I know Baldwin-era Gretsches are rather frowned upon, but I have to say, the double cut Nashville I played at Rumble Seat a while back had a nice mojo to it... easy to play, thick rich juicy tone -- altogether a respectable axe. It felt friendly, like it was very happy to be played.

Looking at Bear's thread re pre-FMIC ceramic filters, i have to agree with Setzer's post, re the nice vibe of Baldwin -era filters.

so while digging into the lore of Baldwin era stuff, I came across the Super Chet.

thats a mighty elegant guitar ; love the shape! very cool indeed. I also see they made reissues in Terada 98-02, pre FMIC, known as the Super Gretsch, with the controls on the guitar rather than on the pickguard (probably a wise choice).

Dont know why I find these intriguing, but I do. Anyone had experiences with either the Terada reissue or the Baldwin?

It brings up another question -- of the two less-than-sought-after eras -- Baldwin vs pre FMIC Japan -- which turned out better guitars?

There are some weird aesthetic choices with the Baldwin era - square pickguards, ugly tailpieces, etc -- but the playability and tone on the one I messed with was nice. However, one Baldwin encounter is not enough to make an opinion, so im curious in general on peoples take on these two "Cinderella stepsister " eras of Gretsch.

As I am sure you know I rate baldwin era guitars highly. They are reliable anwell built guitars. Having been lucky enough to own gretsches from all usa built eras i must say they are IMO as good if not better than anything that came out in the 60 s and rarely suffer from binding rot etc etc.the baldwin built 70s falcons, super chets are two of my favourite guitars. I dislike the BST range for looks but not for playability. As far as I am concerned they are disliked due to snobbery and there is an element of "emporers new clothes" when these guitars are discussed. I think the clubs and annys and tennys look a bit too similar and have weird pickguards etc but all play well even like a terrada built gretsch in many cases. i have never been popular on the GDP due to my views but so what! I stand by my views and I rate the baldwin gretsch era and the booneville plant.

thansk, gretschcrush...nice to know the Baldwins arent universally slammed. .. i always take pickguards off any way, I think they look odd, so an ugly pickguard isnt going to stop me from a good guitar if it plays well and sounds nice.

I think the Baldwin era gets the most grief for not keeping the guitars historically accurate.

The same can be said for the pre-FMIC stuff after the Baldwin-era ended.

The folks that actually own and play their Baldwin-era Gretsches tend to love their playability and sound. They are mostly well-crafted.

My '73 Gent is historically acurate to Booneville-made Baldwin era 1973. "Golden Era" opinions vary.

I think that the baldwin era archtops are far more historically accurate compared to the 60 s gretsches. Painted on f holes? The electrotones are just weird IMO. i think baldwin tried to return to a 50s look only to find the kids just wanted les pauls ( ironically a 50s design!) ......most of the 60s gretsches have binding rot and not all 60s gretsches are good in terms of playability. The late 60s brooklyn double cuts are poorly built and wre not sorted until booneville

I have no issues with the Baldwin-era stuff, but I just don't like the body shape of the Super Chet, specifically the upper bout. The lower cut-away bout shape is fine.

I'd take a BST every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

I love my '92 pre FMIC Japan Double Cutaway Black Falcon. The only thing I ever changed on it is the strings!

Uh....dumb question...whats a BST?

I've only had one,a 78 Super Chet ,i miss it,the neck was a bit on the big size though,but it was a nice sounding guitar. It was missing the tailpiece insert ,machine heads ,tone switch tip and the bridge was screwed down ,oh and none original case.

My uncle had a 78 Country Club ,but it was a hard guitar to play,we tried everything on the setup front but it just give you cramp in your hand after an hour or so.He did put a Bigsby on though.

Stefan said "Uh....dumb question...whats a BST? "

Have a look here on the memorabilia page.

Link...

ah, ok... wasnt aware of those either. Not my thing, but interesting to see the attempt to move into the "rock" market. They look like knockoffs of Ovation electrics from that era -- a shame they didnt tery to strike a bolder note.

