In its October issue, Premier Guitar features a great article on Gretsch guitars. Both Fred Gretsch and Joe Carducci (Gretsch Product Specialist) take turns answering questions from Premier Guitar readers, such as this question from Joel Trumbach.
“My fantasy guitar would be a Chet Atkins Country Gentleman, but I am a little perplexed with the tone-switching feature. Can you briefly explain that?” asks Trumbach.
“The mysterious tone switch, often referred to as the ‘mud switch,’ was Chet Atkins’ idea,” answers Carducci. “He wanted to be able to quickly change the tone of the guitar on the fly. It’s indeed a hip idea when used in that context. When holding the Country Gentleman in the playing position and looking down on the two switches on the upper bout, the tone switch is on the right (the pickup selector is on the left). In the center position, the tone switch is completely out of the circuit and the overall amplified sound will be as bright as possible in all pickup combinations. In the down position, the sound is like setting a rotary tone control on about is similar to setting a rotary tone control on about ‘5,’ creating a warm, bass-y tone ideal for your favorite jazz licks, fingerstyle pickin’, or rhythm comping.”
Read the article in its entirety here.