Back in 1959, Gretsch was celebrating its 75th anniversary, but rather than issue a high-end creation to commemorate the occasion, it unveiled the affordable Anniversary model, which came in one- and two-pickup configurations.
This example is the 6118, known as the Double Anniversary thanks to its Patent Applied For Filter'Tron humbuckers, which were replaced by HiLo'Tron single coils in 1961.
"There's no denying the sheer cool emanating from those f-holes"
The 6118 came in a desirable Two-Tone Smoke Green (inspired by Cadillacs from that era), and carried a luxurious 'Anniversary Model' nameplate on the headstock.
The model's unbound ebony fingerboard and minimal control layout were basic compared with other models, but this guitar's previous owner made a few upgrades, replacing the G-cutout tailpiece with a Bigsby, while the presence of one selector switch and five knobs - as opposed to dual selectors and three knobs - makes us wonder if internal alterations took place, too.
Along with the clear replacement pickguard, this guitar's other idiosyncrasy is the sticker near the base of the body - while this example won't win points for period-correctness, there's no denying the sheer cool emanating from those f-holes.
