Guitar Reviews 4U - Gretsch 6120 BS Blue Sunburst 1995
The Gretsch 6120BS Terada Made 1995
I'm reviewing this 1995 Gretsch 6120 in Blue Sunburst made by Terada. This arrived needing some attention which fortunately I was able to quickly do and with a half hour well spent, this guitar which was at a really good price is now really great and is playable.
I'll show you some nice new pictures of the guitar before we dive into the differences between this 95 and the later 2004 onwards guitars and a review of the 95 6120.
in this left view of the 6120
The 1995 left with a 2024 Azure Blue Players 6120
Note the 'Square' shoulder on the 1995 guitar
A slightly wider headstock on the 95 -
the features of block inlay from the 56/57 era
make this width correct for the time it is representing
The darker almost Cobalt blue in some light of the 95 guitar
A history of the pre Fender 2004 Gretsch guitars
The resurrection of Gretsch as a going concern after the Baldwin years led to the realisation that a manufacturer was needed to build stock for the brand name.
Terada of Japan filled that breach after a number of approaches to US guitar builders had stalled. In fact the Terada choice was a case of right place, right time and from my own ownership perspective, this has led to some extremely good guitars.
Top Dollar guitars like Gretsch and Fender made in Japan are great quality and the elevation of the Japanese factory quality in the 1970's led to a realisation that the game had changed.
The 'New' Vintage model 6120
By the mid 1990's we find ourselves at the era of this 1995 example of a Gretsch 6120, which I am reviewing and have just purchased.
This guitar like with Fender guitars of the era sometimes produces guitars which were vintage 'Right' in some features and also 'vintage 'Wrong' in others in the same confusing package begging the question 'why did they do that?', this 6120 is an example of how a purist might view what was produced and see the obvious differences.
Whilst some of the features seem at odds with the end result of a pure vintage guitar, I think these oddities have created a niche of the Gretsch canon that should not be dismissed just as anomalies. In fact they are rare and have their own place in the collecting market.
However, this pre-2004 Fender Gretsch era produced some great guitars, Trestle Bracing isn't always the thing to have, read on, as we explore what some see as 'anomaly Gretsches'.
So what is apparently not stock for the look?
This 6120 has the 1956 Block fretboard markers, like the Eddie Cochran 6120, also the wider headstock found on the 'Cowboy' era 54-56 guitars with these pre Neo-Classical fretboard inlays, the old style B6 Bigsby isn't on this guitar, the later B6 V type is, which I actually prefer.
The body depth is 2.7" so for the general specification of this model of a 56/57is right, although the Filtertron pickups as on this guitar wouldn't be in this guitar until around 1958, for a 56/57 the DeArmond single Coil would be the choice. That said these pickups do sound very good.
The 3 way switch is right for this era, but the sealed machine heads would have been represented by the open back geared Waverley type.
Also the neck at the cutaway merges to the body a feature I really like, but on the 6120 has a slight triangular shape instead of this moulded in shape.
Inside the body we have the old Tone Post between the top and back panels not the Trestle Bracing of the 59 onwards era, so this is right and also the use of a top with a slightly thicker 5 ply rather than the later 3, along with the Tone Post and the denser top really gives the guitar great resonance and a more of a woody sound.
'New old' actually works
The apparent mix and match of era features does work well, whilst this ensures it cannot be passed off as a reproduction of the 1956 or 1959 6120, this mid 90's guitar is a nice departure from the perceived normal of the old known features.
The blueburst trans lacquer shows the wood grain well, the gold hardware also works so well with the blue colour of the finish, the guitar was originally supplied with a round saddle Tunamatic style bridge, mine lost this somewhere down the line and collected a Tri-Arc round bar that didn't fit the base, so i replaced that with a Vanson Roller Saddle Tunamatic as most of my other 6120's and similar have.
The Filtertrons are really great sounding, even though they are away from the strings they really do sound good and have a good tone.
I tested the guitar with a Vox VT40 and was standing to the right of the amplifier at half way up on the volume without feedback, you could feel that the classic Gretsch resonance where the guitar starts to almost feedback but doesn't if you go too close or had it on the Bridge pickup.
I only play at lower volumes with a swing band or jazz band so this feedback isn't an issue. It does sound like a Grestch, but not so compactly tight as a 6120 with Trestle bracing.
The sealed machine heads too are a great feature, these are also on my 1997 Duane Eddy and the 2003 and 2007 6120 AM and TM guitars. I don't like those old open backs, they wear and the ratios aren't as good for fine tuning.
The build quality is great as a Terada never disappoints, the binding and finish are all in great order as is the finish with only one small chip that is in the top lacquer and fixable.
Playability
The slightly thicker depth body is also the same depth as on the Brian Setzer 6120 and on the Duane Eddy 6120 and this 6120 too and it isn't really that noticeable against a 6120 with a 2.5" depth. The neck is beautifully cut and shaped and really does play well, the Ebony fretboard is great, satin smooth and the inlays faultless.
Mine was on old strings and with a badly fitting bridge, so with a good clean up, new bridge and strings and a spot of intonation adjustment sounds great. It has a rally earthy and woody sound and the pickups sound really good.
Is it for you?
I have never had a bad Terada Gretsch and having owned around 25 Gretsch guitars since the 80's I'd say the feel is great, the sound is very Gretsch and it has the playability of the Japanese made guitar, I don't regret buying it at all, despite the cheap price to what it could have cost, it just sounds great, plays well and is vintage now in its own right.
It does really puzzle me why the Brian Setzer 6120's have that old style Bigsby when that guitar is a 59 and should have the V type B6, a design I really like much better.
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