Congratulations Tim! The recognition is well deserved - your coverage of these events, your reviews and travelogues are professional in every respect - and fun to read to boot. Your work is a gold standard!
Or maybe a white 6122 with Dynasonics standard.
Thanks for all you do!
Congratulations Tim! It definitely is well deserved.
Can't add to what already has been said.
People forget that Tim is not paid for the five star quality of his reporting.
This I know... the distraction of taking pictures and making audio/video takes a little bit away from just being at an event and soaking in it. So while he's there (and we aren't) he still has to give up a little of the enjoyment he might have otherwise.
Having said that I also know that the drive of being a writer is a lot like the drive to be a musician.
He has that in spades and does it very well.
We're damn lucky he's there doing this for us...
Did I hear the words "tortoise shell binding"? I'd love to see a closeup of that! Congrats Tim!
Amazing. Congratulations Tim, it couldn't have happened to a better guy. You definitely deserve that guitar. I always do my best to follow your awesome coverage on here, and really appreciate everything you've done or this forum.
Has it hit you yet that you have a ONE OF A KIND Gretsch?! That is just beyond belief to me. The Tim Harmon Country Gent. Has a nice ring to it if you ask me.
Now put that thing down and get to work! 
That's just incredible Tim. Just to see the look of appreciation from Joe and Mr. Gretsch puts it beyond words. Congratulations on your dream guitar. She's a beaut for sure. Can't wait to hear what it sounds like.
Thanks so very much for the outstanding coverage.
Yay! Tim that is one special gift for one special guy. I'm thrilled for you, it is certainly well-deserved. Congratulations and happy pickin'!
Thanks for all the great coverage and insightful posts in general
And tangentially, I never realized until this post that Fred sports a ponytail.
Woweeewow! Congratulations Tim! And big props to Joe and Fred for making a dream come true!
Thank you all for your words here!
It does hit me every once in a while, how amazing to have a factory one-off...the realization seems to come in waves.
As you can imagine, Gretsch has come to mean a great deal to me. I always knew of the brand, of course (no guitarist of my age could not), but I didn't discover how its characteristic tone and response worked for me till a few years ago.
Suddenly, I felt musically home – like I'd been evolving for years toward a style that just SOUNDS better on a Gretsch. I sounded more like me than I ever had; the guitars have been a catalyst to evolve further in my own direction, taking in Gretsch influences like Chet/fingerstyle, rockabilly/roots, and rock/pop for sure - without being a purist in any of them.
First and foremost, Gretsch has become THE vehicle for my musical journey, and would be whether I was "associated" with the company or not. You guys all know how that is, at first the hook of the sound, then interest in the guitars, then burgeoning passion (verging for some of us, some of the time) toward obsession.
The rest of it has all been completely unscripted and unintentional, the by-product of "following one's bliss." The GDP is the hub of a lot of activity for many of us – here's where I learned about Gretsch, was drawn along to learn more, and posted ... shall we say voluminously?
There was no intention to do that either; writing is my way of learning, of processing information, of structuring it. The GDP has given me a place to do that, and quite often the inspiration as well.
Through that, I came in contact with FMIC - at first the great Mike Lewis (a better friend to us than we usually acknowledge), then Joe, whose passion for guitars and for this brand we all recognize. I was lucky enough to meet Fred and Dinah, and get to know their family a little.
This is all incredible stuff. I mean, almost literally unbelievable. If you'd told me three years ago anything like this would happen I would have asked what you were smoking.
The opportunities they've given me, the people I've met, the worlds I've glimpsed, the new music I've found, the friends I've made and continue to make are priceless. In some ways it's been like a journey through the looking glass, like pulling aside the veil. I'm grateful for all of it.
It's also been a way to come to a deeper appreciation of a classic version of the American dream. Not so much in my own experience, but in getting a glimpse of the family behind a great historical brand. It's a common - nearly universal - story here, that our ancestors came from somewhere else. That someone wrenched themselves from their family and were driven to the land across the sea where, with hard work, they might have a better life.
So much of what is great about America - particularly its productive industry, its material culture - has come from families with that experience. From Germany, from Italy, from Ireland, from anywhere. That's not "corporate" history, or the story of business - it's OUR story, that we can produce something of value to someone else, and trade that for our daily bread and maybe a little ahead.
