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Gretsch 6120
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gretsch 6120 is a hollowbody electric guitar with f-holes, first appearing in the mid-1950's with the endorsement of Chet Atkins. It was quickly adopted by rockabilly artist Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy and many others. An early Yardbirds picture shows Eric Clapton playing a double cutaway 6120.
The 6120 is readily identifiable by its distinctive orange color.
After George Harrison played Gretsch Country Gentleman and Tennessean models (which, like the 6120, were developed with and endorsed by Chet Atkins) Gretsch found they could scarcely keep up with demand. John Lennon had a 6120 he played on the Paperback Writer sessions.
Note that in the mid-60s, the proper name of the 6120 changed from "6120 Chet Atkins Hollowbody" to "6120 Nashville".
While the 60s were kind to Gretsch, upon Fred Gretsch's retirement in 1967, he sold the company to Baldwin, and things soon changed. Production was moved to Arkansas, and quality suffered.
By the early 1970s quality had improved slightly. Models such as the White Falcon, Viking and the 6120 remained standard models, but changing tastes and lingering questions of quality punished Gretsch through the 70s, and at the end of the decade production ceased.
Values of these instruments soared when rockabilly artist Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats was seen playing an old 6120 in his early-80s music videos. Gretsch subsequently went back into the guitar business and new 6120 guitars are widely available.
Pete Townshend of The Who regularly plays a 6120. The guitar was a gift from his friend Joe Walsh, and although he initially hated the look of the guitar upon playing it he discovered the sound that he loved and would regularly use, notably on Who's Next and Quadrophenia.
In his current tour (2006) Mark Knopfler, mostly known for his (Pensa) strats from the Dire Straits period and more recently also his vintage Les Pauls and Fenders, uses a Gretsch 6120 Nashville as well. It is the orange hollowbody without the Western decorations.
Bryan Adams plays a Gretsch 6120 and his longtime lead guitarist, Keith Scott, has his own signature edition of the 6120.
Today, a wide range of 6120 models are available, including an assortment of Brian Setzer signature models and faithful reissues of 50s classics. Like most Gretsch guitars, production is now based in Japan, although custom-shop American-made 6120s are also available.