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Up for sale, a 1961 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 in collector-grade condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case and "Gretsch Guarantee." A singularly unique year for 6120 production and the last for the original single cutaway body design, this 6120 is notable for featuring a trestle-braced 2.25" deep body (slimmed down from 2.5" in '60), retaining the original Filter'Tron pickup pair. 100% original save for a professional refret with vintage-spec wire and a replacement bar bridge, this 6120 will delight astute collectors and serious players alike.
The fully hollow all-maple trestle-braced body provides a big, relaxed natural sound that retains ideal percussive cut and immediacy, translating to a broad array of classic Gretsch tonalities via the original pair of Filter’Tron humbuckers. The neck pickup is meaty and sweet-sounding, while retaining excellent clarity and treble sparkle. The bridge pickup provides bold broadband punch and exquisite detail, with a taut hollow twang on the wound strings that's quintessential Gretsch. Weighing 7lbs 5oz, this Gretsch has been professionally setup here at Mike and Mike’s Guitar Bar with roundwound 11-49 strings and low action.
The two-piece maple neck has a fast-feeling medium C-shaped profile carve with modest shoulder, measuring .840" at the 1st fret and .890" at the 9th. The ebony fretboard features original pearl thumbnail inlay, diffused red side dots, and a recent professional refret with flawless vintage-spec slender fretwire. The neck is straight with a responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod, and the guitar plays cleanly up the 24.6" scale. The fretboard measures just fractionally shy of 1 11/16" wide at the zero fret just forward of the nut. The bound maple headstock face features a particularly well-executed Gretsch inlay for this era, along with the iconic horseshoe, and the original gold Waverly tuning machines are present too, still functioning smoothly.
All of the original electronics are intact, with the Filter'Tron pickups mounted to their original transparent pickup risers. The myriad controls include individual pickup Volume knobs, a Master Volume on the treble side body horn, and three-way pickup selector and tone switches (forgoing the "standby" switch added to very late '61 examples). There is patina through the plating on the G pointer knobs, Filter'Tron covers and switches. The hardware is rounded out by the original B6G vibrato tailpiece and a replacement bar bridge sitting atop the original thumbwheels and carved ebony base. The Bigsby vibrato delivers what all Bigsbys aspire to, yet few achieve. The subtlety and responsiveness of this vibrato cannot be overstated, and the unit reacts to the lightest touch. Deeper dives can be actuated with ease, and the original spring has ideal tension, returning to the original pitch with great reliability. The stock pickguard bracket mounts a nigh-flawless original gold Chet Atkins signature guard. The original serialized label is retained inside the body, and the serial matches the original Gretsch Guarantee paperwork, which is also included.
This guitar boasts the original pale Western Orange Stain nitro lacquer finish, highlighting curly flame figuring which extends across the entire body and two-piece maple neck. The original multi-ply binding is practically perfect save for one isolated scuff on the lower bout back binding. Cosmetic wear is otherwise limited to a few light finish scratches and minor marks on the back, and sparingly little additional wear on the body as a whole. The neck profile also retains its smooth nitro gloss, with light palm wear through the finish on the bass-side shoulder behind frets 1-2.
The original near-mint hardshell case is included complete with extremely clean gray leather trim, functional latches, and the original handle. The original "Gretsch Guarantee" COA is also present.
The fully hollow all-maple trestle-braced body provides a big, relaxed natural sound that retains ideal percussive cut and immediacy, translating to a broad array of classic Gretsch tonalities via the original pair of Filter’Tron humbuckers. The neck pickup is meaty and sweet-sounding, while retaining excellent clarity and treble sparkle. The bridge pickup provides bold broadband punch and exquisite detail, with a taut hollow twang on the wound strings that's quintessential Gretsch. Weighing 7lbs 5oz, this Gretsch has been professionally setup here at Mike and Mike’s Guitar Bar with roundwound 11-49 strings and low action.
The two-piece maple neck has a fast-feeling medium C-shaped profile carve with modest shoulder, measuring .840" at the 1st fret and .890" at the 9th. The ebony fretboard features original pearl thumbnail inlay, diffused red side dots, and a recent professional refret with flawless vintage-spec slender fretwire. The neck is straight with a responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod, and the guitar plays cleanly up the 24.6" scale. The fretboard measures just fractionally shy of 1 11/16" wide at the zero fret just forward of the nut. The bound maple headstock face features a particularly well-executed Gretsch inlay for this era, along with the iconic horseshoe, and the original gold Waverly tuning machines are present too, still functioning smoothly.
All of the original electronics are intact, with the Filter'Tron pickups mounted to their original transparent pickup risers. The myriad controls include individual pickup Volume knobs, a Master Volume on the treble side body horn, and three-way pickup selector and tone switches (forgoing the "standby" switch added to very late '61 examples). There is patina through the plating on the G pointer knobs, Filter'Tron covers and switches. The hardware is rounded out by the original B6G vibrato tailpiece and a replacement bar bridge sitting atop the original thumbwheels and carved ebony base. The Bigsby vibrato delivers what all Bigsbys aspire to, yet few achieve. The subtlety and responsiveness of this vibrato cannot be overstated, and the unit reacts to the lightest touch. Deeper dives can be actuated with ease, and the original spring has ideal tension, returning to the original pitch with great reliability. The stock pickguard bracket mounts a nigh-flawless original gold Chet Atkins signature guard. The original serialized label is retained inside the body, and the serial matches the original Gretsch Guarantee paperwork, which is also included.
This guitar boasts the original pale Western Orange Stain nitro lacquer finish, highlighting curly flame figuring which extends across the entire body and two-piece maple neck. The original multi-ply binding is practically perfect save for one isolated scuff on the lower bout back binding. Cosmetic wear is otherwise limited to a few light finish scratches and minor marks on the back, and sparingly little additional wear on the body as a whole. The neck profile also retains its smooth nitro gloss, with light palm wear through the finish on the bass-side shoulder behind frets 1-2.
The original near-mint hardshell case is included complete with extremely clean gray leather trim, functional latches, and the original handle. The original "Gretsch Guarantee" COA is also present.
