) Once the pilot was sold as a series, and Gretsch made the deal to supply the group with instruments, Nesmith contacted Fred Gretsch, and asked if he could make him a twelve-string electric guitar.

Fred Gretsch never found an adequate successor, and in 1967 Gretsch was sold to Baldwin Pianos, becoming a subsidiary.

In addition to recording, Atkins became a design consultant for Gretsch, who manufactured a popular Chet Atkins line of electric guitars from 1955 – 1980.

At the same time he grew dissatisfied with the direction Gretsch ( no longer family-owned ) was going and withdrew his authorization for them to use his name and began designing guitars with Gibson.

Bridges plays guitars such as: Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentlemen Model G6122-1959.

He can be seen using several of these guitars in the documentary The Kids Are Alright, although in the studio he often played a ' 59 Gretsch 6120 guitar ( given to him by Joe Walsh ), most notably on the albums Who's Next and Quadrophenia.

During the late 1960s, Martin manufactured hollow-body electric guitars similar to those manufactured by Gretsch.

* The Gretsch Company, manufacturers of drums, banjos and guitars, opens in Brooklyn, N. Y.

His main guitar, a Les Paul Standard ( fitted with a Les Paul Custom replacement neck after the original neck was broken ) was refinished in a translucent orange to resemble Gretsch guitars played by one of his heroes Eddie Cochran.

* Gretsch FilterTron-from 1957 to present ; famously used on the Country Gentleman and other hollow-body guitars.

The guitars White uses live are two 1965 JB Hutto Montgomery Airlines ( one which he received from a fan ), a three pickup Airline Town & Country ( used on tour with the Raconteurs and in the " Steady As She Goes " music video ), a Harmony Rocket, a 1970s-era Crestwood Astral II, 1950s-era Kay Hollowbody ( given to him by his brother in return for a favor ), a Gretsch White Penguin ( as seen in the music video for Icky Thump ), and a custom Gretsch Rancher Falcon acoustic guitar.

A company founded by luthier Friedrich Gretsch and continued by his son and grandson, Fred and Fred Jr., originally made banjos, but is more famous today for its electric guitars.

* DeArmond pickups ( found on various 50s and 60s guitars by various manufacturers including Gretsch, Guild, Epiphone, Martin, Kustom, Harmony, Regal, Premier, Silvertone, and others, but produced by the Rowe-DeArmond company of Toledo, Ohio ; the trade name is now owned by Fender ; single coil models including the 200 aka Dynasonic, 2K, and 2000, " mustache ", various " gold foil " types, and many clip on, rail, or screw mount pickups designed for acoustic guitars and other instruments ).

Other Fender brands include Squier ( entry level / budget ), Guild ( acoustic and electric guitars and amplifiers ), SWR ( bass amplification ), Passport Tacoma, Jackson, Charvel, Gretsch guitars and collaborated with Eddie Van Halen to make the EVH guitars and amplifiers.

In early 2003, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation made a deal with Gretsch and began manufacturing and distributing new Gretsch guitars.

The Californian guitar giant has recently purchased Kaman Music Corporation, which owns Ovation acoustic guitars, LP and Toca hand percussion products, Gibraltar Hardware, Genz Benz Amplification, Hamer Guitars and is the exclusive U. S. sales representative for Sabian Cymbals and exclusive worldwide distributor of Takamine Guitars and Gretsch Drums.

While Gibson provided many of the innovations in semi-acoustic guitars from the 1930s to the 1950s, there were also various makes by other companies including a hollow achtop by Gretsch.

Gibson, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, and other companies still make semi-acoustic and semi-hollow body guitars, making slight variations on their yearly designs.

Some companies that have produced famous semi-acoustic guitars include: Gibson, Gretsch and Rickenbacker.

Some Chinese made Gretsch guitars also have a CY serial number.

Bigsby vibratos are still factory installed on a variety of electric guitars, including certain instruments branded as PRS ( Starla ), Epiphone, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild, Hamer, Ibanez, Schecter Guitar Research as well as luthiers companies such as Motor Ave.

