![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theguitarsthestar.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/5F05F15F-1A46-44B8-9D71-553C671918E9-169x300.jpeg\")
Im 1980 I went to the Nova Guitar Center in Guildford with my brother and various friends. We were all rammed into the back seat of a Rover P5b.<\/p>\r\n<\/p>\r\n
Im 1980 I went to the Nova Guitar Center in Guildford with my brother and various friends. We were all rammed into the back seat of a Rover P5b.<\/p>\r\n
I came away from the trip with my first real guitar, a CMI Les Paul. It had suffered a neck brake in the past and been mended by the proprietor.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be fine\u201d, he assured me with a flick of his cigar and a wink of his Tom Bombadil eyes.<\/p>\r\n
Fast forward 2 years and I\u2019m sitting in the same shop with \u00a3275.00 burning a hole in the back pocket of my trousers. I\u2019m wearing a pair of tight white drainpipes recently taken in by my mum. \u00a0Tom salutes me. \u201cBlack CMI, broken neck?\u201d. He either remembers my Nystagmus, or is related to Ollivander. He puts into my hands a guitar built in the same year as the Munich air disaster. I muck up the introduction to Black Dog and resort to C\u2019mon Everybody. \u00a0After 5 minutes bliss, I hand back the guitar and shake my head. Four things are playing on my mind.<\/p>\r\n
First, It too had a neck break, the shop should have been named \u201cBroken Neck Guitar Center\u201d.<\/p>\r\n
Second; my heart was set on a Fender or Gibson and I didn\u2019t know much about this guitar, didn\u2019t Nick Heyward use one?<\/p>\r\n
Third; My mother\u2019s sewing wasn\u2019t standing up to scrutiny. I could feel the stitching starting to give. At any moment I would turn into Vegas Elvis with 7 foot flares, or worse still reveal a pair of indecently loud under crackers.<\/p>\r\n
Fourth , my father has started to get restless and was holding court ,quipping, \u201cGet a move on Segovia\u201d or \u201cWhy don\u2019t you get that John Paul?\u201d.<\/p>\r\n
It was time to go. I left the shop and didn\u2019t look back.<\/p>\r\n
The guitar has always stayed in my thoughts. What could have been?<\/p>\r\n
39 years latter I\u2019m about to find out.<\/p>\r\n
<\/p>\r\n
Inspired by the original 1958 Anniversary model released to honor Gretsch’s 75th anniversary, the G6118T-60 Vintage Select Edition ’60 Anniversary\u2122 Hollow Body with Bigsby\u00ae is the “it” guitar. Giant Gretsch sound, easy playability and period-accurate appointments merge in this lightweight instrument that’s designed to rock.<\/p>\r\n
A pair of highly dynamic TV Jones\u00ae Hilo’Tron\u2122 single-coil pickups tops the laminated maple body, cranking out brilliant highs, warm lows and rocking mids. The traditional control complement – separate bridge and neck volume controls, three-way pickup switching, three-way tone switch and master volume – allows for near-infinite tonal variations. Add the new Gretsch “Squeezebox” capacitors and you get incredibly silky vintage high end. The standard “U”-shaped maple neck bears a 12″-radius rosewood fingerboard with 21 durable medium jumbo frets for a memorable playing experience that works with any style. 1959-style trestle bracing couples the top and back of this unique instrument, generating warm, balanced tone. A pinned Space Control\u2122 bridge lets you dial in string spacing to match your personal playing style – wide for fingerstyle players and narrower for flatpickers. Add expressiveness to your playing with the Bigsby B6CVT vibrato tailpiece while the expertly cut bone nut lets the strings slide freely, without binding in the slots, and enhances the guitar’s natural tone.<\/p>\r\n
Celebrating the past while meeting the needs of any player, this instrument retains the in-demand features that made the Gretsch Anniversary an icon – nickel G-arrow control knobs, aged white binding with black purfling, gloss urethane 2-Tone Smoke Green finish and nickel Grover\u00ae Sta-Tite tuning machines. Honor your commitment to your music with the G6118T-60 Vintage Select Edition ’60 Anniversary Hollow Body with Bigsby – a serious instrument for serious players.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Im 1980 I went to the Nova Guitar Center in Guildford with my brother and various friends. We were all rammed into the back seat of a Rover P5b. I came away from the trip with my first real guitar, a CMI Les Paul. It had suffered a neck brake in the past and been … <\/p>\n