Gretsch G6120T-59 VS Edition ’59 Chet Atkins Hollow Body Guitar with Bigsby, Vintage Orange Stain Lacquer Gretsch

The Gretsch G6120T-59 VS Edition ’59 Chet Atkins Hollow Body with Bigsby and TV Jones pickups is a tribute to the iconic collaboration between the legendary guitarist Chet Atkins and Gretsch Guitars. Chet Atkins, a pioneering fingerstyle guitarist, played an integral role in shaping the design and features of Gretsch instruments throughout his career. The G6120T-59 model aims to capture the essence of Chet Atkins’ signature sound and vintage aesthetics, featuring the 1959 trestle bracing for enhanced tonal resonance.

Body and Construction:

The G6120T-59 boasts a laminated maple body, providing a bright and focused tone with excellent sustain. This model features the distinctive G6120 body shape, which is a double-cutaway hollow body design that offers easy access to the upper frets. The guitar is finished in vintage orange stain nitrocellulose lacquer, adding a touch of classic visual appeal.

Neck and Fingerboard:

The neck of the G6120T-59 is crafted from maple, a tonewood that contributes to the guitar’s bright and snappy sound. The neck profile is a vintage “V” shape, offering a comfortable and authentic playing experience reminiscent of the original 1959 model. The fingerboard is made of ebony and features a 12″ radius, 22 vintage small frets, and pearloid Neo-Classic thumbnail inlays for a sleek and sophisticated appearance.

Bracing and Resonance:

Trestle bracing, as featured in the Gretsch G6120T-59 VS Edition ’59 Chet Atkins Hollow Body, is a unique internal bracing system that utilizes two parallel, U-shaped spruce braces that resemble bridge trestles, hence the name. These braces extend from the neck joint down to the center of the guitar’s body, terminating right below the bridge, positioned between the f-holes and underneath the pickups and bridge.

Each trestle brace has two “feet,” resulting in four points of contact that are glued to the guitar’s back, offering a more rigid connection than the single point of attachment found in sound-post bracing. 

The upper portions of the trestles are glued to the elongated tone bar braces that run parallel beneath the top, extending well past the bridge, and to which the pickups are mounted. This entire structure adds rigidity to the top, contributing to better control over feedback compared to a single sound post attachment.

In essence, the trestle bracing system in the Gretsch G6120T-59 Chet Atkins Hollow Body significantly enhances the guitar’s structural stability and feedback resistance, while still allowing for a rich and resonant tonality that is characteristic of hollow body guitars.

Pickups and Electronics:

The G6120T-59 is equipped with TV Jones Filter’Tron Classic pickups in both the neck and bridge positions. These pickups provide a well-defined, articulate tone with a distinctive vintage character that complements the guitar’s construction and aesthetics. The electronics include separate volume controls for each pickup, a master volume control, and a 3-position master tone switch that offers a range of tonal shaping options.

Hardware:

This model features Grover V98 Sta-Tite open-back tuning machines for precise tuning stability, a 1.6875″ bone nut for optimal tone transfer, and a rocking bar bridge paired with a Bigsby B6C vibrato tailpiece, allowing for expressive pitch control and smooth vibrato effects. The guitar is strung with .011″-.049″ gauge strings, providing a balanced tension and feel.

In summary, the Gretsch G6120T-59 VS Edition ’59 Chet Atkins Hollow Body with Bigsby and TV Jones pickups pays homage to the legendary partnership between Chet Atkins and Gretsch Guitars. With its 1959 trestle bracing, vintage-inspired design, and high-quality components, this model offers a professional playing experience and exceptional tonal qualities for players seeking the iconic Chet Atkins sound.