Country Club
Gretsch goes conventional . . . sort of.
Almost from day one, Gretsch has been known for unique guitars. Cat's eye sound-holes, art deco styling and an innovative bridge and tailpiece design were hallmarks of the early years of Gretsch guitars. In the early '50s Gretsch started using unique colors, western trim and oversized "F" holes but right about then they came out with the Country Club, a guitar that looked very similar to their competitor's archtops.
In many ways the Country Club was Gretsch's answer to the Gibson L-5. It was a 17" archtop, conventional in most ways and equipped with a pair of single coil pickups. It was as conventional as anything Gretsch ever made, unless you ordered it in Cadillac Green.
The Country Club is a guitar that successfully spans several different types of music. It can handle Jazz guitar without breaking a sweat. Country Clubs have also made their mark as Country guitars and they are used in Rockabilly as well. The built-in sound-post offers a degree of feedback resistance which certainly helps to make the guitar more versatile.
An Owner's Perspective
My personal Country Club is non-standard. It is a G-6193 T, a natural finished Country Club with two Filtertron pickups. What makes it unique is the fact that it has a solid spruce top, something that is usually only available on the Cadillac Green Country Club.
The natural finish gives it the appearance of a traditional Jazz guitar and it can generate a great Jazz tone pretty much at will. Amazingly, it also retains the ability to produce the Gretsch twang just as readily. Playing it back-to-back with my G-6120 AM I was quite pleased with the depth of sound the Club produced. It was like an older brother to the 6120. Both could get pretty twangy sounding but the Club could command a deep voiced tone that the 6120 just does not possess.
My Country Club was not a planned purchase, I found a great deal on a unique guitar from
a reputable dealer and pulled the trigger. Prior to this
unexpected purchase I had ordered a G-6120 AM and six days after receiving my
Country Club the 6120 showed up. The visual effect of these two
guitars side by side is hard to
describe. It looks like they were sold as a matching set.
While the Country Club does not produce the visual impact of a White Falcon it is a very competent guitar and can more than hold its own. I would recommend one strongly to any player that wants both the warmth of a Jazz guitar and the sparkle and twang of a Gretsch all in one package.
