Whilst rummaging through some old mags, I found a “Rare Bird” piece in the August 1993 issue of Guitar Player.
Some of it was:
“Any doubt about the Convertible’s acoustic guitar base is dispelled by a look inside this example. It has two labels. One is marked through, but the numbers are still legible: S/N 8721, Model 6030. This guitar started out in 1953 as an acoustic Synchromatic arch top model, the same model that was called the Constellation in 1955. The second label has S/N 19578, Model 6199, which identifies it as a ’56 Convertible. The neck is from ’55 or ’56, which raises an interesting question for Gretsch daters: Did Gretsch put serial numbers on guitars before they were finished, before the necks were attached?
Do you agree with this assessment, Dan?
