![]() ![]() The Gretsch White Falcon 1 became a popular model again during this time. Interest in Gretsch guitars revived in the 1980s, thanks in part to the Stray Cats and Chris Isaak, and production resumed. However, production was halted in 1981 due to a fire in the factory. Led by Fred Gretsch Jr., many innovative guitars were built in the mid-1950s, such as the Model 6120 and the “ White Falcon.” In late July 1967, the company was sold to the Baldwin Piano Company, and production remained in Brooklyn until it was moved to Booneville, Arkansas in 1969. In 1942, the company was handed over to Fred Jr. With the rise of big bands around 1930, the banjo was gradually replaced by the guitar, and in 1939, Gretsch released its first electric guitar, the “ Electromatic Line,” followed by the archtop model “ Synchromatic Line.” ![]() After WWI, the company was taken over by his son, Fred, under whose leadership it flourished and gained a reputation for high quality and precision. ![]() Manufacture: Korea.ĭECODER coming soon… See Gretsch catalogs Gretsch history in shortįriedrich Gretsch, a German immigrant from Mannheim, began building drum kits and banjos in 1883. The Gretsch serial numbers now have a two letter prefix indicating the location of the production, followed by a two-digit year a two-digit month and a four-digit production number related to that specific plant. Fender decided to introduce a single serial number system for all guitars after 2002. Month: June, Year: 1997, Model: 120, Production number: 123 The digits after the hyphen show the production number during the execution of the model. The subsequent three digits is the model number, eg. The first two digits are the year, the next digit or two digits is the month (1-9/10-12). Month: June Year: 1972 Production number: 752īefore the acquisition by Fender (in 2003), a more logical sequential application for the period 1989-2002 is the production made in Japan with a xxxxxx-xxx serial number. The last three digits represent the production number for that month. The first position after the hyphen (or space) represents the last digit of the year (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, -1981). The digits for the hyphen are for the month (1-12). The meaning of the numbers is the same as that without a hyphen. The guitars manufactured from 1972-1981 are easier to identify because they are the only Gretsch specimens with a hyphen (or a space) after the first one or two digits. Month: December Year: 1969 Production number: 800 The last three digits is the production number of that month. The next digit is the last digit of the year (6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 1, -1972). The first digit(s) represent the month of manufacture (1-12 for January-December). The date-code distribution used from 1966 to 1972: (without a hyphen in the serial number) From June of 1967, the text ‘Made in the USA’ is stamped next to the serial number. Strangely enough, some guitars have serial numbers stamped into the narrow top of the headstock, while others have it stamped on the back. With the imminent acquisition by Baldwin and annual production of approximately 150,000 guitars, Gretsch switched to a date-linked coding system in August 1966. It was not until 1965 that part of this was found and used for that year’s production. (*) In 1957, about a thousand serial number labels were lost for unknown reasons. The only difference is that the number of guitars produced (and therefore serial numbers) is higher. In the period of 1954-1965 the consecutive numbering scheme remained the same. In general, a higher number means that the guitar was produced later in the year or transferred to the next year’s range. In the period from 1945 to 1954 there is the transition from handwritten serial numbers to the official labels in 1949, although the numbering remained the same. If you see at least three hard-to-read numbers, you can be pretty sure that it is a pre-war instrument. ![]() Often these serials are vague or almost illegible or completely erased. In the early years ( 1939-1945) Gretsch started with handwritten sequential serial numbers ( 001-999), written directly on the inside of the guitar. ![]()
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