The Chetboard

Hi I a m thinking about buying a Tennessee rose , I am wondering if any one here has one and if any one knows the difference between the the models. thanks Brian.

I always thought the Tennessean was a great guitar, I have the the old Tennessean Gretsch my Dad bought me. I remember Craig Dobbins sold one of the modern Tennessee Rose guitars a while back. I think they sound better with the filtertron pickups as opposed to the HI LO trons. Al

I have a Two Tenn. Rose guitars. One is a 1962-6119 with the HT pickups in it George Harrison used this guitar model back in the day with the Beatles and another one is a 1962-6119 Tenn. Rose model with the standard run on the mill Gretsch pickups on it. Now this guitar is very close to the 6122-1959 Nashville classic / newer Country Gentleman that Paul Yandell helped design. This Tenn Rose model has the bigger body just like the newer 6122 - 1959 country gentleman but does not have the painted F holes on it. They are opened. I compared this guitar to my 6122-1959 to my Nashville Classic with my Tenn. Rose 6119 model with the real f hole and the neck is just as wide as the G- 6122-1959 or pretty close to it making it easy for finger picking for me anyway. Everybody's hands are different. The only difference I see are in the pickups they are not T V Jones. The Two Tenn. Rose's I have play and sound excellent. The 1962-6119 - HT is lighter in weight and thinner sounding and has a fast slim neck on it making it a jot to play. Both models are great when amped up. They play like butter. I bought both of these guitars at a great deal. One I bought was from Musicans Friend about 10 years ago for a low price of $1.000 with case included .The other Rose I got at guitar Center for a great steal of a deal for 800.00' bucks. I really went in to just buy a G- 5120 Orange guitar at the time and right inside the door when upon entering I seen this beautiful 6119- Tenn. Rose with the opened f holes and wider neck on a stand. Must have been a show model. It looked brand new to me in every way so I bought both of them. Well which ever model you buy they are both great guitars. I hope this helps ya. All the best Joeb.

I have a 1965 Tennessean I have had since 1987. It has HiLo Tron pickups.
It is a wonderful guitar. Very comfortable to play.
They are a bit twangier than the Gents or 6120's. They also have open back tuners as opposed to closed tuners on the higher end Gretsches.
It is a versatile guitar. It was the only guitar I had for years. It fills the bill nicely for Beatles tunes, surf music, and even Don Rich type stuff. Flip the pickup switch up and it has a nice mellow tone more like a Gent.
Highly reccommend.
I have thought about selling it as I have not played it much since I got a '59 Gent, but just can't make my mind up