One of the guitars that started it
all... "A very special instrument… The Holy
Grail",
according to Joe
Carducci, the Sr. Product Manager for Gretsch
Guitars. Guitar Player Magazine called this amazing
guitar “One of the Most Important
Electric Guitars of All Time!
This is The Early
6120 Black Sealed Top Proto that was made famous
when Chet Atkins played "Dark Eyes", the famous
Russian Folk Song on it so many years ago. This
guitar was the precursor for all things to come
in the future with the relationship of Chet
Atkins and Gretsch. One of the guitars that
started it all when it comes to all things
Gretsch and Chet Atkins!
This amazing
and very historical piece was of course created
especially for, and owned and used by Chet
Atkins early in his career, and worked
on/experimented by and with the genius - Ray
Butts. Chet and Ray experimented with pickups,
sound control, separating bass (phantom bass)
notes off to a separate amplifier channel…
notice the pole pieces embedded into the fret
board of the guitar… and so much more. Later in
Chet’s career, this guitar was given as a gift
to famous sound engineer Bill Porter - who
helped shape the Nashville sound and recorded
such stars as Chet Atkins, Louis Armstrong, the
Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Barbara
Streisand, Diana Ross, Ike & Tina Turner, Sammy
Davis Jr., and Roy Orbison and so many more.
Some years later this guitar became part of the
legendary Scott "Chinery Collection" and was
featured in his book. A little later it was
displayed for quite some time at the Smithsonian
Institute Museum.
Les Paul's personal
luthier, guitar tech, soundman and close friend
Tom Doyle, has owned this guitar for going on
18+ years now. Tom was the special luthier and
curator of Scott Chinery Collection. Scott knew
that Tom had always revered the instrument and
he also knew that Tom had worked with Chet and
was such an admirer of Chet’s talents. So one
day, in a grand gesture of his appreciation,
Scott generously bestowed this essential guitar
to Tom as a gift for all of his hard work and
dedication, knowing it would be taken care of.
In an ironic twist of fate Scott Chinery passed
away, all too early about a week later. This
splendid piece is the seminal instrument of all
things to come as far as Chet Atkins and
Gretsch... and is the very essence of so many
models to come. Without this guitar, there would
be no 6120, there would be no Country Gentleman,
no George Harrison Model, no Brian Setzer, etc,
etc. Gibson had their Mr. Les Paul, and Gretsch
had Chet Atkins - This guitar was the beginning
of it all for Gretsch and Chet Atkins. So you
can see that this is way more than just a
guitar... it’s a piece of American Musical
History!
Joe Carducci, Gretsch Guitar's Senior Product
Manager came to inspect and evaluate The Original
Chet Atkins 6120 Prototype Black Sealed Top with
Gold F Holes at Tom Doyle's Custom Guitar Shop back
in 2013. He called it "The Holy Grail" as far as all
things Gretsch guitars are concerned. Search “Joe
Carducci Dark Eyes” on YouTube for the whole
interview. This guitar has been featured in several
guitar magazines and other publications for over 30
years, and in November of 2013 Guitar Aficionado
Magazine did a wonderful spread on the guitar and
called the article “Black Gold: The Story of a Truly
One-of-a-Kind 6120 that Gretsch Built for Chet
Atkins in 1956”. Guitar Player Magazine called this
amazing guitar “One of the Most Important Electric
Guitars of All Time! There are several YouTube
videos of Tommy Emmanuel talking about and playing
this guitar.
.
Joe
Carducci
of
Gretsch
shows
The Chet
Atkins
Proto
Tom
Doyle
does in
hand
interview
on "Dark
Eyes"
Tommy Emmanuel Brings
DARK EYES Home To Nashville After 55 Years
In the summer of 2016, Tom Doyle and his good friend Tommy
Emmanuel brought the instrument back home to Nashville as an
homage to Chet, The Gretsch Guitar Company, and to Country
Music Community as a whole. Tommy played this guitar at The
Grand Ole Opry and then again at the Country Music Hall Of
Fame Special Gretsch Event a few days later… The YouTube
Video “Tommy Emmanuel Plays Chet Atkins' Dark Eyes"
is fast approaching one million views! We highly recommend
watching this… it’s very beautiful and very moving.
TOMMY EMMANUEL
PLAYING "DARK EYES" AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY
The guitar on
display with Guitar Aficionado Magazine's
Article entitled - "BLACK GOLD"
Here's a fun video of Tommy Emmanuel
playing "Dark Eyes" in New York City...
a little sing along and some joking
around.
Here's Chet playing Alabama Jubilee on
this guitar... On the Purina Grand Ole
Opry Show.
Steve Howe of YES
Fame (left) & Martin Taylor (right) used Chet's DARK EYES to
Record their "Masterpiece Guitars" Album
To say that this guitar is famous... well that's a bit of an
understatement. This piece has been featured in many
Magazines.
Tom Doyle -
Les Paul's Guitar Tech
Joe Carducci - Gretsch's Head Man
Joe & Tom came together to
inspect, document, admire, and commemorate this
great historical guitar...
Joe Carducci called it "The Holy Grail" when it
comes to all things Gretsch
This rare and special guitar
was featured in The Chinery
Collection: 150 Years of American
Guitars
This very special, rare, and valuable piece of Americana is
now being offered for sale… and it is our fondest wish that
this special piece of Chet Atkins’ legacy finally come to
rest on display into perpetuity at the Chet Atkins Exhibit
at the Country Music Hall Of Fame for all to appreciate and
marvel. Alas, that is not for us to decide… but maybe the
buyer would consider that as an option down the road.
