Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Hollowbody

My Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Hollow body guitar was made in August 2008 at the Terada Japanese factory. The Terada factory has been making a wide variety of Gretsch's line up for the last several years

This modern version of the classic 6120 Chet Atkins Hollow Body guitar features a 16"-wide, 2.5"-deep full hollow body, rock maple neck, ebony fingerboard with Neo-Classic??? "thumbnail" inlays, dual High Sensitive Filter'Tron??? pickups, Grover?? Rotomatic?? machine heads, Adjusto-Matic??? bridge, and Bigsby?? B6G vibrato tailpiece. Available in Deep Orange Stain

I have been playing for 12+ years... pretty much everyday during all those years. This is the best sounding electric guitar I have ever played. Actually the Gretsch Falcon might be slightly better. I have played a variety of PRS's, Gibsons (e.g. ES 175), Fender's (I have an American Standard), etc...).

I think Gretsch's standard FilterTron pick-ups offer a fantastic sound (that unique "Gretsch sound"). The the volume and tone controls allow a great variance over the base sound/tone.

I was looking for a good jazz sounding guitar (hence, the es-175), but I also like playing Rockabilly, Blues and Swing. I believe this Gretsch offers a wider variety of sounds than the other guitars I tried out (and own).

One of the major selling points for me in buying this Gretsch 6120, was that it is made in Japan. The Terada factory has a long and distinguished history in guitar making. I have worked in Japan, and I know (without stereotyping the culture)how meticulous and precise the Japanese culture is in making anything! I believe the Terada factory makes a consistent product at a very high level of workmanship. Btw, I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on the workmanship of Gibson guitars these days... e.g. the Gibson ES-175 has a great sound but their workmanship can compromise the whole user experience, e.g. problems with the electronics, body construction, etc... I don't mean to intentionally put down Gibson, as I was initially aiming at buying the ES-175, but their inconsistency (based primarily on reviews I have read) made me very cautious in buying Gibson.

However, in fairness for this review, I did notice when my Gretsch arrrived, the Bigsby had a few small tarnish spots on it. (the Bigsby's are not made in Japan :) So I will deduct a bit off the score for this. However

I believe this is quite a solid and well made guitar that should stand up to the normal wear and tear of everyday playing & transport.

I have no opinion on this, since I haven't had the opportunity to seek assistance or information. I hope they provide the same level of excellence as the Terada factory.

Well, over the last 12 years I have found my two favorite guitars.

My acoustic is the Martin 000-15s. The best sounding acoustic I have ever played... and I have play many of the best (e.g. Jeff Traugott).

The Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Hollow-Body is one amazing sounding guitar. I look forward to playing it everyday.

Over the years I do play out, and have mostly played acoustic, however, the Gretsch has now influence my style of playing, and I believe I will be taking it out for performances in the future.

My 6120 is a '64 model and where it matters is pretty original. Anybody who's lucky enough to have one might be interested in what I've done to mine. (1)Sadly I believe most Gretschs that old need a neck reset - worth getting done (by someone good) because the break over the bridge is so important for string behaviour and sustain. (2)You can fit a couple of soundposts (without glue) under the bridge and all but say goodbye to vibration feedback. (3)If you're a bit loopy like me, you could also fit your bridge on a solid brass base and smooth out the sustain and sting response even more (these both reduce the acoustic properties and personality but I reckon that's a small price to pay)
An interesting and very significant plus for these double cut models is that those silly dampers keep the 'treble' pickup a bit further from the bridge and it's a friendlier balance of sound between the 2 pickups. I have another later model without dampers and it makes this point pretty clear.
The neck heel won't encourage you to play notes above the 20th fret - new Gretschs do that better.
'Chances are someone has fitted new machines by now.
A few more fairly unimportant or easily fixed negatives..the tone circuitry is close to useless and the switch would be better hanging inside the guitar - as would the stupid on-off switch - who needs that really?
Also, replace the bridge saddle with one which lets you adjust the intonation.

Old filtertrons have got to be the most versatile, dynamic and loveable pickups ever. They're as dry as an old leaf and I may be mad, well I am, but I reckon they find a harmonic range no-one else in the band can use and it just leaves this space for you to play in. I've kissed that guitar so often on stage it's surprising I'm still at large.
It's not all good, sadly - the lower notes can be pretty wooly and unless you like to rip the bottoms right out of your sound you'll have to admit that other guitars do the 6th string better.

They do play well unless they're falling apart. You can expect a low fast action with a Gretsch if that's what you want - like Gibson. Another thing I've done because I love the thing so much is to hang my shoulder strap off a button fitted where one of the press studs for the back pad is - it balances perfectly and you can do it without harming your valuable old guitar. I'm not giving a ratings here because it may be giving credit where it's not due.

