How-To
GretschTech: Serial Numbers 1930s-1966
Close-up of a the label in a Gretsch New Yorker arch-top acoustic shows serial number 19730, dating the guitar to 1956. Previously, we’ve discussed modern Gretsch serial numbers and how to read them.
GretschTech: Ukulele Tuning
The Gretsch Roots collection includes several ukulele models of varying sizes and styles. Given the resurgence of the instrument’s popularity in recent years, many who acquire a ukulele for the first time often
Gretsch Custom Shop Unveils New Vintage Correct Knobs
Stephen Stern of the Gretsh Custom Shop is always on a quest to ensure his guitars are as close to vintage correct as possible, accomplishing that by having his builders closely analyze all the vintage
GretschTech: Reentrant Tuning
Most ukuleles and five-string banjos, including many of those found in the Gretsch Roots Collection, use a form of tuning called reentrant tuning. Fair bet that you’re unfamiliar with the term, but you’re
GretschTech: Center-Block Guitars
Gretsch G6137TCB Panther Center-Block The coolest new guitars on the block are Gretsch’s new “center-block” models. Each distinctively designed instrument boasts “That Great Gretsch Sound” with a solid new sonic advantage in the form of a special spruce center-block design. These new Gretsch guitars include the G6137TCB Panther Center-Block (pictured), and the G6139CB Falcon™ Center-Block Single-Cutaway and G6139T-CBDC Falcon Center-Block Double Cutaway models, with more to come. All are distinguished by classic pickups and special “thinline”-style bodies (1 ¾” deep, which is unusually thin for a Gretsch hollow-body guitar).
GretschTech: Understanding Modern Gretsch Serial Numbers
Even if this headstock didn’t say “Made in Japan,” the “J” that begins the serial number indicates that it was. The serial number on your modern Gretsch guitar or bass contains specific information about where