The Chetboard

I ran across this Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gent at Guitar Center. It looks to be in decent shape, although it's hard to tell from this photo. It's one of the older ones with the pickup selector down by the volume and tone switches. I had one of these once and it was a beautiful guitar. $1799. Might be a good deal for some one. Take care.
Ray

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Gibson ... -Guitar.gc

Great tone BUT they weigh a ton!!

Roger, mine did weigh a ton...I played it sitting down all the time. It was a nice guitar, but the Tennessean I have is just the right size for me..weighs less, too. The neck and pickups are the same and I like the sound of both of them...but the Gent is really HEAVY! Take care,
Ray

Ray, I'm probably stubborn but for me it will have to be a Gretsch rather than Gibson. And if that isn't strict enough, it will have to be the "Hall of Fame" model! But yes, I've heard many good things about this Gibson.

Rande, it turns out that I sound the same on the Gretsch NC and Gibson Tennessean I have as I did on the Gibson Gent. I don't know if that's a good thing, or not, but I often wonder why I always seem to need another guitar if that is the case.
Take care,
Ray

Ray, I know that there are other guitars with TV Jones pickups that sound very similar to the sound I want, but my attraction to the Gretsch HOF guitar is that it is supposed to be a "special" version of the 6122-1959, which I played at Sweetwater Sound and which felt perfect to my hands. I believe it was Gayle Mosely who described the perfection in the setup with the HOF and told me that it never needed any adjustment right out of the box. Many people have issues with the 1959 being a little too big or the neck being a little too long, but the 1959 is perfect for me and the HOF I understand to be the "ultimate" version of that one!

Rande, I'm sure you'll enjoy the HOF guitar and make great music with it.
Ray

Rande - You remembered correctly, that HOF is still the best "out of the box" Gretsch I have ever owned. In my collection another Gretsch that is a really at the forefront is the '58 CG. Last fall, I bought one used (but about like new) from Tim Grief. He had replaced the pickups with Paul Yandell Duo-Trons and boy that thing will really talk,,,and it plays like a dream. Of course, its short scale but full sized with the 17" body. Paul turned me on to these when he got his back in 2004. That thicker 2 3/4" body contains the trestle-bracing and that feature adds some extra zing and dynamics to the tone (I think). It didn't take long to get used to the slightly smaller nut at 1 11/16", but this particular guitar feels wider than that,,,more like the 1 3/4" nut on the HOF. It took me about 3 or 4 days to get comfortably with the difference.

Rande,,,I'll bet you would like the '58 if youi could find a good used one. Unfortunately, I believe Gretsch has currently dropped them from its production line. (a shame)

Gayle