Gretsch Guitars

Historic series

The Historic line raised a lot of eyebrows when it was introduced in 1999. First, despite the name there really wasn’t much in common with historic Gretsch models. Even more baffling, the Historics were one of three different Korean-made budget lines Gretsch introduced that year.

While the Historics were generally nicer than the Synchromatics or Electromatics of the time, nobody could make any sense of the flood of overlapping budget models. In 2003 a large rationalizing axe fell on the Korean imports, which left a much simplified Electromatic line only. With that, the short-lived Historic series was done.

51 different models and 97 examples are in the Gretsch-GEAR database, including Dreadnought, Grand Concert, Hawaiian, Hawaiian Deluxe, Hawaiian Deluxe Limited Edition, Rancher Jr. Acoustic/Electric, Resonator, Sierra Deluxe, Sierra Jumbo, Sierra Jumbo Deluxe, Streamliner, Synchromatic Archtop, Synchromatic Dreadnought, Synchromatic Jr. and Synchromatic Thinline models.
3110 Synchromatic Archtop
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Sunburst-finished Historic series "Synchromatic" archtop with Cat's-eye soundholes, wooden Synchromatic stairstep bridge, DeArmond 2000 pickups, two volume controls and two tone controls.
3140 Synchromatic Thinline
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Orange finish, DeArmond 2000 pickups, cats-eye soundholes and a G-cutout tailpiece were the notable features on this Historic series model.
3141 Synchromatic Thinline
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Like the 3140 Historic (only with a black finish), the 3141 featured DeArmond 2000 pickups, cats-eye soundholes and a G-cutout tailpiece.
3900 Synchromatic Jr.
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Sunburst finish, stairstep bridge, 1 DeArmond pickup, Venetian (rounded) cutaway
3905 Synchromatic Jr.
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Natural finish, wooden stairstep bridge, 1 DeArmond pickup, Venetian (rounded) cutaway
3967 Synchromatic Jr.
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Gold Top finish, wooden stairstep bridge, 1 DeArmond pickup, Florentine (sharp) cutaway
3150 Streamliner
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The Cherry Red version of the Historic series 31xx Streamliners. DeArmond 2000 pickups, Cats-eye soundholes and a G-cutout tailpiece round out the features.
3151 Streamliner
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The Black version of the Historic series 31xx Streamliners. DeArmond 2000 pickups, cats-eye soundholes and a G-cutout tailpiece round out the features.
3155 Streamliner
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The Cherry Red version of the Historic series 31xx Streamliners, with DeArmond 2000 pickups, cats-eye soundholes. Unlike the 3150, the 3155 was offered with a Bigsby tailpiece and ...
3156 Streamliner
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The Antique White version of the Historic series 31xx Streamliners, with DeArmond 2000 pickups, cats-eye soundholes. Came with a Bigsby tailpiece and gold hardware.
3900-LH Synchromatic Jr.
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Left-Hand model, Sunburst finish, stairstep bridge, 1 DeArmond pickup, Venetian (rounded) cutaway
3156-LH Streamliner
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Left-handed version of the Antique White 3156 Historic series Streamliner, with DeArmond 2000 pickups, cats-eye soundholes. Came with a Bigsby tailpiece and gold hardware.
3440 Hawaiian Deluxe Limited Edition
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Aged White Moto Celluloid Fretboard,
3100 Hawaiian
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Historic series Hawaiian guitar, in sunburst finish.
3101 Hawaiian
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Historic series Hawaiian guitar in black finish.
3105 Hawaiian Deluxe
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Historic series Hawaiian guitar in sunburst finish, plus a flame maple top.
3201 Hawaiian
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Historic series Hawaiian Acoustic/Electric, with a black finish, triangular soundhole and Fishman preamp.
3203 Hawaiian
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Historic series Hawaiian acoustic/electric with a natural finish, triangular soundhole and Fishman preamp.
3205 Hawaiian Deluxe
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Historic series acoustic-electric Hawaiian with a sunburst finish, triangular soundhole, maple top and Fishman preamp.
3303 Grand Concert
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Historic series natural finish flattop.
3366 Grand Concert
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
A cutaway body Historic series flattop with Deep Red Stain finish and Daho top.
