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This is an all original guitar in excellent condition withwhat I believe to be the original case, also in excellent condition. There is very minor worming to the back, mostof which has not penetrated the varnish and a couple of very small marks on thefront of the guitar by the bridge. Theback of the neck and headstock are in amazing condition. The guitar has not been refinished. The guitar even has the original Gretschtruss rod adjusting tool!
The guitar has the original Gretsch tubular arm bigsby, muchsuperior to the flat arm bigsby. All theswitches work really well with no crackles, as do all the knobs. This early 70s model has the by-pass switch (oftenknown as the kill switch) which the mid and late 70s models do not have. This is great for live work as it allows youto cut all power to the guitar by flicking one switch.
The pickups are Gretsch Filtertrons and are surprisinglypowerful with incredible range. They aresmooth and drive incredibly well.
The binding is in A1 condition with no issues at all (unlikethe 60s Gretschs’) and is now nicely yellowed. The frets are in great shape with little wear and the guitar has notbeen re-fretted. The ebony fingerboardshows no signs of wear. The action islow and very playable and the guitar is set up with 11-49 strings.
One point of interest is that this guitar was one ofliterally a handful that left the factory in 1973 with a temporary or‘transitional’ label. A fire consumedthe Gretsch plant in 1973 and in the resulting chaos a few guitars were fittedwith a white label with a yellow border (see photo) this label gave the modelnumber and a serial number but the serial number was actually a drum serialnumber, not a guitar number. This isdocumented in AR Duchossior’s ‘Guitar Identification’ book published in1983.
I would be willing to swap or part ex the guitar (casheither way) for a 50s or early 60s fender/Gibson amp or possibly a Gibson345. I would also consider a small bodied acoustic. I will consider other swaps, pleasedrop me an email. The asking price isfirm as it is less than a jap reissue.
Please feel free to come and try the guitar. Please phone 01353 659599 or 07981 945662 oremail for more photos: guy.merchant@picasuk.com
I am having minor problems with email at the moment so if I do not respond same day please just give me a call. I am located just north of Cambridge.
