Gretsch 6120 Nashville Chet Atkins (1965)

Mid 60s Gretsch 6120 "Nashville" model just into the shop! This double-cutaway twin pickup hollowbody followed the original 6120 made famous by Chet Atkins, and presented a few changes that still remained unique to the Gretsch stylings and features of the period.

Shedding true F holes for painted was one of the major changes that occurred in the Nashville model, increasing the guitar's ability to handle feedback rejection a bit better on stage. The original Filter'tron pickups have that chimey top end married with an almost PAF-like punch - plenty of clarity to cut through a mix, but with a full, round response that could handle jazz-like compositions. The guitar was modified for a third middle pickup, seemingly ages ago, which was subsequently pulled back out along the way. The original wiring harness was slightly modified to accommodate the added pickup, but said harness remained intact even after it was reverted back to stock configuration. A cover plate was fashioned and installed over the old rout, which is held on by a couple of small wood screws.

The tuners were replaced with early "Pat Pend" Grover Rotomatics some time ago, with the exception of the D tuner. The original CTS pots show date codes of '65xx' denoting the likelihood of a 1965 build. The original stamped serial number on the top edge of the headstock was partially sanded off at some point in its life, as the work looks quite old. There's light finish work in the area which we've elected to leave be, but it's possible there's legible numbers beneath the touch-up.

Frets are original and on the lower side, but still offer nice playability.

Priced with a new aftermarket Gretsch hardshell case.