Rare and wonderful 1965 Gretsch 6119 Chet Atkins Tennessean. All original but for the tuners and bridge. Very good conditions by today’s standard. This guitar sings.
This vintage Gretsch 6119 Chet Atkins Tennessean is a fantastic instrument that you’ll be proud to own and play for years to come. Her condition is very good. Lots of play marks and dings. Bindings are in excellent condition, which is hard to find on older Gretsch guitars. There is some rattling of the wiring audible when shaking the guitar. Pickups are all original. Tuners have been upgraded with Schaller closed back. Now she holds tune. Bridge base is fixed with double-sided tape. The nickel bridge is a non-original vintage tune-o-matic style. Her original color is Dark Cherry Red, which has faded to a very pretty Walnut brownish color. Setup is adjusted for low action, lightweight with only 3,2Kg. The two original HiLo-tron pickups sound great. The binding is in excellent shape. Comes in an original black Gibson ES hardshell case.
The Gretsch 6119 Chet Atkins Tennessean debuted in 1958, and was in production until 1980, but the middle 1960s were very much the peak years in terms of demand for this guitar. In fact, the model was the best-selling Gretsch of the 1960s. This model was Beatles member George Harrison lifetime companion. His guitar sold for 180,000 USD. This beauty was build in 1965, and despite her looks, she comes in the Dark Cherry Red finish as described in literature of the time. The red color faded: an effect of sunlight on the original nitrocellulose finish. A look behind the original pickguard or the Bigsby shows the original color. The US list price for this instrument (June 1965) was $350. Take a look at how the Tennessean was described on page 2 of the 1965 Gretsch catalog.
SOLD
