Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
More
  • "She knew what she'd created": Back to Black
  • Trower's '80s supergroup
  • Music theory tricks
  • Stage Tour game
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Guitars

Wishlist: Gretsch Professional Collection Limited Editions

News
By Guitarist
Published 30 April 2015

Two gorgeous Gretsch hollow bodies

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

No guitar turns heads like a Gretsch hollowbody. And few can compete with the visual thrills on offer from these limited-edition 2015 additions to the company’s Professional Collection: the G6120-1959LTV Chet Atkins Hollow Body Limited Edition Quilted Maple and the G6136T Falcon Limited Crème de Marine.

"Professional Collection models are made in limited numbers in the small Terada factory in Kanie, Japan"

The Crème de Marine in the Falcon’s name is a reference to its unusual soft blue hue. It comes kitted out with the same hardware and top-class touches of the existing G6136T, including High Sensitive Filter’Tron pickups, Space Control bridge and Bigsby B6GB vibrato - and as you’d expect, it’s all gold-plated.

The latest in a long line of Chet Atkins models adds a quilt maple top for a top- of-the-line hybrid of old-school playability and visual flair. This hollowbody still features a nitro Vintage Orange lacquer, while it opts for a pair of TV Jones Classic Filter’Tron pickups, plus a rosewood-base Rocking Bar bridge and Bigsby B6C.

Professional Collection models are made in limited numbers in the small Terada factory in Kanie, Japan, where many processes are still done by hand. That explains the wallet-worrying price, but it’s this dedication to instrument craft that ensures the company’s reputation continues to be held in such high regard.

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
Falcon pickups

Falcon pickups

A pair of Gretsch High Sensitive Filter’Trons grace the Falcon and have a slightly more brash voicing than the TV Jones units in the Chet Atkins 6120.

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
'Neo-Classic' inlays

'Neo-Classic' inlays

The Falcon features an ebony fretboard with ‘Neo-Classic’ thumbnail inlays.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
Falcon headstock

Falcon headstock

This limited-edition bird is finished in a Crème de Marine polyurethane - a kind of baby blue take on the Falcon aesthetic.

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
Falcon styling

Falcon styling

The Falcon’s glam 50s styling is very much apparent, from the bejewelled gold-plated knobs to the gold sparkle binding, and falcon motif’d gold pickguard.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
Three-ply maple

Three-ply maple

Aside from the snazzy quilted maple top, the rest of the 6120 is the classic Chet Atkins three-ply maple recipe.

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
Bigsby B6C vibrato

Bigsby B6C vibrato

The chrome-plated aluminium Bigsby B6C vibrato certainly looks the part, and paired with the Rocking Bar bridge, provides all the wobble and shimmer you could possibly wish for.

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
Chet Atkins headstock

Chet Atkins headstock

Despite the blingy top, things are typically understated at the headstock end of the Chet Atkins 6120.

Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
Guitarist
Guitarist
Social Links Navigation

Guitarist is the longest established UK guitar magazine, offering gear reviews, artist interviews, techniques lessons and loads more, in print, on tablet and on smartphones
Digital: http://bit.ly/GuitaristiOS
If you love guitars, you'll love Guitarist. Find us in print, on Newsstand for iPad, iPhone and other digital readers

Read more
Gretsch G6134T-58 Limited Edition Penguin Pale Blue Pearl
Guitars Gretsch unveils a high-end dream machine: a Penguin refreshed in limited run Pale Blue Pearl finish
 
 
Gretsch Electromatic Limited Edition Black Limba Jet and CVT
Guitars Gretsch’s play for hard-riffing rock players continues with the “exotic” black limba Jet and CVT
 
 
Gretsch Streamliner CVT
Guitars Gretsch puts high-gain sounds on the menu as it adds the $249 CVT to entry-level Streamliner series
 
 
Gretsch Electromatic CVT Baritone in Bristol Fog brown sunburst finish shot on wood.
Electric Guitars "The baritone format might just be the CVT’s natural home": Gretsch Electromatic CVT Baritone review
 
 
The Gibson Custom Historic Reissue 1959 and 1962 ES-330
Guitars Gibson unveils exquisite Custom Shop Historic Reissues of the 1959 and ’62 ES-330s
 
 
Harley Benton SC-Special Hybrid
Guitars Harley Benton’s new $195 single-cuts have got a touch of the Nik Huber boutique vibe about them
 
 
Latest in Guitars
Joe Bonamassa demos his new signature Pawnshop Special P-90 pickups from Seymour Duncan.
Artists How a miracle pawn shop purchase in the depths of winter made Joe Bonamassa fall in love with P-90s:
 
 
Gibson x Baggs HiFi DNA Pickup
Guitars Have Gibson and Baggs cracked the code for amplified acoustic guitar tone? Meet the HiFi DNA system
 
 
Electro-Harmonix Adrian Belew Echoflanger
Guitars “Equal parts smooth operator and agent of chaos”: EHX and Adrian Belew resurrect the Echoflanger
 
 
IK Multimedia Tonex Board
Guitars IK Multimedia launches flagship amp modeller that lets you run four Tone Models simultaneously
 
 
Brian Fallon plays a Fender Telecaster onstage with the Gaslight Anthem.
Artists Brian Fallon on how ‘80s rock lit the fuse for his star-studded solo album
 
 
Coast Highway 101 at sunset
Guitars "He didn't tap a foot or move his head or anything. He listened to it all the way through and I thought he hated it": When an Eagle, Heartbreaker, Roger Linn and an Oberheim OB-X combined forces for a pop masterpiece – the Boys Of Summer story
 
 
Latest in News
Drake
Singles And Albums Drake drops his “self-funded surreal” short film, which includes new country-inspired tracks
 
 
Joe Bonamassa demos his new signature Pawnshop Special P-90 pickups from Seymour Duncan.
Artists How a miracle pawn shop purchase in the depths of winter made Joe Bonamassa fall in love with P-90s:
 
 
GTA VI
Singles And Albums “My Return To Game”: Travis Scott, and others, tease their inclusion on the upcoming GTA VI soundtrack
 
 
Millenium Drums MPS-1500
Electronic Drums The new Millenium Drums MPS-1500 e-kit could be the hybrid drum set you've been looking for
 
 
Queen guitarist Brian May during the total solar eclipse of 2026,
Guitarists Brian May on why he’s changed his mind on AI: “We have to resist. We have to control it. And very quickly"
 
 
Gibson x Baggs HiFi DNA Pickup
Guitars Have Gibson and Baggs cracked the code for amplified acoustic guitar tone? Meet the HiFi DNA system
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...