Gretsch Model 6199 Sal Salvador Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1961)
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Item #14241
Gretsch Model 6199 Sal Salvador Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1961), made in Brooklyn, NY, serial # 43220, white re- finish, maple back and sides, spruce top; maple neck with ebony fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
Here is an enigmatic example of a rare top-line 1961 Gretsch made all the more unusual long ago with what appears to be a superbly-executed refinish in "White Falcon" livery. The neck has a secondary overfinish (likely related to a reset) and an old heel repair but the body and headstock are finished in aged lacquer that looks very much like Gretsch factory work. Expert refinish long ago? Returned to the factory for a later re-work in the '60s or 70s? Or -- most tantalizingly -- an original custom order? Several very experienced "Gretsch heads" have look it over an opinions differ, but everyone agrees this is a very cool and now unique guitar!
The "PX-6199 Sal Salvador Jazz Guitar" is a mostly forgotten high-end 1950-60s Gretsch we don't see all that often in any finish. It was the Brooklyn boys' answer to how to electrify a large-body archtop while retaining its acoustic response. As always with Gretsch, the instrument is unique, slightly skewed from the norm, and full of character! It was introduced in 1955 as the Convertible; in 1959 the 6199 was renamed as a signature model for Gretsch endorser/Jazz guitarist Sal Salvador.
The PX-6199 under either name is a 17" full-depth archtop with the pickup suspended above the top, along with controls mounted not to the wood but to the gold Lucite pickguard. This similar to what many jazz players of the time were doing with the DeArmond company's floating pickups, and Gibson had tried with the "McCarty" floating pickup/pickguard assembly earlier in the decade. Around the same time this guitar was built Gibson was introducing the super deluxe Johnny Smith model designed along the same lines.
The Convertible had originally been equipped with the DeArmond DynaSonic, a heavy pickup which required a large hole cut in the top beneath it. By the time this guitar was made Gretsch had developed the Hi-Lo 'Tron single coil which did not require any hole at all. The extended Synchromatic style Lucite pickguard carries the floating pickup and gold-plated mini volume and tone knobs; the jack is mounted in the lower side. At the same time the 6199 was given a carved top so as a purely acoustic instrument it was better equipped to challenge the high-end carved top Gibson, Guild and D'Angelico instruments it would presumably be compared to.
While admittedly not the artistic equal of a D'Angelico (or for the most part the Johnny Smith) the 6199 is still a fine instrument, absolutely in the highest echelon of period Gretsch product. These were very a limited production guitar, and one of the most expensive Gretsch offerings. The guitar features a multi-bound top, headstock, and multi-bound ebony fingerboard. This fingerboard has original pearl block inlay, an unusual feature for 1961 as "Thumbprint" Neo-Classic were standard on all models at the time; the later '60s "Sals" had this feature so this is a possible clue to the guitar having been factory re-worked some time after the initial sale. Sunburst was the only finish offered in 1961; somebody must have wanted a bit more flash out of this one and "Falconized" it with the all-over white finish job that whatever its origins looks authentic after decades of ageing!
Despite the exposure with Sal Salvador this has remained a seldom seen guitar, while the wildly successful Chet Atkins models made the company's reputation this model slipped into oblivion. In 1961 the PX-6199 was billed as "designed for Jazz playing'" and listed at $375, plus case. While never a popular hit, the 6199 is a very cool and imposing guitar; this arctic white example is one of the more unique vintage Gretsch guitars we have had, now back home in Brooklyn!
Overall length is 42 7/16 in. (107.8 cm.), 17 1/4 in. (43.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
While we can't guarantee the origin of the majority of the finish on this guitar, We can say for sure that the back of the neck has a later overfinish from just under the base of the headstock down to the heel, with the added finish extending partially over the side above the heel and in to the cutaway below it. This is almost certainly related to a neck reset, as there is an old straight across crack through the lower part of the neck heel that probably happened at the same time; we believe these were built with a stacked heel as we have seen others with exactly the same repair. This is solidly sealed but visible, having opened up at some point enough to have split the finish above it. The finish also has some very light checking mostly to the top area and scattered small dings and dents, but no notable areas of serious wear or loss.
Apart from the finish work the guitar is in nicely original condition, showing very little use at least since the re-working. It shows no other alterations and none of the Celluloid binding issues that often plague older Gretsch guitars. With the likely exception of the adjustable ebony bridge ('60s era but not a standard Gretsch piece) the hardware is original and complete, with just some minor plating loss to the gold here and there. The binding shows no signs of distress with minimal shrinkage and no crumbling anywhere.
The neck angle remains excellent. The frets appear to be Gretsch factory wire with very little wear and the guitar plays and sounds lovely, with the unusual combination of a floating Hi-Lo'Tron pickup over a spruce top giving it a unique sonic character. This is simply a spectacular looking example of a classy and almost certainly now one-of-a-kind Gretsch, a Jazz Cadillac housed in a modern hardshell case. Overall Very Good + Condition.