I'm a sucker for that aspect of our creative industrial past, and seeing a little closer just gives it more dimension.
It's also an incredible honor to feel just a little connected to at least the current chapter of Gretsch's rich musical legacy.
Yes, these events (and I suppose some of the stuff I post) represent a lot of effort, a lot of "work." You go sleepless, you stretch yourself to the limits. It can be so involving, so absorbing, that you lose yourself in it, sometimes to personal cost and sacrifice.
I've often observed that you can pay a man to do a job, but you can't pay him enough to do a good job. He has to want to. He has to love it. It has to be passion. That's where everything of value in life comes from. It does not come from cool disengagement, cynicism, or negativity.
I know that's how this has happened for me, and I know the FMIC and Gretsch people I've met have their own versions of something like the same driving passion.
To have this dream guitar in hand, a gleaming white reality, is amazing enough on its own – and I can tell you it's a wonderful instrument, splitting the Country Club-Dyna continuum as I imagined. There's no way I can thank Joe, Mike, Fred, the guys at Terada enough. Sometimes when you get something you've dreamed about, it's like there's a spotlight on you, and you suddenly wonder "what am I doing here", and feel very small and humble.
And again I thank the GDP and you all here, because here's where it all came together.
But beyond the reality of the guitar, it also represents an apparent underlying principle of The Way Life Works: that wild bluesky dreams can come true, but only if you follow your instincts with conviction and abandon, almost without any regard for the "outcome." For me anyway, it's less about "eyes on the prize" than "hands on the work." And then the incredible happens, far beyond what you could ever reasonably have planned or expected.
In other words, I didn't have a plan – who would really make such a plan? I threw myself into what came naturally, and now I'm playing the embodiment of a dream.
But OK, enough of all that! You want more pictures!
And I'll have more pics, and, yes, sound clips soon enough.
Maybe I'm amazed!
Congrats, Tim---it's YOU!
T-totally deserved, of course. Play it in good health.
I'm already feeling sorry for the guy trying to identify this gretsch in about 50 years from now on
It could not have happened to a more deserving fella. Warmest congratulations Tim, it looks a peach.
Thomas, 1 up...
Big day indeed! Congrats Tim on jobs well done covering everything that Fred, Joe Bax and the GDP requested of ya.
Oh - it has an official Gretsch model tag inside, identifying it as a 6122-IIDS.
The complete specs:
• 25.5 scale
• 17 x 2 doublecut body
• Terada-style waffle bracing, voice by Masao
• 18th-fret neck join
• tortoiseshell binding
• 12" radius, rosewood fingerboard
• Neoclassic fret markers
• bigger than usual frets (like modern Country Clubs)
• Dynasonics, pickup selector, master volume, individual pup vols, master tone
• Tru-Arc™ BR-120 (subject to change at any time to other metals)
• V-cut Bigsby with movable Chet arm
Craziness.
Now that you have shown the pics, it really is an incredibly beautiful guitar. As everyone has said or intimated, it is very well deserved.
Paul, it may sound odd - but Joe, Bax, and Fred have never made any requests, or tried to shape coverage in any way.
I sometimes ask if I'm headed the right direction, or ask Joe what he's got to talk about - but they always just say 'gomango'.
Of course I assume I shouldn't turn into a hate-spewing idiot, so I try to keep my demons under control!
Congratulations, Tim. The term "just rewards" comes to mind. I'd like to think that the thank you's from all of us are built into that guitar, somewhere.
Well said Deed.
Holy Smoke Tim, this is just awesome. I am so happy for you and you are so deserving of this accolade. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Shouldn't that guitar come with a forked headstock? 
In all seriousness, Prote, I think your post about receiving such an amazing gift is a perfect example of why you so richly deserve it - your passion, dedication and humility as a fan of Gretsch, and as an ambassador/enabler for all us fellow Gretsch addicts, shines through every time you put pixels to the Pages.
Much deserved, my friend, and looking forward to seeing what else CAAS has in store for us this weekend!
Much deserved
can I have your 6122-59?
That is a sharp looking guitar. Congrats Tim.
Congrats Tim! That's a very cool guitar!
Absolutely awesome and very well deserved!!!
I want one just like it.
This is the best story ever! Congradulations Tim. Will you update your avatar with the real deal or keep the original one to honor the initial idea?
