Description
What makes this guitar special: A rare model, built in Brooklyn during Gretsch’s golden era. The “Sal Salvador” model, originally dubbed the “Convertible,” was renamed for the artist who gave great preference to them for their unique properties. Namely, a floating pickup and pickguard mounted controls, to preserve both the acoustic resonance of the carved spruce top, and as stated by Gretsch in their original ad copy “to prevent the combination of electric and acoustic properties”. The 17” body provides a deep and resonant sound, perfect for rhythm & jazz playing-as intended by its original endorser. Professionally inspected & setup by the experts at Cream City Music, this beautiful piece will arrive ready to play out of the case.
Cosmetic condition: Terrific shape for a 56-year old guitar, with some expected light playwear throughout. There are various scratches, dents, dings, nicks, and scuffs present, with a scattering of pin sized chips in the finish throughout. For its age, this piece showcases much less wear than expected. The binding has shrunk far less than normal for a Gretsch guitar of this era, with only a couple notable areas that can be felt along the fingerboard edges, and seen at the neck heel. There is a paper thin separation along the back of the neck joint due to this binding shrinkage (see photo), but the joint is very stable and the neck angle is great. The treble side of the guitar shows one area where fabric (either from a strap or case) has adhered to the finish. The tuners have been changed to contemporary Grover Imperials, and there are holes on the headstock from a previous set. There is some minor tarnishing on the hardware, and a handful of areas of light finish wear. Overall, this piece has a gorgeous look to it, with a great vintage patina.
Body: Double bound maple back & sides with carved solid spruce top in sunburst finish. B/W purfling and dual bound sound holes. Compensated ebony bridge with floating ebony base and “G” trapeze tailpiece. Bound black pickguard with mounted tone & volume.
Weight: 6 lb, 4.5 oz
Neck: C-shaped two piece maple neck with red side dots and pearl thumbnail inlays. 1 11/16” nut width, 25 1/2” scale length. Bound ebony fingerboard is in terrific shape, and frets show only light wear for their age with a ton of life left. Bound headstock with pearl Gretsch logo and black truss rod cover. Chrome-sealed contemporary Grover Imperial tuners work great. Neck is straight and truss rod works as it should.
Electronics: Floating HiLoTron pickup in the neck position with pickguard mounted volume & tone. All electronics have been tested and work great.
Case: Original hard shell case included.