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Here is an enigmatic example of a rare top-line 1961 Gretsch made all the more unusual long ago with what appears to be a superbly-executed refinish in "White Falcon" livery. The neck has a secondary overfinish (likely related to a reset) and an old heel repair but the body and headstock are finished in aged lacquer that looks very much like Gretsch factory work. Expert refinish long ago? Returned to the factory for a later re-work in the '60s or 70s? Or -- most tantalizingly -- an original custom order? Several very experienced "Gretsch heads" have look it over an opinions differ, but everyone agrees this is a very cool and now unique guitar!
The "PX-6199 Sal Salvador Jazz Guitar" is a mostly forgotten high-end 1950-60s Gretsch we don't see all that often in any finish. It was the Brooklyn boys' answer to how to electrify a large-body archtop while retaining its acoustic response. As always with Gretsch, the instrument is unique, slightly skewed from the norm, and full of character! It was introduced in 1955 as the Convertible; in 1959 the 6199 was renamed as a signature model for Gretsch endorser/Jazz guitarist Sal Salvador.
The PX-6199 under either name is a 17" full-depth archtop with the pickup suspended above the top, along with controls mounted not to the wood but to the gold Lucite pickguard. This similar to what many jazz players of the time were doing with the DeArmond company's floating pickups, and Gibson had tried with the "McCarty" floating pickup/pickguard assembly earlier in the decade. Around the same time this guitar was built Gibson was introducing the super deluxe Johnny Smith model designed along the same lines.
The Convertible had originally been equipped with the DeArmond DynaSonic, a heavy pickup which required a large hole cut in the top beneath it. By the time this guitar was made Gretsch had developed the Hi-Lo 'Tron single coil which did not require any hole at all. The extended Synchromatic style Lucite pickguard carries the floating pickup and gold-plated mini volume and tone knobs; the jack is mounted in the lower side. At the same time the 6199 was given a carved top so as a purely acoustic instrument it was better equipped to challenge the high-end carved top Gibson, Guild and D'Angelico instruments it would presumably be compared to.
While admittedly not the artistic equal of a D'Angelico (or for the most part the Johnny Smith) the 6199 is still a fine instrument, absolutely in the highest echelon of period Gretsch product. These were very a limited production guitar, and one of the most expensive Gretsch offerings. The guitar features a multi-bound top, headstock, and multi-bound ebony fingerboard. This fingerboard has original pearl block inlay, an unusual feature for 1961 as "Thumbprint" Neo-Classic were standard on all models at the time; the later '60s "Sals" had this feature so this is a possible clue to the guitar having been factory re-worked some time after the initial sale. Sunburst was the only finish offered in 1961; somebody must have wanted a bit more flash out of this one and "Falconized" it with the all-over white finish job that whatever its origins looks authentic after decades of ageing!
Despite the exposure with Sal Salvador this has remained a seldom seen guitar, while the wildly successful Chet Atkins models made the company's reputation this model slipped into oblivion. In 1961 the PX-6199 was billed as "designed for Jazz playing'" and listed at $375, plus case. While never a popular hit, the 6199 is a very cool and imposing guitar; this arctic white example is one of the more unique vintage Gretsch guitars we have had, now back home in Brooklyn!
Overall length is 42 7/16 in. (107.8 cm.), 17 1/4 in. (43.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
While we can't guarantee the origin of the majority of the finish on this guitar, We can say for sure that the back of the neck has a later overfinish from just under the base of the headstock down to the heel, with the added finish extending partially over the side above the heel and in to the cutaway below it. This is almost certainly related to a neck reset, as there is an old straight across crack through the lower part of the neck heel that probably happened at the same time; we believe these were built with a stacked heel as we have seen others with exactly the same repair. This is solidly sealed but visible, having opened up at some point enough to have split the finish above it. The finish also has some very light checking mostly to the top area and scattered small dings and dents, but no notable areas of serious wear or loss.
Apart from the finish work the guitar is in nicely original condition, showing very little use at least since the re-working. It shows no other alterations and none of the Celluloid binding issues that often plague older Gretsch guitars. With the likely exception of the adjustable ebony bridge ('60s era but not a standard Gretsch piece) the hardware is original and complete, with just some minor plating loss to the gold here and there. The binding shows no signs of distress with minimal shrinkage and no crumbling anywhere.
The neck angle remains excellent. The frets appear to be Gretsch factory wire with very little wear and the guitar plays and sounds lovely, with the unusual combination of a floating Hi-Lo'Tron pickup over a spruce top giving it a unique sonic character. This is simply a spectacular looking example of a classy and almost certainly now one-of-a-kind Gretsch, a Jazz Cadillac housed in a modern hardshell case. Overall Very Good + Condition.
