The Prototype Of The Few Rare Black-Finished Country Gentlemen…

This extremely rare black "top dog" of the Chet Atkins models weighs just 8.90 lbs. and and has a nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches, a really comfortable medium-to-thick neck profile, and a scale length of 24 1/2 inches (like all of the Chet Atkins models). Laminated maple body, three-piece rock maple neck, and ebony fretboard with 22 medium frets plus zero fret and neo-classic inlaid pearl thumbprint (half-moon) position markers. With three-ply binding on the top and the back of the guitar and single binding on the headstock and the fretboard. Headstock with inlaid pearl Gretsch "T-roof" logo and "The Chet Atkins Country Gentleman" nameplate. Individual Grover tuners with kidney-shaped metal buttons. One Super'Tron II (neck) pickup with an output of 4.11k and one Filter'Tron (bridge) pickup with an output of 4.14k. Gold Lucite pickguard with Gretsch "T-roof" logo engraved in black from underneath and "Chet Atkins / Country Gentleman" in black. Painted f-holes. Two volume controls (one for each pickup) plus a stand-by switch on the lower treble bout, one master volume control on the upper treble bout, plus two pickup and tone selector switches on upper bass bout. Gretsch "Arrow-through-G" knobs with cross-hatch pattern on sides. Double string damper, complete with sponge dampers, and two string damper controls with black felt pads. Gold-plated 'space-control' bridge on the original ebony base and gold-plated V-cutout B-6 Bigsby ("Gretsch by Bigsby") vibrato tailpiece. All hardware gold-plated. This guitar is in near mint (9.25) condition, with very little playing wear to the original frets. There are no issues with the body binding, there is some minor cracking to the neck binding - but it is totally stable and complete. There are no surface issues on the back of the guitar behind the pad, and only the tiniest amount of surface finish checking on the body. There is some slight tarnishing to the gold on the Bigsby tailpiece. This is the only example of a 'black' Country Gentleman that we have ever seen and we believe it to be the prototype based on one of the very last 'third versions' of the "few, rare black-finished Country Gentlemen [fourth version] as mentioned in Jay Scott's book. A real collectors gem. Housed in the original Gretsch two-tone gray five-latch hardshell with maroon plush lining (8.75).

"An interesting aberration that occurred during this era was the production of a few, rare black-finished Country Gentlemen. Therefore, the fourth version of the Country Gentleman is the single mute, double-cutaway Model 622 debuted in 1967 with two Filter'Trons." (Jay Scott, The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company, p. 192).

The 'third version' (introduced in 1962) differed quite dramatically from the 'fourth version' which was introduced in 1967. The main differences are as follows: Two Filter'Tron pickups replaced the Super'Tron II -- Filter'Tron rig of 1964-1966; "Made in USA" was added to the back of the headstock in 1967; A single 'damper' replaced the
double string damper system; The white plastic 'access' panel on the back of the guitar beneath the padded back (secured by eight small screws) was no longer used when the damper system was discontinued a little later.

In [1958 in] the tradition of the Western-appointed Models 6120 and 6121, Gretsch continued its New York-to-Nashville connection by introducing the Model 6122 Country Gentleman, bringing to four (the Model 6119 Tennessean was also debuted this year) the number of Atkins-inspired and endorsed models. The Country Gentleman was the grand marque of the Chet Atkins line; at a prodigious $525 it ranked only behind the White Falcons in price. Finished in 'rich, mahogany-grained, country-style finish' the [single cutaway] Country Gentleman features a closed, 17-inch-wide, 2 3/4-inch-deep hollowbody design...The introduction of the Electrotone Hollowbody in 1962 led to the singularly most successful guitar ever produced by Gretsch the double cutaway Country Gentleman. Influenced primarily by Beatle George Harrison's use of the model, Gent sales soared... Like the 1962 and '63 White Falcons, the features of the first two years' double-cutaway Country Gentlemen are identical and the model itself is sometimes referred to among collectors as the 'Harrison' model because George Harrison did, in fact, use a 1962 or '63 Model 6122. The characteristics that distinguish the Harrison model from subsequent (1964 and on) versions are: Grover Imperial tuners, two Filter'Tron pickups, a pickguard that only says 'Gretsch' and not 'Country Gentleman', a very dark-brown mahogany finish, and red felt pads under the double muffler switches... The 1965 catalog presented the Country Gentleman on its cover and this represents the third incarnation of the model. Produced in 1964, '65 and '66, it differs from the 1962 and '63 Harrison model in the following ways: the Grover Imperial tuning machines are replaced with Grover tuners with kidney-shaped buttons in 1964; the headstock nameplate no longer carries the guitar's serial number beginning in late-1965 with the introduction of coded serial numbers imprinted on the back of the headstock; a Super'Tron II pickup replaces the rhythm Filter'Tron in 1964; black felt pads appear beneath the two muffler switches in early 1965" (Jay Scott, The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company, pp. 180-190).