Country Gentleman Question - Possibly heretical

[David Elliott]

I agree about the color. I didn't like the brown color that Gibson chose either for their Country Gent. I had a and early Gibson CG that was wine red that looked almost black, I later sold it and bought the orange one which I still have. Gretsch had "The Color" for their Country Gent. No one has ever reproduced that color since. Al

Well, I wasn't trying to make a "big deal" about the importance of the color of a guitar, but I've just never understood why Gretsch would go to the trouble of nearly duplicating Chet's original CG, and then make it in a color that didn't look anything like his CG! The "color" I referred to in my original post in this thread, was nearly the same as shown in Bill Park's post (in this thread) of the double-cutaway Gretsch Country Gent.

Back 'in-the-day', most of them were very close to that, with varients ranging from a little more 'reddish' brown, to a darker, almost 'chocolate' brown color, but of course the prettiest of these (in my opinion) were the ones with a nice wood grain showing through, especially on the back of the guitars. I think one of the prettiest examples of this was a Country Gent I saw once that was owned by Odell Martin! That guitar had a 'flame' grain that showed through the walnut brown color of the guitar (especially on the back) that was breathtaking! I'd betcha Gretsch could match that very closely if they wanted to!

David

[guitarchuck]

Here's a photo of myself with a 1960 Gretsch Country Gentleman that I owned several years ago. I loved the color and woodgrain of that guitar. Of course the color had faded some, which made it a very pretty shade I think. Also, by the way, the f-holes in that guitar were actually black plastic inlays, not painted on.

[stuartha]

Oh Boy - a chance to show off
(if I've done it right):

and

Old photos - bridge now changed for a bar.
Was feeling top of the world about this, then did a lunchtime gig on bass with a guy who had a '37 L7.
Hell, still top of the world.

[Augie Peters]

Hi Peter,I was also of the same opinion.It would look better with F holes.There is an inexpensive alternative.I know there are a lot of purests out there that would not consider this but,it is an option.Faux F holes.Here is a pic of my G6122-1959 with the faux F holes.They are peel and stick.Mine have been on for about 2 yrs.You can see that the
original black F hole dosen't line up perfectly.Pic was taken under a bright light.This is just about the only time they are noticeable because the finish is so dark.Just a suggestion but,It works for me.Got them off of Ebay here is the Link. http://stores.ebay.com/Jockomo-InlaySti ... =404325010

[guitarchuck]

I ran across this photo of Chet from 1961 with a single cutaway Gretsch Country Gentleman with open f-holes:

[Steve Sanders]

Check out the 6122-1958 Gretsch. To me they look more like Chet's '59 than the Nashville Classic or the new Country Gentleman, without the Supertron of course. They are brown and "woody" and just look more "Chet-ish" to me. The new models with the flame grain tops with the red or wine color just don't look right. How hard would it be to use a different wood and stain? Kind'a like puttin' a nice set of mags and cherry bomb glass-packs on a 4-DOOR!!! My old '64 Tennessean looks more like Chet's '59 than the new ones IMHO. Maybe Gretsch will "upgrade" and start making them with a more vintage look. After all, I thought that was the original intent. Everybody....start writin' letters!

[bill park]

Maybe Gretsch will "upgrade" and start making them with a more vintage look. After all, I thought that was the original intent. Everybody....start writin' letters!

That has been about the only "complaint" I've heard about the NC/59CG - the color isn't right. Who knows why - maybe Paul Y in his conversations with Gretsch suggested a newer updated look. The factory workers assembling/finishing them in Japan probably have NO idea what the originals looked like. But it's hard to think that the Gretsch managers deciding on production don't know the correct vintage color....they must have chosen wine red for a reason.

[Norm]

they must have chosen wine red for a reason..."

The actual factory workers just do what their told. I'd bet The Suits thought it would be better marketed in that color to set it apart from the line of reissued Gents. If you don't play guitar one single cutaway brown country gent looks just like any other brown single cutaway country gent. They wanted the 6122-59 to look different. That seems kinda logical from a marketing standpoint.

For years Fred Gretsch stonewalled complaints about the switches on gretsch guitars. Customers wanted Switchcraft switches and he refused. Rumor was he considered that "hotrodding" the guitar. Of course, the switches he was using were cheaper.

When FMIC got involved with Gretsch the first thing they did was to upgrade the wiring harness and reintroduce Switchcraft switches.

Meaning they don't always ask the end user what they'd like.

[Vidar Lund]

"The factory workers assembling/finishing them in Japan probably have NO idea what the originals looked like". I don´t think the workers are to blame. They have to work with the wood they are furnished with. The finish is transparent, and if the wood of the sounding board (top) and lacquer/varnish had been like Chet´s the finish would have been more like his original 6122-59. The top of my Nashville Classic (2003) is almost identical to the Gibson CG on the cover of the MAMG due to the wood and finish used. I like it a lot although it´s not identical to the original CG.

[albertgen]

Well , I love my 59, but boy it would have been nice to have a replica of Chet's, that is a beautiful reddish brown on his. I don't think one color costs any more than another surely, but of course laquer takes more coats, but produces a warmer sound. Al