People must like these Super Chets and hang on to them; i see a lot more Baldwin era Country Gentlemen etc around relative to these, though Gbase dealers have a few of them.

Never played a Baldwin club, but they do look heavy and clunky. ...

anyone played one of the Terada reissues (Super Gretsch) ?

'75 CG ... Baldwin, Baby ... all the way a player. Never treated it special, never gave it extra protection from the elements, played it 5 nights a week for 20+ years on the beaches of the West Indies, south Florida, Pocono Mountains and it still looks like new today ...no binding rot, no need for work ... a neck like butter ... still a player! Baldwin was only the parent company, not the luthier. Dean Porter and the red necks in Booneville could still build a solid axe.

damn, i wish there werent so many cool and interesting Gretsches out there, lol....

I'm close to finishing my optimization strategy for a spruce dyna club, as a complement/contrast to my current maple club. The maple club currently has dynas but would be converted to filters -- or perhaps theFilter/Maple Big Guitar slot could be filled by a Super Chet or Super Gretsch.

Gretsches make me think too much. Must stop and actually play.

@ premansite - youve nailed it dude! If you want a solid, reliable, tone monster that never fails to deliver get a booneville gretsch! Bet i get binding rot before your cg does!

lets hear it for the gretsch booneville redkneck luthiers ;)

these super chets arent super cheap, though, from what Im finding -- theyre commanding 2500-3000

wasn't the super chet the "last straw" why chet left? plastic knobs&such?....

Taken from Chet Atkins ,Me And My Guitars;

"I started working on the design of the Super Chet in 1971.I wanted to build a guitar that looked as beautiful as it sounded.Clyde Edwards ,who worked for Baldwin,designed the body shape,a true f-hole hollow body.It didn't have the solidity all the way through like i wanted,but it was still a very good guitar.With abalone inlay in the headstock,fingerboard,and tailpiece,it was probably the fanciest-looking guitar Gretsch ever produced.The extra binding in the center of the side was an idea i got from a guitar i have that's very old.All the electronic controls were mounted on the pickguard to avoid having to drill holes in the top.I used the Super Chet some for personal appearances and concerts during the 70's.It was a good guitar with good tone qualities,and i thought it had a beautiful shape,but for recording,and playing for my own enjoyment,i still prefered my old single cutaway Country Gent. The Deluxe Chet ,a less expensive model of the same body design,had top mounted controls,ordinary ornamentation,and a Bigsby tailpiece which i left off the Super Chet.I think this was due to my increasing interest in classic guitar,just the pure instrument,and wanting to become less reliant on technical hardware."

I've got a Super Chet that I brought to the Baltimore roundup.

Link...

I really like the aesthetics, sound and playability... My only issue is the weight ... They put a ton of bracing in there that was probably to cut down on the feedback ...

Anyway, I've been enjoying it but when it comes time to make some more room at the corral that one may need to find a new home.

57 Chet

Wow, sweet! if you go to Nashville, you should bring it!

Im pursuing some leads on either this or a Terada reissue. I want the 25 1/2 scale, and the pickup mounted controls seem vulnerable from what I'm researching....

I really want to make it to Nashville again ... I've attended that roundup twice but had to miss it last year due to work ... At this point it looks like I may have to miss it again this year ... I hope that changes!

Later Compadres!

I remember that ad as an insert in Guitar Player magazine.

I dutifully cut out the coupon, and brought it to my local guitar shop, and asked to try out the new Gretsches.

They laughed at me.

I now have three Baldwin era Gretsches.

In fact the 73 Country Club that I recently bought from Rumble Seat is "the" best Grestch hollowbody I've had, certainly more resonant than any of my Tereda Gretsches.

....being played for forty years probably had something to do with it

....don't listen to the Baldwin naysayers

I have never had a Baldwin Gretsch with bad binding, bad neck angles or unplayable.

Everyone has a been a total joy. As for the 1960's Gretschs' I have only had 3 out of 15 6120's that played worth a damn.

The Super Chets are amazing.

Now 1950's Duo Jets and Streamliners can't be beat....but you can keep most of the 60's crap!!