No Substitute for Experience
Some Fender History
Fender had been down this road before and knew how to recreate historic instruments. By the late '70s the Fender Strat had become an overweight guitar that bore little resemblance to the Strats of the '50s and early '60s. CBS had started making changes almost from day one and their cost-cutting measures had inadvertently undone much of Leo Fender's efforts. Less expensive woods had been used and pickup wire was bought based upon cost with no quarter given to whether or not the pickups performed properly. By 1982 CBS/Fender realized that they had to do something so they started buying vintage Fender instruments to dissect. The records of original specifications were not available so this was the only way they could do it.
In 1985 Fender Musical Instrument Corporation was formed as part of an employee buyout which released the Fender name from the control of CBS. By that time they learned a lot about reverse-engineering vintage instruments in order to determine original specifications. By the late '90s they had developed a product line that allowed access to nearly perfect reproductions of vintage instruments as well as having innovative new models.
In 2003 Fred Gretsch III entered into a joint agreement with Fender which placed the responsibility for marketing and manufacturing upon the shoulders of Fender while retaining family ownership of the Gretsch name.
A New Look at Old Guitars
FMIC used their proven methods to find out exactly how vintage Gretsches were built and applied this knowledge to their product line. X-rays and other advanced imaging techniques gave insight to construction methods of the past. The trestle bracing of the late '50s was rediscovered and applied to new models. Ditto for the pickups which were returned to the proper specifications. Even the shape of the body was found to be out of specifications and was corrected.
Such a process is ongoing and always involves compromise. Original materials aren't always available and in some cases regulations preclude making exact duplicates of instruments and amplifiers that were originally built over 50 years ago.
A Balanced Product Line
Fender also pared down the product line considerably when they became involved. Most of the guitars in the Gretsch lineup are based upon models that existed in the pre-Baldwin era. The Electromatic line is a low-cost line of high quality guitars that retain a Gretsch character but are not based on any specific vintage models. There is also a line of hand-wired tube amps made by boutique amp builder Victoria. These are beautifully made amps with a lot of character and a feature set geared towards the retro appeal of the Gretsch line.
