The 6130 Round Up intro- duced its most famous
flattop—the Rancher—in 1954.
The Rancher was a 17"-wide
jumbo acoustic with a triangular
soundhole based on Gretsch’s
earlier 125F, but with Western-themed decorations similar to
the Chet Atkins 6120, 6121,
and the 6130 Round Up. The
model boasted a Golden Red
finish, and you can see one of
these eye-catching guitars being
violently strummed by Paul
Peek of Gene Vincent’s Blue
Caps in the classic 1956 film
The Girl Can’t Help I.
The stunning orange 1957
behemoth spotlighted this month
has the features typical to the
model’s evolution that year. These
include an extremely figured
maple back and sides, large trian-
gular rosewood bridge supporting
an adjustable rosewood saddle, a
“G” brand, a 25 1/2"-scale rose-
wood fretboard on a maple neck,
pearloid humped-block fretboard
inlays (replacing the original
block inlays engraved with cow
and cactus designs), a horseshoe
headstock inlay (replacing the
original steer’s head), and a plain
gold pickguard (replacing the ear-
lier tortoiseshell ’guard).
Above Left: Gretsch offered a lifetime guarantee against defects
in workmanship or materials to the original owner.
Above Right: The large triangular rosewood bridge and adjustable
rosewood saddle are among this instrument’s unique features.
Gretsch guitars can be found
in Gretsch: The Guitars of the
Fred Gretsch Company by Jay
Scott.
Original price: $275
Current estimated market value:
$3500
DAVE’S GUITAR SHOP
Dave Rogers’ collection is tended
by Laun Braithwaite and Tim Mullally
and is on display at:
Dave’s Guitar Shop
1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
davesguitar.com
Photos by Mullally and text
by Braithwaite.
