guitarchuck

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guitarchuck

Postby guitarchuck » Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:43 am

I've tried to compile a fairly complete list of the Chet Atkins model guitars. If there is any I left out let me know. Here it is:

Gretsch

Single Cutaway Chet Atkins 6120 late 1954 – mid to late 1961
Double Cutaway Chet Atkins 6120 mid to late 1961- c.1963
Chet Atkins Nashville 6120 c. 1964-1980 renumbered 7660 in 1971
Single Cutaway Chet Atkins Solid Body 6121 by 1954-1960
Double Cutaway Chet Atkins Solid Body 6121 by 1961-1962
Single Cutaway Chet Atkins Country Gentleman 6122 late 1957 – late 1961
Double Cutaway Chet Atkins Country Gentleman 6122 late 1961-1981 renumbered 7670 in 1971
Chet Atkins Tennessean 6119 1958-1980 renumbered 7655 in 1971
Chet Atkins Junior 1970
Super Chet 7690 (autumn red) 7691 (walnut) B added to model # indicates Bigsby late 1972-1980
Deluxe Chet 7680 (autumn red) 7681 (walnut) 1973-1974
Super Axe 7680 (red rosewood stain) 7681 (ebony stain) 7682 (sunburst stain) 1976-1981 (Prototypes were called "Hi-Roller" with dotted dice inlays. One early ad mentioned an upcoming instrument to be called the "Atkins Yakety Axe". First cataloged & advertised as the "Atkins Super Axe")
Atkins Axe 7685 (ebony stain) 7686 (red rosewood stain) 1976-1980

2007- Current Gretsch models

G6120DSV Chet Atkins Hollow Body
G6120BS Chet Atkins Hollow Body Blue Burst
G6120BK Chet Akins Hollow Body Black
G6120AM Chet Atkins Hollow Body Amber Tiger Maple
G6120T Players Edition Nashville® with String-Thru Bigsby®
G6120TLH Players Edition Nashville® With String-Thru Bigsby®, Left-Handed
G6120TFM Players Edition Nashville® with String-Thru Bigsby®
G6120TM Chet Atkins Hollow Body Tiger Maple
G6120WCST-1955 Chet Atkins Hollow Body Full Western
G6120W-1957 Chet Atkins Hollobody
G6120 Chet Atkins Hollow Body Flame
G6120DSW Chet Atkins Hollow Body
G6120-CGP Chet Atkins Stereo Guitar- Limited Production
G6120 Chet Atkins Hollow Body
G6120-1959LTV Chet Atkins Hollow Body
G6120-1959 Chet Atkins Hollow Body
G6120DC Chet Atkins Double Cutaway Hollow Body
G6120-1959LHTV Chet Atkins Hollow Body, Left-Handed
G6120LH Chet Atkins Hollow Body, Left-Handed
G6122-1958 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman®
G6122-1959 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman®
G6122-1959HOF Chet Atkins Hall of Fame Country Gentleman®
G6122-1959LH Chet Atkins Country Gentleman®, Left-Handed
G6122-1962 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman®
G6122II Chet Atkins Country Gentleman®
G6122-1962 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman®, Left-Handed
G6122-12 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman® 12-String
G6122-6212 Vintage Select Edition '62 Chet Atkins® Country Gentleman® Hollow Body 12-String
G6122T Players Edition Country Gentleman® with String-Thru Bigsby®
G6122T-59 Vintage Select Edition '59 Chet Atkins® Country Gentleman® Hollow Body with Bigsby®
G6122T-62 Vintage Select Edition '62 Chet Atkins® Country Gentleman® Hollow Body with Bigsby®
G6119 Chet Atkins Tennessee Rose™
G6119-1959 Chet Atkins Tennessee Rose™
G6119-1962FT Chet Atkins Tennessee Rose™
G6119-1962HT Chet Atkins Tennessee Rose™
G6119-1962HTLH Chet Atkins Tennessee Rose™, Left-Handed
G6119LH Chet Atkins Tennessee Rose™, Left-Handed
G6119T-62 Vintage Select Edition '62 Tennessee Rose™ Hollow Body with Bigsby®
G6121-1955 Chet Atkins Solid Body
G6121-1959 Chet Atkins® Solid Body