Archtop guitars were subsequently made by many top American luthiers, notably John D ' Angelico of New York and his student Jimmy D ' Aquisto, William Wilkanowski, Charles Stromberg and Son in Boston, and by other major manufacturers, notably Gretsch and Epiphone.

I actually had a different cover in mind ... It was ... a black and white of my daughter Olivia sitting on a guitar case, with this Gretsch anniversary model standing up behind her against this concrete wall, and she ’ s got a little white flower wreath in her hair.

At the age of 16 he obtained a Chet Atkins model Gretsch guitar, and formed a duo, Jimmy and Duane, with his friend Jimmy Delbridge ( who later recorded as Jimmy Dell ).

The Gretsch " Chet Atkins 6120 " model has long been associated with Eddy.

Hopwood recalls playing a Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar in the studio, with its strings muted in order to create the distinctive sound.

Ray Butts initially developed one on his own and later worked with Gretsch.

Interestingly, Eddie Cochran replaced his neck pick-up on his Gretsch with a P90 too.

He has endorsements with Gretsch Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Pro-mark drumsticks, Roland V-Drums and Protection Racket cases.

Gretsch advertising for the model prominently features Armstrong with the guitar.

For their first tour, Jack also played Gretsch Anniversary Jr. with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and three Filtertron pickups.

He also uses a Gretsch Rancher acoustic guitar and he now uses a custom Gretsch Anniversary Jr. with two cutaways, a built-in retractable microphone, and a theremin next to the Bigsby.

Also, he plays occasionally with his Gretsch Rancher, a Gibson J-160E.

Recently, he has featured his latest Gretsch, a custom white Billy Gibbons / Bo Diddley signature Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird in the music video for " Another Way to Die ", this guitar is also used on his concerts with The Dead Weather, but he also uses a black left-handed one since Sea of Cowards came out.

It is a custom white Gretsch Rancher with a gold double pickguard and a picture of Veronica Lake on the back.

Later he receives an invitation for a class reunion and a chance to meet up with his students at an event ( surprisingly ) staged by a full-grown Bell ( Joel Gretsch ), who is now extremely rich and successful.

He began with Gretsch drums.

Malcolm Young plays a Red 1963 Gretsch Double-cutaway Jet Firebird guitar handed down to him by Harry Vanda, along with elder brother George Young, of Easybeats fame.

The Gretsch Company at the time marketed a drum set under the ' Broadkaster ' name, and at their request Fender renamed it the ' Telecaster.

Following objections from Gretsch who produced the " Broadkaster " drum kit, this name was dropped, and some guitars were shipped with only the " Fender " logo decal and no model name ( commonly referred to these days as the " Nocaster.

It is based on his 1970's-era Gretsch Country Club model which he spray-painted black and flipped to accommodate his left-handed playing.

Astor then married Gertrude Gretsch, daughter of Walter Gretsch, in New York City on September 18, 1944.

Jon uses a variety of drums and cymbals on his kit ; brands such as Noble & Cooley, Gretsch, Ayotte, Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste, and Wuhan.

DeArmond pickups were widely used on instruments produced by Airline, D ’ Angelico, Eko, Epiphone, Fender, Galanti, Gretsch, Guild, Harmony, Hofner, Kustom, Levin, Martin, Meazzi, Messenger, Micro-Frets, Ovation, Premier, Silvertone, and Standel.

The dark, overtone-rich sound of these rather lightweight cymbals, combined with the rich, warm sound of his wood-shell drums ( he almost exclusively played Gretsch drums, although in later years was playing Slingerland drums ) equipped with natural calfskin top heads ( again, Lewis was a purist ), using regular mylar heads on the bottom, exuded a veritable treasure trove of sound.

Elvis Presley himself later owned a Gretsch Country Gentleman-( recently manufactured as " Gretsch Country Classic " but now renamed Chet Atkins Country Gentleman ), playing it briefly both on stage and in the studio.

Gretsch fortunes rose yet again in the early sixties when George Harrison played a Gretsch Country Gentleman on The Ed Sullivan Show.