This is one of sweetest guitars we’ve ever had, a Gretsch Super Chet, model 7690, made somewhere between 1973 and 1980, in Excellent Condition, and a thing of absolute beauty!  It is outfitted with twin Filtertrons and plays like a dream, be it jazz, blues, rock or country.  The action is fast, the neck is sweet and the body very comfortable. These are very rarely seen, and to have one this nice come into the shop has been a thrill. Believe me, we won’t mind hanging onto it!

Coming into the shop, this Gretsch needed very little.  It did need to have the neck relief adjusted, which requires a #8 spanner bit, by the way, accessed below the plate on the back of the neck joint. We also had to adjust the bridge saddle heights to conform to a 15” radius.  We reset the pickup heights and adjusted the pole pieces to conform with Gretsch factory specs, gave everything a good cleaning, and the guitar leapt to life.  

This one came to us from an estate auction in Indiana, where we learned that it was a one owner guitar.  It had no case and apparently, never left that original owner’s house.  

What you will note is that there is some surface damage to the rear of the headstock.  This is where the Gretsch serial number would have been stamped, and it has been removed.  We checked in with a couple managers of guitar stores in our area and they confirmed that this was a standard practice for Gretsch with guitars that had reached a dealership and were determined to have some manner of damage that could warrant a factory repair.  If the damage was electronic, the guitar would go back to Gretsch and get fixed. If the damage was finish related, Gretsch would offer the dealership a discount to keep the guitar, as long as they obscured the serial number so it could not be registered for warranty.  Finish repairs are a much more difficult undertaking and Gretsch would probably have just trashed a guitar that was returned to them. At this point, some 50 years later, it is impossible to know what marks on the guitar today, were also there when it was new.  There are a series of small scratches in the back, an inch or two below the treble cutaway and beneath the finish.  That might be what the fuss was about.

Here are the important specs:

Baldwin era, made in Boonesville Arkansas 1973-80

Maple Body and Neck (two Piece)

17” Lower Bout

Single Cutaway

Bound F-holes

Gold Hardware

2.5” deep body

Two Gretsch Filtertron Humbucking Pickups

Ebony Fretboard with Abalone Inlays

Schaller Tuners

Zero Fret

Master Volume, Volume, Volume, Tone, Tone on Raised Pickguard

22 Frets

24.5” scale

1 3/4” Nut

2 1/2” string Spacing at Adjustomatic Bridge (ideal for Fingerstyle)

Autumn Red Finish

Action: Low E 4.5/64”, High E 1/16”

If you are a Gretsch nut, like so many of us, this is one fantastic opportunity. In my own collection, I play a ’56 Duo Jet, a ’67 Tennessean and a ’76 Country Gent.  The Filtertrons on my Country Gent are the same as the Filtertrons on this Super Chet and they are among my favorite pickups.  They produce a tone that is warm, clear, and round, but also has plenty of that Gretsch Jangle that led the British Invasion. The string spacing here makes it ideal for finger style or hybrid picking, so it really has versatility out the wazoo.  Everything about this guitar works perfectly and we find it is a very comfortable guitar to strap on.  Gretsch guitars are known for being ergonomically very well balanced.

Since it did not have a case (and has a 17” lower bout!), we have outfitted it with an On-Stage padded gig bag in which it is nestled comfortably.

Please be sure to check out the photos carefully, as we have tried to capture this Gretsch from all angles.

This Gretsch Super Chet is sold AS IS and is not returnable unless it arrives in a condition other than as described or photographed, here.

Price: $4000.00 plus $145 shipping (Lower 48 USA, only)