Epiphone Elitist Chet Atkins Country Gentleman

[Ray Bohlken]

https://reverb.com/item/89132727-epipho ... 2004-gloss

https://gretsch-talk.com/threads/epipho ... ns.165539/

There was once an Epiphone Elitist Chet Atkins Country Gentleman back when Chet Atkins was associated with Gibson. After his estate returned to Gretsch, it became the Elitist Country Deluxe. I played one at a local music store and liked it very much. I was at the peak of my rise to mediocrity and sounded as good as I did on my Gibson Gent. It was made in Japan and played great. I find things this interesting. Hope Y'all do, too. Anybody tempted to add one of these to their collection? I liked the guitar, but didn't go that far.
Ray

[guitarchuck]

Ray,
I actually just bought an Epiphone Elitist Country Gentleman. I haven't got it yet. It's the flame maple orange. I've always wanted one since they came out in 2004. They only had Chet's name on them for 2 or 3 years before his name went back to Gretsch. Then it was made for a couple more years under the "Country Deluxe" model name. It's also interesting to note that these guitars were built in the same Terada, Japan factory as the current Gretsch Country Gentleman guitars.
I made an offer on Ebay for this one that I'm getting. I didn't really think that I would get it, I should have it this weekend!

[Ray Bohlken]

That's great, Chuck. I hope you enjoy it. I had fun with that one in the store and thought it was excellent. If you get a chance, post a video on You Tube. I'd really enjoy hearing it and seeing it.
Ray

[guitarchuck]

Ray,
I was thinking of making a YouTube video of it telling about the model, sort of a review and also play a tune on it. Possibly next week. I'll let you know when I post it.

[Ray Bohlken]

That would be great, Chuck. I'm looking forward to watching. Take care
Ray

[guitarchuck]

Ray,
I have the Epiphone Elitist Country Gentleman now. I'll try to get a short video of me playing it posted to YouTube later this week. I decided to just post a review of it here instead of reviewing it on YouTube. I'm not very good at that on video. Mine is the flame maple Sunrise Orange color. The top and back is flamed, but not the sides, per spec. I've had 5 of Gibson CG's in the past. I wish that I still had one to compare this Epiphone to directly. If I was blindfolded I'm not sure that I could tell the difference. I received it last Wednesday. The quality is amazing. The differences in it and the Gibson is the headstock of course. Made in Japan instead of U.S.A. Grover Super Rotomatic tuning machines instead of the Gibson's with built in winders. The bridge base appears to be glued in place on this Epiphone. I'm not sure if this was from the factory or not.

Main complaint:
The production models came with a Licensed Bigsby B30 instead of the U.S. made B6. The Chet Atkins version of this guitar was only in the 2004 catalog. The U.S. catalog shows the guitar with a Bigsby B6. The Japan domestic catalog shows it with a Bigsby licensed B60. Then all the production models that I've seen photos of have the licensed B30.

A guitar of this size should have a B6 or the licensed B60. The main problem is that the B30 is shorter. This requires longer strings to reach the G & D tuners. So, my new wound D'Addario strings would not go through those tuners with the wound part of the string, only the plain center wire after the wound part stops toward the end of the string. I promptly ordered a licensed B60. (I ordered the licensed version, made in Korea, so the screw holes would match perfectly.) Problem solved. I installed it this evening. Now I'm really happy with it. The only other thing that I'm going to do is get a stationary Chet bracket for it.

I've had the earlier version, the Epiphone Country Gentleman II. This Elitist model is in a way higher quality category.
I'm super happy with it, it plays, looks and sounds great. My main guitar will still be my orange Gretsch Hall of Fame Country Gentleman. I need to get an Orange Gibson Country Gentleman again and I can have one of each!

[Ray Bohlken]

Chuck, I'm glad you got your Elitist Gent. I enjoyed playing that one at the local store back then and thought it was an excellent guitar. I think you will enjoy it. I was lucky to have had an 87 Gibson Gent, a 90 Tennessean, and an Epi Gent II. I enjoyed them all. I agree with you about the Gent II. It was good but not in the same league as the Gibsons. Wish I had had a place for the Elitist, but I couldn't fit it in. I had a Nashville Classic which I enjoyed, but the Gents and the Gretsch got to be too big for me as I aged and I sold them and kept the smaller Tennessean . I just gave that to a buddy because the neck was too large for me to handle these days. I think you will have a great time with your Elitist. I can't remember the Bigsby unit on the one I played. I'm sure it was one of the licensed ones, too. I'm looking forward to your video to see how it sounds and looks.
Have fun!
Ray

[guitarchuck]

Here's my YouTube video of it:

https://youtube.com/shorts/DKTekg3CAbU?feature=shared

[Ray Bohlken]

Chuck, that is a great looking guitar. I know you are going to enjoy it. I sure would. It sounded great in your video, too and I really enjoyed the song you wrote. I watched it a couple of times. Keep on picking!
Ray

[guitarchuck]

Thanks Ray! Another thing that I've noticed. I'm pretty sure that the Elitist Epiphone must have a maple center block. If I remember correctly, it's heavier than the mid and late 90's Gibson Country Gentleman guitars that I had.