Gretsch New Yorker Arch Top Acoustic Guitar , c. 1946
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Item # 7290
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Gretsch New Yorker Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar, c. 1946, made in Brooklyn, NY, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, laminated spruce top; maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black chipboard case.
The New Yorker was Gretsch's most basic archtop guitar in the 1940s and '50s, designed to be a student or semi-pro instrument at a reasonable price. It features a laminated spruce top and maple body with simple appointments, and an unbound rosewood fingerboard on the surprisingly slim comfortable neck.
The most interesting features of this just-postwar example are the rounded off headstock with an incised plastic headpiece and the fairly elegant tailpiece and pickguard, all reminiscent of the fancier Gretsch "Synchromatic" line of the time. Later models would lose most of these stylish touches. While obviously no challenger to its D'Angelico namesake (made just across the Williamsburg bridge in Little Italy), the Gretsch New Yorker is a nice playing and sounding period entry-level archtop, just as intended.
Overall length is 41 1/4 in. (104.8 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This guitar shows wear overall and some old repair but remains in good playable condition. All hardware is original and intact. The only alteration was a floating pickup mounted at one point that left a dark mark on the face, and resulted in an old jack hole in the rim. Normally we would fill this in, but as this is a laminated wood archtop many users would wish to conveniently electrify the guitar so we have left this option "open".
There appears to have been a small "smile" crack repair to the bass side of the headstock, done long ago. The laminated wing of the peghead in that area has been reglued and pinned from the side as well, with some discreet overspray to the affected areas. The back has been rebound; the original top binding shows shrinkage, but remains intact with no crumbling areas. The frets show some light wear, but this is a better playing and sounding guitar than any of the more typical 1950s New Yorkers we have had. Very Good + Condition.
The New Yorker was Gretsch's most basic archtop guitar in the 1940s and '50s, designed to be a student or semi-pro instrument at a reasonable price. It features a laminated spruce top and maple body with simple appointments, and an unbound rosewood fingerboard on the surprisingly slim comfortable neck.
The most interesting features of this just-postwar example are the rounded off headstock with an incised plastic headpiece and the fairly elegant tailpiece and pickguard, all reminiscent of the fancier Gretsch "Synchromatic" line of the time. Later models would lose most of these stylish touches. While obviously no challenger to its D'Angelico namesake (made just across the Williamsburg bridge in Little Italy), the Gretsch New Yorker is a nice playing and sounding period entry-level archtop, just as intended.
Overall length is 41 1/4 in. (104.8 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This guitar shows wear overall and some old repair but remains in good playable condition. All hardware is original and intact. The only alteration was a floating pickup mounted at one point that left a dark mark on the face, and resulted in an old jack hole in the rim. Normally we would fill this in, but as this is a laminated wood archtop many users would wish to conveniently electrify the guitar so we have left this option "open".
There appears to have been a small "smile" crack repair to the bass side of the headstock, done long ago. The laminated wing of the peghead in that area has been reglued and pinned from the side as well, with some discreet overspray to the affected areas. The back has been rebound; the original top binding shows shrinkage, but remains intact with no crumbling areas. The frets show some light wear, but this is a better playing and sounding guitar than any of the more typical 1950s New Yorkers we have had. Very Good + Condition.