Fact: The whole idea behind the 'resurrection' (if you will) of the G6122 single cutaway 1959 Country Gent, was because so many people had expressed an interest in Chet's, (and the modifications he made to his), and when Paul Yandell communicated with Gretsch about the idea, they were "open" to it!
There had previously been several re-issues of this model of guitar that did not go over too well, primarily because they made them with the narrow neck (1-11/16"), and most Chet Atkins enthusiasts were aware that Chet's personal guitar had been modified to a wider neck, and the same thing applied to the pick-ups, but Gretsch continued to make these re-issues without much change in the real measurements and electronics of their other Chet Atkins models. In reality, their re-issue of the 1958 Country Gent LOOKED more like his '59 (in color), than the 1959 re-issue does! Go figure!
I would suspect, that they are using a lower grade wood, (without much grain), than the original Country Gents were constructed of, and I am sure that the more modern, polyurethane coating makes a difference also.
http://woodworking.about.com/od/finishi ... ethane.htm
As I said earlier, I do not own a re-issue Gretsch 1959 CG, and for exactly these reasons. It doesn't LOOK like a '59 Country Gent! Could it be, that this simply is a result of an oversight by Gretsch, or a poor managerial decision? Could be. Does it make it "play" any differently? Nope. But the end result is, they lost a sale where I'm concerned.
David
Had to laugh at that because the grain on my old 61 single cut looks just like that. Having said that, Chet's looked good in person and the prettiest country gentleman I ever saw was Odell Martin's. His was the first one I ever saw up close. It was in 1959 at GOO. Very curly grain on it.