Gibson

Chet Atkins CE December 1981-2005 (Gibson logo headstock from 1993-2005)(Rosewood fingerboard 1981-1995, Ebony fingerboard 1996-2005)(Cedar top was optional 1994-95)
Chet Atkins CEC 1982-2005 (Gibson logo headstock from 1993-2005)
Chet Atkins Country Gentleman 1986-2005 (Prototype named Chet Atkins 350XT, introduced as Chet Atkins 3535 in June 1986, renamed Country Gentleman in Oct. 1986)
Chet Atkins CGP May 1985 - early 1987 (appeared in 1986 magazine ad)(Chet's "Peaver" guitar was the prototype)
Chet Atkins Phasar 1987 (appeared in 1988 catalog)(Chet's "Peaver" guitar was the prototype)
Chet Atkins SST 1987-2005 (sometime during 1991 until 2005 no fake soundhole)
Chet Atkins CE Showcase Edition July 1988 guitar of the month (Vintage Sunburst - Production: 200 U.S. & 50 overseas)
Chet Atkins (JS) Double prototype June 7, 1990 (similar to Johnny Smith Double)
Chet Atkins SST 12-string 1990-1994
Chet Atkins Tennessean 1990-2005
Chet Atkins SST Celebrity Series 1991-1993
Chet Atkins Studio Classic 1991-1993 fleur-de-lis (fleur-de-lis only inlaid on headstock in 1993, not on the spruce top)
Chet Atkins SST 12-string Brett Michaels Edition 1992-1993 (production 2)
Chet Atkins SST flame-top 1993-1995
Chet Atkins Studio CE mid 1993-2000 (2004-05 re-designed, deeper cutaway, sound port on back, cedar top, moustache bridge, and slider controls on circular plate on upper bass bout)
Chet Atkins Studio CEC mid 1993-2000 (2004-05 re-designed, deeper cutaway, sound port on back, cedar top, moustache bridge, and slider controls on circular plate on upper bass bout)
Chet Atkins Super 4000 1995, 1997
Chet Atkins CEC True Cedar 2000-2005
Chet Atkins SST True Cedar 2000-2005
Chet Atkins L-10 2004

Epiphone

Chet Atkins Country Gentleman II 1986-1990
Chet Atkins SST Standard - spruce top 1994-2000
Chet Atkins SST Custom - flame maple top 1994-2000
Chet Atkins SST Deluxe - Birdseye maple top 1994-2000
Chet Atkins CEC 1994-2005
Chet Atkins CE 2002
Chet Atkins SST Studio 1998-2005
Chet Atkins Studio Classic
Chet Atkins Country Gentleman Elitist 2004-2005
Last edited by guitarchuck on Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:58 am, edited 14 times in total.
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby Stephy » Mon Aug 15, 2011 11:25 am

Awesome!
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby guitarchuck » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:45 pm

I just updated some of the information

Has anyone ever saw a 1970 Chet Atkins Junior?
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby David Elliott » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:55 pm

guitarchuck wrote:I just updated some of the information

Has anyone ever saw a 1970 Chet Atkins Junior?


Chuck,

I've never seen one, have you? If so, how about a picture?

Also, thanks for this reference material about Chet Atkins "signature" guitars. I wonder however, if the 'Super Axe' can really qualfy as a signature model, since it didn't come from the factory with his signature on it? I have one of these, and I always thought it strange that they didn't put his name on it! In fact, I think Chet actually had more to do with the design of this guitar, than ANY of the other CA models from either Gretsch or Gibson!

David
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby guitarchuck » Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:46 pm

David,
The Chet Atkins Junior from 1970? The only place that I've ever seen reference to that guitar is: "Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars". It says:

"Chet Atkins Junior: 12 2/4" wide, single cutaway, 1 Super'Tron pickup mounted near bridge, 2 knobs and 1 switch on lower treble bout, metal bar bridge 3/8" in diameter, Burns vibrato, gray pickguard with logo and signature, unbound open f-holes, double-bound top and back, 23 1/4" scale, single bound rosewood fingerboard, dot inlay positioned near bass edge of fingerboard on frets 1,3,5,7 and 9, block inlay at 12th fret, dot inlay positioned near treble edge of fingerboard at frets 15, 17 and 19, zero fret, bone nut, unbound peghead, peghead plate with model name, orange stain finish.
Available: 1970

One must have passed through Gruhn's store, because he has a very detailed description. I would like to see a photo at least. I wonder if it was just a prototype?

