Thursday, November 7, 2024
GuitarGuitar Effects

5 THINGS YOU DIDN&’T KNOW ABOUT GEORGE HARRISON&’S GRETSCH TENNESSEAN + Tone Demo [4K]


You asked for it – here it is! 5 things you didn’t know about George Harrison’s Gretsch Tennessean!

Here we cover several aspects of the Gretsch 6119 (aka Tennessean or Tennessee Rose), which is my personal favorite Gretsch model. Something about the HiLo’Tron pickups, body shape, and overall feel of the instrument addicted me from the very first time I played one…and I’ve never regretted my purchase!

Mine is a late 2000s model made in Japan – G6119-1962HT if I’m not mistaken. Incredibly, I bought it brand new “back then” for $899 when Musician’s Friend, still a relatively new website, closed out these models to make room for the “newer” ones with Chet Atkins’ signature on the pickguard. I believe the current model is G6119T-62, but I have no idea if they’re still manufactured with the same *top-notch* Japanese quality today.

TENNESSEAN SERIAL REVEAL: https://youtu.be/bDJwkAFZUSI
DONATE: https://nickmartellaro.com/#donate 🙂
COVERS + ISOLATED TRACKS on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/nickmartellaro

0:00 Intro
0:11 #1 of Many Gretsches
0:50 #2 Early Beatle Gear
1:58 #3 A Cheaper Guitar
3:59 #4 Single Coil Sound
4:22 #5 Stolen, Lost, or Missing
5:28 TONE: Knobs & Switches
7:37 TONE: Sound Demo

Also, I realize I said “Thomastik” wrong. No one reads this far in the description, so I’ll get a ton of comments anyhow. The Austrian guy from TI on YouTube says “TOH-MASS-TICK” – you guys have to understand, I’m trying my best to pronounce brand names I’ve literally never heard said OUT LOUD in real life (and have been saying wrong since before the internet existed). That said, go to your local music store and ask about Rickenbackers, Thomastiks, and Hofner products and see if the teenager working there pronounces it properly. 😉

DISCLAIMER: This video is for educational purposes only. All images and video footage falls under fair use laws. TONE DEMO: Absolutely no audio from the original recording has been used in this video. This demonstration is for educational purposes ONLY under fair use. No copyright infringement is intended. My videos are provided as INSTRUCTION to help you learn how to play and sing these songs yourself. For this reason, many of my videos feature footage of a song’s construction (both instrumentally and vocally) to aid you in this learning process. All audio tracks are intentionally mixed with louder instrument levels and further channel separation than the original recordings to help isolate sections when learning. They should NOT be sold, duplicated, or distributed without the original copyright holder’s permission. If you enjoy this music, support the original artists and BUY the officially released versions.

#DIDN39T #GEORGE #HARRISON39S #GRETSCH #TENNESSEAN #Tone #Demo

Originally posted by UCZyGd11EGza8rhT3oT4t_TA at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw_9sXph6dM

20 thoughts on “5 THINGS YOU DIDN&’T KNOW ABOUT GEORGE HARRISON&’S GRETSCH TENNESSEAN + Tone Demo [4K]

  • Excellent video about this particular guitar. Great job with sampling all the switch/tone settings.

    BUT, did anyone notice that your Butcher Cover is in STEREO! Supposedly, only 10% of the 100,000 copies were made in stereo. I picked up a stereo butcher from the ground at a NYC flea market in the mid 70s. It's been framed on my walls ever since.

    Reply
  • Nice job! Right to the point and no opinionated bull. Always wondered what all those switches and knobs did. BTW You’re really rocking that nerd persona quite well!
    JJZ…(°¿.°`)

    Reply
  • Smoke on the Water doesn't sound anything like Blackmore, but it sounds really good!

    Reply
  • I had a 63 country gentleman. I liked it but it weighed a ton. My shoulder was killing me after a 3 hr gig so I traded it for a light as a feather gibson es225 td.

    Reply
  • Nice! I also got mine G6119-1962HT (No Chet signature) from that same Musicians' Friend closeout. They kept lowering the price, then boom! Got mine at $1,000. I decided to hot rod the thing. So I installed TV Jones Supertrons, Schaller locking tuners and Tru-arc bridge. Sounds great, but definitely not like the Beatles. Which is kind of a shame. Now I need to get another one just like George's. lol

    Reply
  • Great job Nick, I've got an '04 Tenny and ❤❤❤ it! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of George's Gretsches.????????

    Reply
  • How's about a detective looking for George's Gibson 345, that is a mysterious guitar.

    Reply
  • Nice Demo, really showed this Guitar well. Personally I liked the 68 Super Filteron pickups the best of all the Gretsch pickups. I would imagine tv jones has those well replicated. Boy am I glad they filmed that 1965 Shea Stadium concert, wish we had 66 too. They were Great live, and in 65 the pa system was getting bigger so we could hear them over the jet airplane screams.

    Reply
  • I owned one. The 1 thing I didn't like about it was the bridge held in place by string tension and friction.

    Reply
  • Excellent !! What a great display of that guitar. Good work. Thanks ! You really showed how those classic tones were attained.

    Reply
  • I bought a Chet Atkins model of the Tennessean in the late 1960's. It was my first big boy guitar. I didn't know about the George Harrison connection, I just loved it's sound and it fit the music I was playing at the time. I didn't think of it as a "cheap" guitar. I don't recall the price, but know it was a lot to me back then. My Tennessean definitely had a string mute and the f holes were trimmed in white. I played the guitar until the late 70's when music had changed somewhat and the Gretsch was no longer in vogue. I traded it even for a new Fender acoustic 12 string. Although I really liked the Fender and got a lot of use out of it, I really regret the decision to make the trade.

    Reply
  • hey you're a heck of a player! years ago i had my experiment with Daddario chromes and couldn't hack it as i guess i'm too heavy-handed, LOL! i remember thinking those chromes would be good for a kid to play bass on guitar with.

    Reply
  • Hey ! Nick, So lovely to see that you have taken the time and thought to explore dear George Harrison’s guitar. Wonderful the way demonstrated the various sounds this ‘ beauty’ produce. I am sure Chet & George must have been watching!
    May they both Rest In Peace ????????
    Thank you ☺️

    Reply
  • Hi Nick, a few years ago when we were 'locked-down', in the UK due to the world-wide Covid epidemic, I must have listened to all of your Beatles covers…and much more besides. All fab stuff.
    Along with your videos about John's Rickenbacker guitars, this is very, very interesting too.
    The sound samples really show how essential these guitars are to George's sound at the time. I often wondered what all those switches actually did.
    Tremendous video.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *