Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

My first "collector's urge" came when a music store in New Rochelle hung up a brand new Gretsch Monkee's guitar. I remember thinking to myself "If I had the money, it would be smart to buy that thing and just put it away. It would be awesome to pull it out in 20 years..." Of course that high schhol student didn't have the money but more than once I wish I could have done that. What a hoot to pull out and use it now & then! Especially back in my punk days...

I'm still a big fan of Mike's songs. I can't speak with any authority about his ability, but I know I'd love to be able to play as well...

Bill

The sunburst 6075 12-string is not as rare, but they seem to have copied the idea of triangular markers for their 12-strings from Rickenbacker, as none of their other models had them.

rickenmetal wrote:The sunburst 6075 12-string is not as rare, but they seem to have copied the idea of triangular markers for their 12-strings from Rickenbacker, as none of their other models had them.

just like Rickenbacker copied the cat's eye from Gretsch.

Regardless of the origin for me triangle fretmarkers, f-holes or slash/cat's-eye sound holes look at home on both the Gretsch and the Rickenbacker.

Neither of these statements is true. Both features are seen on lots of guitars going back to the '30s, especially in Europe.

In my old band "The In-Sect", I used both my '67 6123 Monkees and '66 6075 12 String. We did Pop fare from the mid '60s and both of these guitars fit the bill perfectly! Both are equipped with the fabulous Super'Tron I pickups. My alternate instrumentation was a '91 Rick 1997 and '89 360/12V64. Sure wish we were still playing together!

IIRC, didn't Gretsch do a single-cut 12 string (with a Bigsby no less!) for Nez very early on in the Monkees show?

I've always liked the look of the blonde 6076 that Nez had, but that one was a custom job - it had an 18" body. The only 6076s I've seen have had 17" bodies and were sunburst finished (and to be honest, I didn't like playing them - the neck heel is very awkward, and the feel was totally wrong for me). IIRC, the 6075 had a 16" body.

That Country Classic 12 Gretsch is offering nowadays looks like a fine instrument though - a bit surprised they only offer it in Gent Brown.....

mysteron09 wrote:IIRC, didn't Gretsch do a single-cut 12 string (with a Bigsby no less!) for Nez very early on in the Monkees show?

I've always liked the look of the blonde 6076 that Nez had, but that one was a custom job - it had an 18" body. The only 6076s I've seen have had 17" bodies and were sunburst finished (and to be honest, I didn't like playing them - the neck heel is very awkward, and the feel was totally wrong for me). IIRC, the 6075 had a 16" body.

That Country Classic 12 Gretsch is offering nowadays looks like a fine instrument though - a bit surprised they only offer it in Gent Brown.....

Those production 6075/6076 12 Strings had 16" double cutaway bodies (I've seen a picture of one sunburst 17" with mutes). The custom blonde Mike played was a 17" double cutaway and from what I've read, a one-off. There was an early publicity photo of The Monkees from circa 1965 showing Mike with a 16" single cutaway Tennessean 12 String (another one-off) but I don't believe it had a Bigsby. Other one-off 12 Strings Gretsch produced were a black 17" double cutaway for Chet Atkins (see "Chet Atkins Picks On The Beatles") which Chet never used, and a really cool 16" single cutaway black 12 String for George Harrison (poor Gretsch, George disliked this one as much as Chet did his-he promptly gave it away!) I've also read that Gretsch didn't produce many of the 6075 (Sunburst) or 6076 (Natural) guitars and that quite a few of them were sent back to Brooklyn for repair. Too bad. I really love mine!

What's not to like about this 12er? Where else could you find a vintage zero-fret 12-string:

Yeah buddy, Ron! Gretsch always did an exquisite sunburst. Mine is a very light-shaded one. When I first bought it, I figured that it was faded, but the finish is light under the pickup bezels as well as under the pickguard (original) and the back has the exact same light shading. Unfortunately, mine has some finish issues, especially around the tailpiece. Still, it's a solid, all original guitar. It is pictured in Jay Scott's Gretsch book on page 239.

With all of the discussion about the red Monkees R&R and blonde 12 String, don't forget Mike also sported a '66 or '67 6187 sunburst Gretsch Viking. Mike's had the same Gretsch internal spring vibrato as the late '60s White Falcon, but he always played it with the telescopic arm removed. These are really pretty classy guitars, with many of the same features as the Falcon-Floating Sound unit, gold-plated parts, T-Zone Tempered Treble (i.e., ****-eyed frets close to the end of the neck for better intonation) and lever-actuated string mute. One of these would be a great Monkees guitar. I'm not sure if you couldn't get one for less than a 6123 Monkees.