Lastly, we would like to thank Tommy Emmanuel, Joe
Carducci, Fred Gretsch, John Knowles, Chris Gill, Mike
Molenda, Rudy Pensa, Thom Bresh, Craig Shelburne, and many
others… and of course our friend and hero, Mr. Chet Atkins!
TOM
DOYLE - LES PAUL'S LUTHIER/GUITAR
TECH/SOUNDMAN FOR 45 YEARS ~
While
Les Paul was certainly more than a genius in
his quest for his ultimate sound, tone, and
understanding of music and the instruments
that it took to get there, for over four
decades he relied constantly on Tom Doyle to
make his guitars whole again after he
chopped them to pieces in has mad pursuit of
that sound in his head. Most people
automatically assume that because there is a
famous guitar with his name on it, that Les
was a guitar builder, tech, bench man, etc.,
and knew how to build, repair and refurbish
guitars. That just simply was not the
case... he relied on Tom for that. Tom and
Les worked on countless projects over the
40+ years together and Tom is nothing less
than a walking/talking encyclopedia about
all things Les Paul, Gibson, build specs,
musical history, and knows more about
guitars of all kinds than anyone you will
ever encounter alive today. History is funny
sometimes... Often there's more legend,
lore, hearsay, fiction, and spin than actual
truth to certain stories as they get passed
around over time. That's certainly the case
with regard to the legacy of Mr. Les Paul -
one of the most creative, ingenious, and
important musicians and inventors of this or
any other time. Even though Les is/was a
recent figure in music history over the last
millennium... the man, his guitars, his
contribution to music, and his influence are
covered in myth... mired in misinformation
and laden with erroneous fable. One man was
there, through it all... the ups and the
downs, the good times and the bad, the major
discoveries and the foibles - and that was
Tom Doyle. Tom was Les' close friend,
confidant, co-inventor, ear, sounding board,
and fixer for all those decades. Its been
said before, but never was it so true - Tom
Doyle was "The
man behind the man".
This guitar was even featured in the
Smithsonian National Museum Of American
History!
These are the
professionals an/or institutions that
have certified this instrument as being
THE Chet Atkins Gretsch 6120 Prototype
Sealed Top that started the whole
relationship between Chet Atkins and
Gretsch:
Mr. Scott
Chinery - one of the world's most renowned
guitar collectors
The Smithsonian
National Museum of American History
Mr. Thomas
Doyle - Les Paul's personal guitar tech for
45 year and Luthier to The Stars
Mr. Tommy
Emmanuel -
Chet Atkins' Protégé
and one of Chet's CGP
Mr. John Knowles
- Grammy Award winning Chet Atkins' CGP
Mr. Tom Bresch -
Chet Atkins Appreciations Society - Merle
Travis' son
Mr. Chris Gill
- Editor-in-Chief of Guitar Aficionado
Magazine
Mr. Joe
Carducci - Senior Product Manager for
Gretsch Guitar
This guitar
truly is a prototype in every sense of the word...
The guitar has been changed, adapted, morphed,
experimented on, parts changed out, pickups put in
and taken out, hardware taken on and off, colors
changed, etc... all by Chet Atkins himself and Ray
Butts (a genius in his own right) over the life of
the guitar. This in order for Chet to ultimately
become the endorser and spokesman for Gretsch
Guitars. This guitar was the beginning of all of
it...
This info
just barely scratches the surface... if you are a
bona fide actual buyer and want to know more,
there's lots more info, photos, provenance info,
etc. If you would like to know more, or need more
information... simply contact us.
The 1956 Chet
Atkins Gretsch 6120 Prototype - AKA "DARK EYES"
While
Les Paul was certainly more than a genius in
his quest for his ultimate sound, tone, and
understanding of music and the instruments
that it took to get there, for over four
decades he relied constantly on Tom Doyle to
make his guitars whole again after he
chopped them to pieces in has mad pursuit of
that sound in his head. Most people
automatically assume that because there is a
famous guitar with his name on it, that Les
was a guitar builder, tech, bench man, etc.,
and knew how to build, repair and refurbish
guitars. That just simply was not the
case... he relied on Tom for that. Tom and
Les worked on countless projects over the
40+ years together and Tom is nothing less
than a walking/talking encyclopedia about
all things Les Paul, Gibson, build specs,
musical history, and knows more about
guitars of all kinds than anyone you will
ever encounter alive today. History is funny
sometimes... Often there's more legend,
lore, hearsay, fiction, and spin than actual
truth to certain stories as they get passed
around over time. That's certainly the case
with regard to the legacy of Mr. Les Paul -
one of the most creative, ingenious, and
important musicians and inventors of this or
any other time. Even though Les is/was a
recent figure in music history over the last
millennium... the man, his guitars, his
contribution to music, and his influence are
covered in myth... mired in misinformation
and laden with erroneous fable. One man was
there, through it all... the ups and the
downs, the good times and the bad, the major
discoveries and the foibles - and that was
Tom Doyle. Tom was Les' close friend,
confidant, co-inventor, ear, sounding board,
and fixer for all those decades. Its been
said before, but never was it so true - Tom
Doyle was
"The
man behind the man".