Gretsch 7660 Chet Atkins

1977 Vintage 7660 Chet Atkins Nashville, manufactured during the Baldwin Era. Like the Fender/CBS and Gibson/Norlin era instruments, these guitars often sell for less than the earlier and later models. Double cutaway maple hollowbody with real f-holes. Doesn't feedback much and really opens up that woody sound that I love about these 7660s. Straight and true two piece maple neck, Rugged covered tuners, 22 medium jumbo type frets.

The usual Gretsch setup for controls, Master volume, 2 separate pickup volumes, Pickup selector switch, tone selecter switch (Bass cut and treble cut) Gretsch branded bigsby tremolo that is solid and dependable. Two filtertron pickups.

It's definitely got that 'That Gretsch Sound' that doesn't sound like anything else. Combination of construction pickups and the electronic circuit! The pickups are medium output (think PAF's). Nice and warm to twangy. A lot of variety though the tone switch takes some getting used to if you are used to tone pots (and who isn't).

I'm not the original owner so the factory setup is history. Nice low action and good quality workmanship when I purchased it! The pickup's pole pieces adjust individually rather than raising or lowering the whole pup. Makes it easy to adjust for different gauges/types of strings.

The finish is excellent. Nitrocellulose I think, not the Poly that the newer MIJ/Fender Gretsches are entombed in. And not the crumbling or sure to crumble celluloid binding of the earlier Gretsches. More about that below. Gretsch changed the pickguard to a thicker more angular shape during this era. Makes hem easy to spot from more vintage or modern instruments. But if you switcedh out with a standard Gretsch pickguard you would hardly notice any difference.

Highly underrated guitars. The build quality on all of these that I have played has been excellent. Mine is a tank. Period. Super solid and built to go the distance. I have played this without a backup many times with no concerns.

Gretsch has a unique durability problem which was addressed before this guitar was built. Gretsch had switched to the industry standard plastic bindings by this point. The disintegration of the old celluloid bindings was the cause of the "Gretchitis" you find on pre-1968 Gretsches. A serious bargain for any Gretsch enthusiast out there who wants that great Gretsch sound at a firesale price.

This guitar is way past any warranty and the company that made these is long, long gone.

This is not your old company or new Fender Gretsch and that's great in a lot of ways! It's a rock solid player with the sound I was looking for at a price that wasn't atmospheric. I play rock, rockabilly, jazz, fusion stuff and this guitar can accommodate all these styles. Metal, not so much. I own a Gretsch Viking, a Country Gentleman and a Tennessean as well as a Gibson 335 and some nice Ibanez hollowbody and semi-hollowbody guitars. This baby holds it's own and has a unique sound that I love. For the money you can't get a much better bargain.

This here is a double cutaway 7660 Chet Atkins Nashville, made in 1975 (august to be exact) in Brooklyn, Chicago when Gretsch had been taken over by Baldwin.

Big hollow body in a dark off-orange finish, with a whole array of volume and pick-up switches I've yet to figure out completely.

tune-a-matic bridge and quite possibly the finest trem/bigsby i could ever want (it can take an agressive whack and still note slink out of tune)

This is my first venture into Gretsch country, and since i can remember, i've yearned to have such a beast in my possession.

The 70's Baldwin made guitars are considered by devotees to be something of a dark period in it's history and most won't go near them. Either they're terrible liars or i got real lucky.

The sound of this thing is something to behold, a deep, deep warm bass sound, pitched against a sweet as chiming top end.

People harp on about 'That Gretsch Sound' in some mystical tone, and by god, once you've got the thing in your hands, you believe!!!!
It came equiped with filtertron pickuts (with the hilotron covers) and no other pick-up i've heard can match that sound. The only problem it would seem, is they can become a little buzzy around a ton of electrics

Okay, this is where i feel this fellah is a bit lacking, although, not on the guitar's behalf.

I'm previously acoustomed to playing Strats and a whole slew of Gibson dot clones, with a set of 9's (super slinkys, with action like elastic bands. The gretsch n the other hand prefares to be set up with at least 11's and for the moment it feels like i'm playing a guitar strung with double bass strings (steel ones at that), which is a problem with my pickin' style. I'm currently just not able to give the round degree of string bend that i'm used to- but once my finger he been broken in again, it should be no problem.

One slight problem is with the old e' saddle on the tune-a-matic bridge, one pluck too hard and it's away. I've yet to play this live, so a different attack style will need to be called into play (just grazing the string, rather than popping it may work well?)

My only dissapointment with the overall fit, is the fact that in the 70's Gretsch decided to replace the volume knobs with plastic (cheaper) variations, but to be honest, first chance i get these are being replaced with dice!!
For it's age, it has weathered very well indeed, none of the binding problems that seem to affect Gretschs, minimal 'belt' sctraches and the frets are just worn in that right amount.

I easy reckon i could ward of a pack of rabid dogs with this thing and there would hardly be a mark on it. It's a big lad for it's mother. It's obviously been used and loved by somebody for it's 28 year life and looks remarkably well on it.

As mentioned, the Bigsby is set just right and refuses to float out of tune after a quick shake (and i hammer the thing). It's also got the old locking strap malarky that Gretschs come with, so i reckon i could saftley leap about like a crazt fool, battering the Bigsby and it wouls stay perfect.

It also came in its original (still in good shape) hardcase and it's impossible to find if lost truss rod adjustment key!!

+would i gig it without a back-up?+

er.... I've not much option as another #1200 is a lot to fork out just incase I break a srting mid solo!!

Unless i can create some manner of time machine- I have no idea???

I knew that on the day i finally owned my dream axe- inside it would say 'GRETSCH- MADE IN USA' and not 'GRETSCH- MADE IN SOMEPLACE IN JAPAN'. Don't get me wrong, i've heard many glowing things about the new re-issues, many of which make bold claims about them being as good as a vintage. I just wanted something i could afford (well.... not really afford, but you get the idea!) and something that was at least made in the guitars home country. Original USA made gretsches are hard (if not imposible to find) in the UK, and when they do appear it's not unusual for them to start in the price region of #2000- even the re-issues tend to be somewhere around #1800 to #2500

It was exactly what i was looking for, i wanted a Gretsch that little bit different, not the gretsch orange, single cut 6120 with pyramid flat wounds that every quiff rocker and his dog is bustin' out with. It suits my needs. I play in an unusual psycho/rockabilly band (unusual in the fact that none of the tunes are 100 miles an hour in an e-minor twelve bar with themes about coffin surfin' vampires!), it sounds like a dream, looks like a big red rockabilly monster and will no doubt have people cowering in fear when i get round to bendin' feedback live on stage with the Bigsby unit!!

Alls I need now is to figure out how to get #700 for that Fender Blues Deville I've had my eye on for a while!

Thanks to Wendy (God bless her!)