Guitar Reviews for you Gretsch 6120 DC 2003 guitar Dyna Gakki factory

Gretsch 6120DC 2003 Dyna Gakki made

Here's a really great underrated guitar that you should check out, the 6120DC Gretsch with the sealed top Electrotone body from the Professional range.

Designed in conjunction with legendary guitarist and Gretsch endorsee Chet Atkins, the 6120DC made its way to the marketplace in 1962. Essentially to compete with both the Gibson 335 and the Fender Stratocaster, this twin cutaway is a nice guitar.

This guitar is one of the first from the Fender take over of Gretsch manufacture and this actual guitar was a Fender Roadshow demonstrator. It is made to the 1962 specification but the pickguard has no Chet Atkins name as the name could not be used at the time.

Featuring a hollow body capped with flame maple under a western orange tint lacquer finish, the guitar has a sealed top to prevent feedback, with painted on F-holes. The neck is 3 piece maple black walnut maple sandwich with an Ebony fretboard. The headstock has the squared style logo name and the Horseshoe inlay (which was deleted after 1964).

A V-shape Bigsby Gretsch stamped B6C (polished aluminium) Vibrato is in place with a curved swing flat profile handle. Hardware is gold plated and the classic G indent knobs are used on the control pots. It has the 58 on Tone Circuit with 3 way selector and 3 way tone switching.

Machine heads are open back Waverley type button tuners which are authentic but not as precise as the Grover sealed 18:1 type which are on some of the later 6120 single cuts.

Pickups are a pair of TV Jones wound Filtertrons which sound great. Strap buttons are the spin on / spin off barrel head type in gold plate. The guitar replicates the original 62 with the mute system installed - one of the 'innovations' or gimmicks that Gretsch added to guitars during the late 50's to mid 60's.

So what is it like to play? Easy type, it has a zero fret and with the solid bar bridge ( a rocking bar type) it is easy to play and has nice sustain. Both pickups sound great, the neck pickup gives a sweet tone and the bridge a good bite, nicer than the Gibson PAF humbuckers I would say. The Filtertrons give the classic Gretsch sound.

The neck is a joy to play, it is a slim C shape and delightful, either when chord or melody playing.

The guitar is fairly light for a woody guitar and does not have the weighty centre block of the 1970's Baldwin era that Chet incorporated into the later guitars, which I had on a 74 Viking that weighed a ton! The guitar is not either tail heavy as  Les Paul's tend to be, nor is it headstock weighty as in some 335 style guitars. It just sits nicely.

The finish and construction on this guitar are flawless and it is beautifully constructed, it is a delight to look at and play. For those of you who are considering a 335, try one of these Double Cuts, they are amazing.

These were an RRP of £2850 when new but thy may have been discontinued.

Famous 6120DC users besides Chet have been Chris Isaak, Eric Clapton and John Lennon, who used one on the Paperback Writer sessions in 1966.

This guitar was made in 2003 at the Dyna Gakki factory and these new era Japan guitars are the most amazing build quality, I would personally have one over a vintage one as they are consistently good. In the mid 60's demand was so great that something had to give, on a 68 I owned, inside was not finished well, on this it is. In the mid 60's Gretsch could not build these fast enough, due to the Beatles and Monkees use of these guitars.

Second hand value about £1900-2000 at 2016 prices, but I have seen them for as little as £1400. A very undervalued guitar and I would take one in preference to a 335 any day.