SOLD! - Masterbuilt Gretsch Double Anniversary Custom Shop G6118TCST Relic Smoke

In 2005, senior Master Builder Stephen Stern officially took the custom design and production reins, and with a small crew, a little upstairs corner workshop at the Fender factory in Corona, California, became the Gretsch Custom Shop. Despite its prolific success, the Gretsch Custom Shop remained a remarkably small operation over the years (just Stern and two other builders by the end of 2012). “Our shop is small and it is very old-world like,” said Stern. “We have our own tooling and machines, a close-knit group of guys and we pretty much do everything up here.”
 
“It’s the attention to detail,” Stern said. “It’s the feel of it. With a Gretsch Custom Shop instrument, you can tell the difference when it’s in your hands. I think what is also so special about Gretsch guitars is that they lend themselves to this crazy and diverse palette of options — from all kinds of different colors to different woods to sparkle binding and finishes. It just all works in a way that doesn’t with other brands.” “We are successful because every person in this shop takes pride in what they do; they love being here, and that shows in the product,” said Kyle Keesler, who joined the team in 2017. “Every single guitar we make is with love and are among the most beautiful guitars in the world.”
 
In 2007, Stern and his crew hand built 75 pieces of the amazing G6118T-R-CST Anniversary Relic guitars and this is one of them!
 
This classic ’58-style stunning beauty is highlighted by a sultry, vintage-correct two-tone Smoke Green (50's Cadillac) finish and a pair of TV Jones pickups that deliver the classic Filter’Tron sound. It also features trestle bracing, a Space Control bridge, Gretsch Bigsby B6C vibrato tailpiece and commemorative headstock plate. The back of the headstock is signed by Gretsch Senior Master Builder Stephen Stern and features the Gretsch Custom Shop Logo.
 
Each of the 75 G6118T guitars has been Relic'ed with some cosmetic aging (”A few bumps and bruises” as Stern puts it) and a carefully checked finish, as if someone bought the guitar new in the late ’50s, played it a few times and kept it in its case under the bed or in the closet all these years. It’s a real beauty and the closest thing to an original mid-50’s Anniversary model you can get. This one came straight out of a collection and includes all case candy, COA certificate, Gretsch Strap, booklets, Gretsch hardshell case etc.