1957 Gretsch Country Gentleman First Batch of 50 Made, Restoration Project, First Year Made

This is a restoration project – a first batch 1957 single cut, no zero fret, Gretsch Country Gentleman. I’m no Gretsch Forum expert when it comes to the minutia of first run models, but it appears this is from the first batch of 50 made. For the right person, who is interested in restoring Gretsch history, it’s a worthwhile project. If you are not that guy, this isn’t for you. I’ve listed all the issues in detail. Pictures also provide a lot of information. Add includes the body, neck, and truss rod cover.

I have some of the other original parts available to the buyer of the body and neck if they are interested after the body and neck are sold. These include the pickups, complete harness, tuners and the Bigsby.

Headstock plate is missing. # 26409 is etched where the headstock placard goes. According to one source, the debut serial number range was the 26400-26449 batch.

The finish is faded from sunlight. The neck heel and headstock front and back show exposure to dampness. I would redo the finish in these areas. The back of the neck is fine finish wise. The dark center strip has some splitting – see the pics. Frets are rutted from play wear. The wings on the headstock have separated, and will need regluing, but the joints are very clean. The nut is missing. Several of the fretboard markers are missing. The truss rod nut is clean and adjusts as it should. The input jack area needs repair. I included a couple shots of the interior bracing, which are not great.

The neck binding has shrunken and really needs to be redone, or have pieces spliced in. Some of the headstock binding is missing. The body binding in the waist has shrunken, but I think this could be heated and reworked.

The front and back both have finish checking. From a restoration perspective, the area between the pickups is going to be the biggest challenge. The rest of the guitar is untouched, but this area has some white glue in the cracks on the bass side that will need to be removed.

Width at the nut is 1.7045. Distance from the fret slot edge to the 12th fret center is 12 5/8”’s.

For dating purposes, the original pickup and wiring harness information that came with the body & neck, but are not included in this add, are as follows:

The IRC pot dates are 615 7605 1 Meg RC 718

                                  615 7603 500k     C 718

                                  615 7604 800k     (? Illegible) A 71-obscured by solder 

The pickups specs, also not included in this add: Pre- “pat appld” stamp, with no stamping on them at all.

This has no case and will be double boxed and well-padded for shipping.