Gretsch 6071 Bass 1968

Description

Late 60s Gretsch 6071 bass, aka: The Tennessean bass aka: "The Monkees" bass, featuring a gorgeous walnut finish.

This bass most accurately mimics the sound of an acoustic upright better than any electric bass I've played.

This bass bass a number of unique features that I'll do my best to describe here. The double blade humbucker is wired to two 3-way switches and a master volume knob. The lower switch is a kill switch, with the 'off' position being the middle position and the two side positions being 'on'. The upper switch is a tone selector with the front position having more treble, middle being standard and the back position having more bass. The third switch operates a felt mute by the bridge which is original and fully functional.

Other fun features include a fully hollow body (with access to the electronics and mute mechanism underneath the leather back pad. Painted-on F holes (which insure a feedback-free playing experience) and what is quite possibly the chunkiest neck profile in existence. If you like an old baseball bat neck, it doesn't get more like it than this. That may sound intimidating to some, but I find the thick neck combined with the short 29.5 scale to be quite comfortable once you get accustomed to it. The playing scale is short however the length of string past the bridge is so long that it still takes standard scale strings, and the flats that are on it are quite old and broken in, which is perfect for the old vintage tone.

Typical play wear for a vintage instrument with some buckle rash on the back, but aside from that it is in remarkably good cosmetic condition. One particular thing to note is that, aside from the cap on the back of the neck, the binding is completely intact! Binding rot is common in Gretsches of this era and plagues many examples of this bass but this one is spotless all around the body!

Evidence around the neck pocket shows that the neck has been reset at some point in the past and the resulting action is excellent.

All parts appear to be original and fully functional.

Included is a newer Gretsch case in good condition (a slit has been cut in the padding by the lower strap button to allow the bass to better fit within the case)