They're not durable. If Gretsch had used glues that lasted, I'd say they're were but another guitar maker could seriously resent Gretsch having a pickup that good and seeming to not be able to craft a decent body to hold them. I have 3 old Gretschs - they've all been rebuilt and they're great, but not all thanks to the Fred Gretsch company.

No idea.

I've been playing since my '64 Gretsch was new and I have a passion for guitars that look and feel like that - so I'm biased. I also own a 335 and a new strat - better than the 'L' I used to play so I'm not totally stuck in the past.
A filtertron seems to bridge the gap between most humbuckers and single coils, and does it with a brightness that unique - old ones seem much 'dryer' than new ones and that's the sound I'm carrying on about. If I couln't have an early 60's Gretsch I'd play a new one.
With all the things thats wrong with these guitars they've got to be pretty special to have such control over their owners.

Mfg NY, U.S.A. 1964. Second version of the Chet Atkins, double cutaway hollow archtop bound maple body with two fake f-holes, Gretsch-orange stain finish, bound ebony fingerboard, half-moon markers, 22 frets plus zero fret, trussrod adjuster at headstock, horsehoe on headstock; two Filtertron humbucker pickups, three controls (all volume), three selectors, colored plastic pickguard with Chet Atkins name, gold plated hardware, snap on pad on body back, string damper with control, non-origial Melita bridge, original Gretsch grey case with moroon lining.

Joined first band in 1964 with Gibson SG, "stumbled" onto Chet in 1965. Played Top 40 of the time and originals right through 1971. Our playlist of covers was all over the board, from the Byrds and Beatles to Hendrix and Zepplin. The Chet can feedback/sustain (controlled) indefinitly and combined with the Bigsby, held it's own through the "hard rock" "psychedelic" "acid rock" era. Clean biting British Invasion, harmonic country-western, sweet-nasty blues, or ear-shredding heavy metal.
Available effects then were limited to reverb, tremelo, and later primitive early fuzz tone units; but those combined with the Bigsby and pickup selector switch were all you needed to create about anything. Ran them through 6 foot Kustom amps with 2X15s. With 2 Chets, we were perhaps the only group to utilize these "jazz boxes" to their full capabilites. We used them to record 5 local singles, 2 national singles; and 2 national albums - which in reissue today, are labeled as "psyche". The versatility of the Chet is still a best kept secret, as people see them as bulky, boxy, "cowboy"
guitars. With the modern effects boxes of today, their versatility of sound is still unmatched.

The Chet plays effortlessly. You can even get a volume pedal effect by extending your pinky finger to the master volume control, and rotating off and on as you pick a lead or chords. An issue then and later was the original "floating" bridge and intonation. The simple
"bar" bridge would tend to slide out of position when using the Bigsby to a "violent" extent, which I cured with the use of Fender medium flat wound strings. The treble side of the bar usually had to be cocked slightly back toward the tailpiece to get a compromise intonation. I cured that a little later by replacing the bar with a Melita bridge - orthodonic but effective. The Chet then as today, is an eye catcher with it's signature orange finish. Whether they are built better today than then is up for debate.

On over 300 local gigs, and three cross country tours, it nevered occured to us to have back-up guitars. Except for an occasional broken string, there were never any failures. And during our "Who emulation period", we smacked them into mic stands, amp fronts, and even tossed them down on carpeted stages without incident. The amount of vintage Chets still cranking today is a tribute to their durability and longevity, including mine which has survived 38 years.

Never happened; but we all know Gretsch CS is poor. Will Fender improve it?

I have been playing 45 years; in the last 10-15 years, modern music has spentered into a 1000 sects, and slocking equipment to play an hour on a 4-band night in a dumpy club for $20 is for morons. I became a songwriting studio recluse in 1985. I also have a '74 Gretsch Country Roc, a '79 Gretsch BST 5000, a '75 Epiphone acoustic 12, a '89 Fender Precison Bass, a '03 Seagull S6 acoustic, a '89 Kawai digital syth, '89 Roland drum machine and sequenser, a '02 Roland VS1680 digital recorder, Event PS6 monitors, and a CAD Equitek E200 studio mic.
After years of live performances, group singles and albums, and 8 solo albums, the Chet still is on top. The guitar's versatility of sound is still unequalled, and it adapts as fast as music changes. If it were lost or stolen, I would replace it with one of the same vintage. Unfortunately, you can't replace 40 years of sentiment.