1955 Gretsch 6120 Guitar - Seattle, WA
N 47° 37.298 W 122° 20.913
10T E 548949 N 5274453
Located within the Museum of Pop Culture is a gallery containing rare guitars belonging to some of the best musicians in the U.S. Admission fees apply.
Waymark Code: WMWGZ1
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 09/04/2017
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Over 50 guitars are located in the Guitar Gallery: The Quest for Volume within the Museum of Pop Culture. One of them is a 1955 Gretsch 6120 guitar. A nearby placard reads:
Country and rockability players liked that "cows and cactus" twang
This hollow-body guitar had a big, warm, twangy sound distinct from the Gibsons and Fenders of the fifties. Nashville guitar king Chet Atkins suggested using a Bigsby vibrato bar, and a metal bridge and nut that would improve the sustain. The instrument's tone made it a favorite among country and rockability players like Duane Eddy and Eddie Cochran. Gretsch chose a Western motif, branding a G on the guitar and decorating it with fingerboard inlays engraved with the cows and cacti. But Atkins disliked the Westernized "junk"
and those decorations were phased out.