3373 Grand Concert
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Cutaway body Historic series flattop with a natural maple finish, and maple top.
3400 Grand Concert
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The 3400 was a natural finish acoustic-electric flattop in the Historic series, with a spruce top and Fishman preamp.
3410 Rancher Jr. Acoustic/Electric
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Based on the pro-line Rancher body style, the Rancher Jr. had a smaller 15-inch wide body. It featured a solid Sitka spruce top with the distinctive Rancher triangular ...
3411 Rancher Jr. Acoustic/Electric
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Black finish, Spruce top, Triangular soundhole, Fishman preamp,
3415 Rancher Jr. Acoustic/Electric
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Sunburst finish, Spruce top, Triangular soundhole, Fishman preamp,
3417 Rancher Jr. Acoustic/Electric
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Blue finish, Spruce top, Triangular soundhole, Fishman preamp,
3418 Rancher Jr. Acoustic/Electric
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Purple finish, Spruce top, Triangular soundhole, Fishman preamp,
3419 Rancher Jr. Acoustic/Electric
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Red finish, Spruce top, Triangular soundhole, Fishman preamp,
3500 Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The Historic series 3500 Dreadnought had sunburst finish, spruce top and a round soundhole.
3503 Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The 3503 variant of the Historic series dreadnoughts came with a natural finish, spruce top and a round soundhole.
3520 Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Satin Sunburst Finish, Spruce top. Round soundhole
3523 Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Satin Natural Finish, Spruce top. Round soundhole
3523-12 Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
This 12-string variant of the Historic series 3523 Dreadnought came with a satin natural finish, spruce top and round soundhole.
3601 Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The acoustic-electric 3601 Historic Series Dreadnought is notable for its black finish. Like other Historic series 360X dreadnoughts, it has a triangular soundhole, spruce top, and a Fishman ...
3603 Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The acoustic-electric 3603 Historic Series Dreadnought is notable for its natural finish. Like other Historic series 360X dreadnoughts, it has a triangular soundhole, spruce top, and a Fishman ...
3700-12 Sierra Jumbo
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
12-string version of the 3700 Historic series Sierra Jumbo, with a sunburst finish, triangular soundhole, spruce top, Fishman preamp and single cutaway.
3713 Sierra Jumbo Deluxe
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Natural finish, Triangular soundhole, Spruce top, Snowflake inlays
3738 Sierra Deluxe
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Natural finish, Round soundhole, Spruce top, no cutaway.
3170 Resonator
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
If there was anything the Historic series really needed, it was a National-style resonator model, right? The 3170 answered the question nobody was asking with a sunburst finish, ...
3161 Streamliner
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The 3161 Historic Series Streamliner had an oange finish, two Gretschbucker pickups and a G-cutout tailpiece.
3131 Streamliner
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The 3131 Historic Series Streamliner was Peerless made and essentially identical to some Carlos Robelli guitars of the time, aside from the name on the headstock and some ...
3553 Synchromatic Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
3511 Synchromatic Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
3557 Synchromatic Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
3559 Synchromatic Dreadnought
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
3703 Sierra Jumbo
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Natural finish, Fishman pickup/preamp, Triangular soundhole, Jumbo 17" body
3700 Sierra Jumbo
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Sunburst finish, Fishman pickup/preamp, Triangular soundhole, Jumbo 17" body.
3701 Sierra Jumbo
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Black finish, Fishman pickup/preamp, Triangular soundhole, Jumbo 17" body
3166 Streamliner
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
The Black Sparkle version of the Historic series Streamliners, with two Gretschbucker pickups, cats-eye soundholes and a G-cutout tailpiece.
3800-12-string
  • The rebirth years: 1988-2002
Very uncommon jumbo 12-string Historic with a round soundhole.