Is this really a Gretsch?

Stuckfast

It's certainly... old.

Never seen a Gretsch logo like that before, though.

Kittyfrisk

Dunno, but I wonder if that's original duct tape or later replacement ? 

ICBM

I think it’s a late 60s or early 70s Japanese Gretsch copy.

Kurtis

Could do with a once over. 

TheMarlin

No. 

strtdv

Kurtis said:

Could do with a once over. 

Looks like it's had a once over with a road roller 

OilCityPickups

Clues:
1. two sets of position markers - the Gretsch style 'thumbnails' looking very amateur.
2.uneven heights to the letters in the Gretsch stamping, both on the pickups and the neck plate. Usually a sign of a 'ruler and hand punch' approach to marking.
3. Very Japanese style pickups. I tried to find the exact model in various reference materials I have access to ... but no exact match. Still, I'd say Japanese. 

My best guess? An amateur/small workshop made Japanese Gretsch 'Chibson' from the early 70s.

A fascinating bit of history I'd buy for £20 at a boot sale and keep as a long term, hang on the wall project ... £180 noooooooooo

WezV

This kind of thing

https://reverb.com/item/25361301-vintage-1960-s-ventura-hollowbody-electric-country-gentleman-dark-brown-painted-f-holes-bridge-mute-gretsch-copy

OilCityPickups

Getting close  @WezV :-)
I was given an old guitar branded Hofner years ago ... that clearly wasn't ... it was one of these, doctored with a fairly convincing Hofner logo ... so the fakers of Japan were clearly 'at it' :-)

Lawriejones1

Anyone who pays money for this is mad.

OilCityPickups

Lawriejones1 said:

Anyone who pays money for this is mad.

Someone will ...  in just over an hour 
The fact he started the auction at £130 tells you all you need to know about the seller ...

HarrySeven

Agree with previous posts - MIJ, ‘60’s. 

Useful if you need a set of vintage Ibanez machine heads, but beyond that…

TheMarlin

HarrySeven said:

Agree with previous posts - MIJ, ‘60’s. 

Useful if you need a set of vintage Ibanez machine heads, but beyond that…

Or vintage duct tape…

nero1701

Spot of t-cut, you'll be fine..

Lawriejones1

OilCityPickups said:

Lawriejones1 said:

Anyone who pays money for this is mad.

Someone will ...  in just over an hour 
The fact he started the auction at £130 tells you all you need to know about the seller ...

Yep I’m forever amazed by the junk people will pay for!

OilCityPickups

Lawriejones1 said:

OilCityPickups said:

Lawriejones1 said:

Anyone who pays money for this is mad.

Someone will ...  in just over an hour 
The fact he started the auction at £130 tells you all you need to know about the seller ...

Yep I’m forever amazed by the junk people will pay for!

If you remember, a while back there was a Jedson Les Paul Deluxe gold top copy with a broken headstock that went for silly money. All a scummy seller has to do is vaguely 'suggest' the guitar might be the musical equivalent of a lost Van Gough, and the natural greed enthusiasm of the buyer for the 'bargain of the century' will hook the punter like wriggling eel. Like taking candy from a baby. 
I'm fast getting to a point where I don't really feel that sorry for buyers who can't be bothered to 'do their homework'. It took all of us five minutes to suss out what that instrument most likely was ... and how worthless it is.  

OilCityPickups

Yep ... sold for £180 :-)

thermionic

All the above comments could not prepare me to the reality of how bad that was. Putting the name Gretsch in quotation marks is a red flag that the buyer knows he's selling a fake imho.

OilCityPickups

thermionic said:

Putting the name Gretsch in quotation marks is a red flag that the buyer knows he's selling a fake imho.

Absolutely ... but there appears to be a twat born every minute. :-)

BillDL

Out of curiosity I watched the last couple of minutes to see whether several watchers would fire in last minute bids to take it above £180, but I was surprised to see that it just stayed at £180 with the 4 bids.

I have a very good quality Japanese early to mid 70s ES-175D clone with "Custom" on the headstock in sloping Gibson type lettering that I did up into a really good guitar.  It cost me about £250 in parts to repair and restore it, which sounds ridiculous, but I acquired the guitar for nothing and if I was to search for a guitar of equivalent quality, appearance, condition and playability to the way mine is now I would probably be lucky to find anything for less than £900.  It was pretty bashed about with dings and I needed to do a full refret, but it was worth the time and expense.

The guitar that sold for £180 on eBay, however, was an absolute wreck that looked as though it had been stored in a damp cellar after falling out of a car onto the motorway.  It would need a HUGE amount of work to make it playable, but I'm sure it could never be made to look even half decent.

DartmoorHedgehog

I just had a look at it... £180! WTF!  Unless the parts on that are worth loads you'd have to be insane to pay anything for that - I reckon @OilCityPickups offer of £20 at that hypothetical boot sale wouldn't be a good deal either.

Half the side missing and what's left of the wood looks like it's been in a river. It's like a Viking artifact you'd see in a museum and think "that's in remarkable condition for its age".  Even if it wasn't a copy surely it's worth sod all once it gets that bad.

Somebody's either mad or knows something we don't.