*US dollar exchange varies daily
Introduced in 1954, the Gretsch 6130 Roundup featured a single-cutaway body built using a maple or pine top on a chambered mahogany back, a mahogany neck with bound ebony fingerboard, and lots of western motif details. Most noticeably, the body sides are wrapped in tooled, brown leather, there's a G brand on the top, the fingerboard inlays were mother of pearl blocks with cactus and cattle engraving, a Melita bridge, and the tailpiece sported a very western looking belt buckle! The pickups were deArmond DynaSonic single coils, and the available finishes were maple, pine, or orange.
On the other hand, the Gretsch 6121 Chet Atkins was introduced in 1955, and featured much the same construction but less 'western bling'. The body was still chambered mahogany with maple top, but there was no leather cladding, and a Bigsby was installed. After 1957 the Chet Atkins 6121 lost the G-Brand and during 1958, the 'Neo Classic' or 'thumbnail' mother of pearl position markers became standard.
We conclude that somewhere, decades ago, two damaged guitars were merged into one working unit. The neck, pickguard, bridge and Bigsby tailpiece were moved from a 1959 Chet Atkins 6121 and mounted onto a 1956 6130 Roundup. The neck was refinished gloss.
This guitar is in good playing condition with huge vintage vibe, and it sounds great. Along with the neck transplant surgery, a crack in the top was repaired. A non-original case is included.
