Gretsch 1692 Country Club 1956

by Peter Knudsen
(Los angeles, CA)

This is a 1956 Gretsch Country Club in superb condition: pretty clean for its age and almost all original. The strap pin by the neck has been replaced, as has one thumb screw in the bridge; otherwise it's all original as far as I can tell. The gold plating has largely worn off the hardware, and there are a couple of small flakes in the finish, but otherwise it's in great shape.

The action is perfect, nice and low all the way up the neck with plenty of room for adjustment if desired. There is a very small gap between the heel and the body, but since it's stable and the bridge isn't all the way down I've left it alone. There is no shrinkage cracking in the binding or the pickguard - absolutely none of the infamous Gretsch plastic rot. The Dynasonic pickups are hotter than any I've played, and I've gotten 99% of the scratchiness out of the pots.

In short, this guitar plays and sounds fantastic, and it needs absolutely nothing. It comes with a new TKL hard case.

ANSWER

Hi, Peter--

I think you may have interchanged 2 numbers in the model number. It should be 6192 instead of 1692.

Here is the general info:

ELECTRO II CUTAWAY/COUNTRY CLUB MODEL 6192/6193/6196/7575/7576/7577
- single round cutaway hollow body, arched laminated maple top, laminated figured maple back/sides, four-ply top and back binding, two bound f-holes, maple neck, 21-fret bound rosewood fingerboard with ivoroid block inlay, bound black face headstock with Gretsch logo and three-per-side Grover Statite tuners, Melita bridge, "G" trapeze tailpiece, raised bound tortoise pickguard, two DeArmond single coil pickups, three knobs on lower treble bout, gold hardware, available in Cadillac Green (Model 6196), Natural (Model 6193), and Sunburst (Model 6192) finish, 17 in. body width, mfg. 1951-1981.

The pricing info:

954-1956 Country Club

Mint $3,400
Exc.+ $2,700
Exc. $2,200
Avg.+ $1,700
Avg. $1,350
General $1,100

Lynne