and the flip-up lever for the mute.
Versatility
The Country Gentleman has the sound to match all those topflight features, too. Have a listen to our soundfile and imagine adding that degree of versatility to your guitar rack! (If you're keeping score, the tone controls are bass boost, clean and top-end filter)
Rare instrument
Note the difference in spelling of the model name on the pickguard. One theory is that it was a spelling mistake at the factory, while another puts it down to possible bickering between Chet Atkins himself and the Baldwin company – the new owners of Gretsch – over rights to the Country Gentleman name, which had been adopted from Atkins' 1953 hit single of that name, (a co-write with the legendary Boudleaux Bryant). Only a very small number of 6122s were produced with the Gentlemen spelling - at the start of the single mute model's 1967 production run - making this a moderately rare instrument.
Free courier delivery
A genuine piece of music history, at a real bargain price! Complete with its original Gretsch hard shell case, this superb 1967 Country Gentleman is in overall Very Good+ condition, with only very minimal signs of the infamous Gretsch "binding rot", (right in pic # 5), plus replacement Kluson "waffle-back" tuners, (pics 4 & 6*), and a pro refret job. As with all Just Guitars instruments, FREE COURIER DELIVERY is included to any address in Australia. ($100 airfreight to New Zealand, $175 to the US, Canada, UK and mainstream European countries)
*Original tuners, as shown in pic # 6, are included in the case
Weight: 8lb 3oz / 3.7kg
Just Guitars
