George and his Gretsches

[nbfanca]

The way to distinguish the Gents is from the mute knobs.

The first Gent had Screw Up mutes. The knobs were round and sat flat against the guitar face. The mutes were raised by turning the knobs.

The second gent used tilted knobs where pulling on and straingtening the knobs raised the mutes. This was easier to do at a moment.

I always had heard that George's first Gent was destroyed in the "you dropped your banjo" accident. But to check I found "You're Goona Lose that Girl on Youtube, and yup its the second gent. At 1:22 you can make out the titled mute knobs.

[Peacefrog35]

Wonderful info!!!! I love it. Oh and for the record, I change strings one at a time on my Hofners. I obsess a little cleaning them with a soft cloth each time I play

[nick_allen]

Just for the record, it is a bad idea to screw, glue or otherwise permanently attach most floating bridges - if you, or a future owner, might conceivably ever want to change the type of string being used. When I replaced the stock roundwound with nylon tapewound on my Epiphone Viola (Hofner copy), I had to move the bridge quite drastically to get the intonation right.

[randyz]

I had the same problems with my vintage Gretsch. I bought a gorgeous '66 Tennessean (about $750) at a guitar show in the early 1990's. Although I rarely played it (mainly because my playing style often caused the floating bridge to move around) and always polished it up before putting it back in its OHSC, it always looked bad when I got it back out. The hardware was always severely tarnished and the binding was drying out and starting to crumble. I now understand that there are chemical reactions that occur when vintage Gretsch guitars are left in their cases. I decided to sell it before the binding got any worse around 2004 (about $1900) to a local vintage shop. Later MF had a big blowout sale on Gretsch guitars, so I picked up a DuoJet ($1200), Tennesean ($850) and a Country Gent ($1200). My reissues don't have Chet's signature on the pickguards, but it was a super deal for a collection of George-style guitars!

[Redhouse]

Anybody have a close-up pic of one?

[RutleDirk]

I seem to be having similar chemical reaction troubles with my Hofner bullet cases. I have two basses with nickel plated hardware. The nickel tarnishes severely, no matter how often or how well it's cleaned. So far, only the plating has been affected, but now I'm wondering.

[fabandgear]

The crumbling binding problem you've mentioned is caused by the deterioration of the nitrocellulose banding material itself. As it ages, it starts breaking down, giving off fumes. The tarnish/rust of plated metal parts as well as the fretwork is caused by the deteriorating NC banding. It's a real heartbreaker for sure, but there is a quick fix. Years ago Dan Erlwine from Guitar Player magazine addressed this problem. He used a super glue called "Hot Stuff" painted over the rotting spots to arrest the damage. I've successfully used regular super glue for this purpose with satisfactory results. Not as pretty as pristine binding, but it beats the 7734 out of the alternative. USE IT CAREFULLY! Don't let it run onto the good part of the finish.

[Zurdo]

hi all,
I'm new in this forum but experienced with Gretsch & Rickenbacker & Hofner. I started playing around 1961.

It is said George did not like the Gretsch or Vox sound, there is an interview video where he says so.

I don't buy it. He did produce some very delicious sounds with the 4 Gretsch guitars and the Vox amps he had.

My "theory" is that the Gretsch LOGO contained his intials, as in G retsc H, (G. H. get it?), so maybe that's why he ended up with 4 guitars he didn't like.

Zurdo

[admin]

Jos: Welcome the the RRF. I am with you in your assessment. George Harrison continued to use his Gretsches during the Beatles and beyond. If we love these sounds so much, how could he have not.

[fabandgear]

Clever! Clever! I never thought of that! I'm with you, I don't believe George meant exactly that he hated his sound, rather I'll bet he was just tired of it and looking for something new. Quite understandable from a creative soul like George.

[Zurdo]

Thank you Peter, I am happy to contribute to this fine forum.

It is ironic that we're talking Gretsch in this Rickenbacker forum but the truth is they are an inseparable pair of instruments.
let's not forget that Gretsch was the 'de rigueur' guitar for so many artists, from The Beatles, to Gerry & The Pacemakers, to The Animals, to The Byrds, to Crosby Stills & Nash, to Buffalo Springfield, to Tommy James & The Shondells, and so many others, they all had their first hit playing Gretsch guitars.

just my opinion, but I wished this Gretsch section of the forum had a more prominent position in the Index, instead of the last one

Zurdo

[Zurdo]

Clever! Clever! I never thought of that! I'm with you, I don't believe George meant exactly that he hated his sound, rather I'll bet he was just tired of it and looking for something new. Quite understandable from a creative soul like George.

yes, and remember he went on to pose with his first GretscH on the cover of his "Cloud Nine" album!!

[admin]

Jos: All things in good time but finding it at one end or the other makes it stand out.

[lennon211]

Clever! Clever! I never thought of that! I'm with you, I don't believe George meant exactly that he hated his sound, rather I'll bet he was just tired of it and looking for something new. Quite understandable from a creative soul like George.

There was also the likelihood of perhaps feeling somewhat sonically limited in comparison to many of his contemporaries among the British bands of the era. Playing a Gretsch through Vox is great, but when competing with some of the other sounds, there had to be some sense that the pop rig wasn't quite right for the sounds that he was wanting to make. Also, his leaning toward Indian sounds might have left the Chet Atkins sound behind.