It was 1954 when the Gretsch Country Club first appeared on the market, in what was one of the most wild looking hollow body guitars of the era. In a sea of sunburst and natural finishes, the 17 inch Gretsch Country Club in shimmering Cadillac Green with gold plated hardware was like nothing else the guitar world had seen. It was one year later, when Gretsch took their Country Club model, dressed it up in white paint with gold flake binding that the white Falcon was born. 

This 2004 Country Club has all the hallmarks of the mid 1950s design. Hump block inlays appeared in 1955, as did the gold pick guard and 2 2/3” body depth (down from 3 3/8” in 1954). This essentially gives this guitar a 1955-1957 design, before Filtertron pickups began to appear in the late 50s. 

These big DeArmond pickups are in a league of their own. The sophisticated design of these pickups sees 6 individual pole magnets, adjustable by a screw and bracket mechanism. This setup provides unparalleled fidelity and incredible sparkle. Not many people know this, but Les Paul himself hid a DeArmond pickup under the neck P90 cover of his original “Number 1” Les Paul gold top - much to the horror of the marketing team at Gibson!

These specific pickups are aftermarket units from TV Jones, and sound fantastic - having a bit more warmth and fullness over the modern run of Gretsch DeArmonds. 

The neck of this guitar is a medium/slim feeling with ample nut width of 43.3mm. The action is straight and true with original frets with minimal fret wear. The paint is in excellent condition with almost no signs of wear.

The Gretsch Country Club is a fully hollow instrument, similar to a Gibson L5. This example has utilised a roughly 1cm x 4 cm maple block wedged underneath the bridge to stiffen up the sound board and provide more sustain and feedback resistance - similar to the trestle bracing of later 50s Country Club and White Falcon models. 

This guitar has an aftermarket B6 bigsby installed and holds tune well over the adjustamatic style bridge. This guitar is currently strung up with 11-50 flat wound strings and comes with its original hard shell case. This Gretsch Country Club is an eye catching classic.

______________________________
 
Brand: Gretsch
Model: Country Club/6196
Country: Japan 
Year: 2004
Serial: JT04052XXX
Case: OHSC
Body Colour: Cadillac Green
Neck Colour: Cadillac Green
Finish Type: Lacquer
Body Material: Maple/Spruce
Neck Material: Maple
Fretboard Material: Rosewood
Scale Length: 25.5"
Frets: 21
Fretboard Radius: 21"
Action (Low E): 1.9mm
Neck Profile: Med/Slim C
Nut Width: 43.3mm
12th Fret Width: 53.1mm
1st Fret Depth: 20.4mm
12th Fret Depth: 23.3mm
Pickups: TV Jones T-Armond
Resistance: 
Electronics: Original
Knobs: Gold Plated G Brand
Pick Guard: Gold
Tuners: Grover Imperial Gold Plated
Hardware: Gold Plated
Weight: 3.44kg
Notes: Replaced TV Jones T-Armonds, Sound Post, B6 Bigsby