Some Gretsch hollowbodies just never really took off like Gretsch had hoped, so their family tree was stunted or quickly died. That doesn’t mean they weren’t cool, though.
Some Gretsch hollowbodies just never really took off like Gretsch had hoped, so their family tree was stunted or quickly died. That doesn’t mean they weren’t cool, though.
The Gretsch-GEAR database includes 27 different models
and 83 examples
in the Other Electric Hollowbodies family, including
12-string, Blackhawk, Broadkaster, Center-block Jr., Convertible, Corvette, Monkees, Panther, Players Edition Broadkaster Center Block, Players Edition Broadkaster Jr. Center Block, Rambler, Red Betty Center Block Junior, Ronny Lee
and
Sal Salvador
models.
Guitar models in the Other Electric Hollowbodies group
The late-90s 460 was an odd duck for Gretsch. With it's 13 ½ wide, 1 ¾ deep body, it was more-or-less Jet-sized, but instead of following the tried-and-true Jet formula it was a thinline acoustic-electric with a single cats-eye soundhole and a piezo pickup in a flattop-style bridge.
The Blackhawk was a Baldwin-era high-end model. While it's usually seen in 6101 (black finish) form, there was also an inappropriately named 6100 sunburst-finished version. Features were typical for top-line Gretsches of the day: twin SuperTron pickups, T-Zone Tempered Treble, Treble Boost, and a Floating Sound Unit Bridge. Blackhawks did ...
The super-rare 6108 leaves even Gretsch experts scratching their heads. Only a handful have surfaced, and all seem to share an odd mix of other models combined with a few strange twists of it's own. It starts with a thin line Clipper body, and what appears to be a dot-inlay ...
The G6112CB-JR model was a limited edition model offered in 2014, with only 50 made for worldwide distribution. The distinctive two tone Jaguar Tan and Copper Metallic finish covered a Nashville/Anniversary Junior thinline three-ply maple body with a 14”-lower bout, arched top and back, two-ply black-and white binding and a ...
The Rambler was an unusual effort, even for Gretsch: a 3/4 scale, DeArmond-equipped, true f-hole hollowbody, with a Florentine cutaway, unique among the Gretsch line. The red truss rod cover and red-inlaid G-cutout tailpiece also set the Rambler apart. It was available only in a Ivory White/Jet Black color scheme. ...
Limited Edition Junior-size center block body, with an unusual pickup arrangement of a Seymour Duncan P90 (bridge) and a Gretsch HS Filtertron (neck). B7 Bigsby with Adjustamatic bridge. Candy Apple Red / Pearl White finish.
The Ronny Lee is one of the more unusual Gretsch models of the 60s. Around 1962 a short run were made for Ronny Lee, who owned a music store in the Bronx. Depending on who's telling the story, it may have been 100 made, maybe 200. Maybe less. It appears ...
The Gretsch Monkees signature guitar was a bad idea, well executed. Gretsch had sold a truckload of Tennesseeans and Country Gentlemen in '64 and '65 thanks to George Harrison's high-visibility use of them, but had never managed to secure an official endorsement from Harrison. So when the Monkees hit the ...
The Panther series debuted in 2013, loosely tied to Gretsch's 130th anniversary, and proved to be something a bit different for Gretsch: a center block model. They weren't the first semi-hollowbodies from Gretsch -- they were preceded by several center-block models in the 70s and the 6120N in the 90s ...
The 6182 and 6183 Corvettes briefly replaced the 6185 Electromatic Spanish in the Gretsch lineup, but only for a couple of years. By 1957 both had been supplanted by the altogether hipper Lotus Ivory/Metallic Gray 6187 Corvette, which also only lasted a couple of years. The 6182 was sunburst-finished.
The 6182 and 6183 Corvettes briefly replaced the 6185 Electromatic Spanish in the Gretsch lineup, but only for a couple of years. By 1957 both had been supplanted by the altogether hipper Lotus Ivory/Metallic Gray 6187 Corvette, which also only lasted a couple of years. The 6182 was natural-finished.
The 6199 Convertible was -- as one might expect given the name -- sleek and gorgeous. With the combination of a Lotus Ivory top and Coppery Mist sides, back and pick guard, the Convertible epitomized debonair elegance in the Gretsch line. Some were not truly convertible from electric to acoustic: ...
Around 1957 or '58 jazz guitarist Sal Salvador began endorsing Gretsch, and the 6199 Convertible became the Sal Salvador. it continued on until about 1968
Introduced in 2017 The Players Edition Broadkaster features a double cutaway body with a spruce center block; Gretsch FullTron pickups, vintage-style arrow knobs, Grestch V-stop tailpiece, Gotoh locking tuning machines, ebony fingerboard with neo-classic markers, finished in either Dark Cherry stain or Black.
Introduced in 2017 The Players Edition Broadkaster TFM features a double cutaway body with a spruce center block; Gretsch FullTron pickups, vintage-style arrow knobs, string-thru B-7 Bigsby, Gotoh locking tuning machines, ebony fingerboard with neo-classic markers, and a tiger flame maple top, finished in either Bourbon stain or Dark Cherry.
Introduced in 2017. The Players Edition Broadkaster TG features a double cutaway body with a spruce center block; Gretsch FullTron pickups, vintage-style arrow knobs, string-thru B-7 Bigsby, Gotoh locking tuning machines, ebony fingerboard with neo-classic markers, gold hardware; finished in either White or Cadillac Green.
Introduced in 2017 The Players Edition Broadkaster Jr. TFM features a junior-sized single cutaway body with a spruce center block; Gretsch FullTron pickups, vintage-style arrow knobs, string-thru B-7 Bigsby, Gotoh locking tuning machines, ebony fingerboard with neo-classic markers, and a tiger flame maple top, finished in Dark Cherry stain.
Introduced in 2017. The Players Edition Broadkaster Jr. TG features a junior-sized single cutaway body with a spruce center block; Gretsch FullTron pickups, vintage-style arrow knobs, string-thru B-7 Bigsby, Gotoh locking tuning machines, ebony fingerboard with neo-classic markers, gold hardware; finished in Cadillac Green.
From '75 to 79, Gretsch offered both solid and hollow-body Broadkaster guitars. The hollow variants were considerably nicer, and are also noticeable for being Gretsch's only true semi-hollowbodies, in the Gibson 335 vein. The 7603 was the natural-finish version, with a stock Bigsby.
From '75 to 79, Gretsch offered both solid and hollow-body Broadkaster guitars. The hollow variants were considerably nicer, and are also noticeable for being Gretsch's only true semi-hollowbodies, in the Gibson 335 vein. The 7604 was the sunburst-finish version of the Broadkaster holllowbody, with a stock Bigsby.
From '75 to 79, Gretsch offered both solid and hollow-body Broadkaster guitars. The hollow variants were considerably nicer, and are also noticeable for being Gretsch's only true semi-hollowbodies, in the Gibson 335 vein. The 7607 was the natural-finish version of the Broadkaster holllowbody, with a stop tailpiece.
From '75 to 79, Gretsch offered both solid and hollow-body Broadkaster guitars. The hollow variants were considerably nicer, and are also noticeable for being Gretsch's one of Gretsch's few true semi-hollowbodies in the Gibson 335 vein. The 7608 was the sunburst-finish version of the Broadkaster holllowbody, with a stop tailpiece.
From '75 to 79, Gretsch offered both solid and hollow-body Broadkaster guitars. The hollow variants were considerably nicer, and are also noticeable for being Gretsch's only true semi-hollowbodies, in the Gibson 335 vein. The 7609 was the red version of the Broadkaster holllowbody, with a stop tailpiece.