Also, thanks for this reference material about Chet Atkins "signature" guitars. I wonder however, if the 'Super Axe' can really qualfy as a signature model, since it didn't come from the factory with his signature on it? I have one of these, and I always thought it strange that they didn't put his name on it! In fact, I think Chet actually had more to do with the design of this guitar, than ANY of the other CA models from either Gretsch or Gibson!

David


Maybe I should have titled this thread: "Chet Atkins endorsed guitars" :lol: The Super Axe was always cataloged without Chet's name attached. Most of the guitars had a copy of Chet's signature on them or at least printed on them somewhere. I always thought it was weird that the stripped down version that Chet never used was called the "Atkins Axe" in catalogs, but the one he used was only cataloged as "Super Axe". There was a magazine ad that called it "The Atkins Super Axe" though:

Image
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby David Elliott » Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:57 pm

"Most of the guitars had a copy of Chet's signature on them or at least printed on them somewhere"...

Except, of course, for the original, single cutaway Country Gent, which just said "Gretsch" on the pickguard...

Also on the subject of the Super Axe, I read somewhere that there was some kind of a "flap" about that model, and the fact that Gretsch used Roy Clark in advertising it so much that some people were referring to it as the "Roy Clark" signature guitar! :)
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby Ray Bohlken » Sat Nov 12, 2011 11:53 pm

On page 67 of the "Gretsch Book" by Tony Bacon and Paul Day, there is a photo of a Country Gentleman Custom, which is a small bodied gent. I can't see the text on the headstock plate, so I don't know if it is a Chet Atkins endorsed Gretsch or not. It is listed as a guitar that Gretsch built specialy for Chet, so it may not have been marketed.
What a great list you compiled. Thanks for doing this. There is a Gretsch 6122JR on Ebay which is a similar size to the Country gentleman Custom, but the control setup on the one in the Gretsch book has the switches and controls from that period. The one on Ebay is like the first "reissue" double cut 6122s.
Ray

Link to the Ebay listing of the 6122JR

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2001-Gretsch-Co ... 2eb8809b0f
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby guitarchuck » Sun Nov 13, 2011 12:25 am

by David Elliott » Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:57 pm

"Most of the guitars had a copy of Chet's signature on them or at least printed on them somewhere"...

Except, of course, for the original, single cutaway Country Gent, which just said "Gretsch" on the pickguard...

Also on the subject of the Super Axe, I read somewhere that there was some kind of a "flap" about that model, and the fact that Gretsch used Roy Clark in advertising it so much that some people were referring to it as the "Roy Clark" signature guitar!


David, The original, single cutaway CG said "The Chet Atkins Country Gentleman" on the headstock plate.

The Super Axe, I read a Guitar Player magazine Roy Clark cover story back in the day. Roy was working with Gretsch at the time to modify the Super Axe and call it a Roy Clark model. He wanted to round the cutaway and put a classical type headstock on it if I remember right. I understand that Chet wasn't too happy about that, so it never became a production model.
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby guitarchuck » Sun Nov 13, 2011 12:40 am

On page 67 of the "Gretsch Book" by Tony Bacon and Paul Day, there is a photo of a Country Gentleman Custom, which is a small bodied gent. I can't see the text on the headstock plate, so I don't know if it is a Chet Atkins endorsed Gretsch or not. It is listed as a guitar that Gretsch built specialy for Chet, so it may not have been marketed.
Ray


Ray, The guitar that you mentioned is also on page 94/95 of "Chet Atkins - Me and My Guitars" book. It says it was custom built for Chet in 1967. Since it was a Country Gentleman, I would say it was a Chet Atkins model. Apparently it's not the same guitar as the "Chet Atkins Junior" from the description.


What a great list you compiled. Thanks for doing this. There is a Gretsch 6122JR on Ebay which is a similar size to the Country gentleman Custom, but the control setup on the one in the Gretsch book has the switches and controls from that period. The one on Ebay is like the first "reissue" double cut 6122s.
Ray


You're welcome! I would like to hear from anyone that has other model numbers that I don't have listed. That 6122JR was built before Chet's name was back with Gretsch I think.
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Re: List of Chet Atkins Signature Guitars

Postby David Elliott » Sun Nov 13, 2011 11:39 am

Most of the guitars had a copy of Chet's signature on them or at least printed on them somewhere"...

"Except, of course, for the original, single cutaway Country Gent, which just said "Gretsch" on the pickguard"...

"David, The original, single cutaway CG said "The Chet Atkins Country Gentleman" on the headstock plate"...

:oops: Oh yes! How could I have forgotten that? :oops:
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