Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 24 Oct 2019 8:38 am |
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I just acquired this restoration project. Most of its issues appear easy to fix with glue and clamps, so despite its appearance I believe it can be made into a playable instrument. My first reaction was that it’s an old homemade steel that someone slapped the Gretsch name onto. However, on closer inspection, I’m not so sure. Three things in particular have me thinking it’s a genuine late ‘30s or early ‘40s Gretsch instrument:
- Those pearloid inlays are genuine Gretsch. The shape, handwriting, and material are consistent with Gretsch inlays from the late ‘30s (maybe into the early ‘40s).
- The gold-sparkle binding is similar (probably identical) to the coverings used on Gretsch’s Gladstone drums. Yes, anyone could have gone out and bought gold-sparkle Pyralin, but Gretsch in particular would have had long, thin strips left over from the making of drum shells. Gretsch also would have had stocks of walnut for making banjo necks and maple for making… well, everything.
- I’ve seen plenty of junky old instruments “upgraded†with a decal from Gibson or another prominent brand. However, I rarely, if ever, see that on well-built homemade instruments. Furthermore, Gretsch was hardly a prominent brand of guitars in the ‘30s and ‘40s the way it became in the ‘50s. If you were going to “re-brand†an instrument, you probably wouldn’t spend the effort to inlay pearl from a company not known for steels.
Of course, none of this is proof that the steel was built by Gretsch. And, while it may be some sort of prototype, it may also be an employee-build from scraps. Or… just some nice homemade clunker embellished with Gretsch inlays. There are a few particular points that may steer the verdict away from Gretsch:
- That wood purfling doesn’t appear to have any precedent on other Gretsch instruments. They used celluloid exclusively, to the point that “vintage Gretsch†is nowadays synonymous with “binding rotâ€.
- Between the headstock shapes, neck construction, and fretboard markings, there’s nothing that parallels Gretsch’s acoustic guitars or other instruments. Granted, this steel would have been a totally new product, but I’d still expect more family resemblance than just the headstock inlays and plastic trim.
However, if it is a prototype, it would be historically important for a couple of reasons. Gretsch built their own acoustic guitars, but their pre-War electrics (1939-1942) all came from Kay. After the War, they built their own electric Spanish guitars but the steels all came from Valco. If this is a genuine pre-War Gretsch, it would probably be the company’s first electric instrument built in-house.
I’m currently leaning toward genuine Gretsch but open to being convinced otherwise. What say you?
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David Knutson
From:
Cowichan Valley, Canada
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Posted 25 Oct 2019 10:56 am
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Pretty cool looking steel, Noah. Definitely worth some fixing time, no matter who made it. Is it just my eyes, or are the fonts slightly different from each other in those GRETSCH logos?
I guess you won't know its true value until it's strung up and playing. 
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David K |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 25 Oct 2019 11:42 am
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| Yes, the fonts are a little different because they were done by hand (and apparently without a template). I looked at a whole lot of late '30s Gretsch logo inlays, and you can actually identify the handwriting of several different engravers who probably worked at the same time. One engraver always did this "G" that looks like a squared-off 6, but at least one other guy did rounded "G"s and had less-pronounced serifs on his letters. |
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