The Princess and several other models debuted in 1962 as part of the second wave of corvette guitars.  It was rare in that it was actually aimed at female guitar players.  It was similar to the other Corvette guitars but it featured extra padding on the back and came in four different pastel colors.  Gretsch also sold the guitar with a matching amp and various straps.

Unfortunately, the Princess model didn’t bring in the waves of women guitarists that Gretsch had hoped, and the guitar was discontinued in 1963.  Today, most Princess models that can still be found are white with gold pickguards.  The other colors, the matching amps, and the other accessories Gretsch created to go with the 6106 models are even rarer, and few can be found these days.

The Princess was primarily made using a mahogany body.  It also featured gold hardware that was not seen with some of the other, similar Corvette guitars.  In addition to the gold color scheme, a few Princess guitars were made with green, princess blue, and princess pink highlights.  The fretboard was made from rosewood, and the guitar used a Gretsch trapeze tailpiece.

In fact, the Songbird model was very rare.  It was identical to the 6104 and 6105 models with two exceptions: it featured G soundholes and it didn’t have the rally stripe on it.  That stripe and the unique color combinations that the Rally guitars came, were really about all that made it unique.

The Songbird came in a 16 inch body width and a double cutaway hollowbody style, exactly like the Rally guitars.  It featured a rosewood fretboard and T-zone tempered treble fretboard markers.  The controls included a master volume, neck pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, and pickup selector switch.

All in all, the Songbird is one of the rarer Gretsch instruments out there, and overall, it’s really not that different from the Rally versions.  Finding any of these three guitars can be a bit difficult since they were discontinued in 1970 and were never very popular, but finding a Songbird can be very difficult.

When it was introduced in 1967, the 6105 Rally featured dual HiLoTron pickups.  However, there were already many different guitars featuring these pickups on the market, so it was nothing truly special.  The only thing that really made it stand out was the fact that it came in many unique colors.  Copper mist, bamboo yellow, and the now-classic rally green had never been used on guitars before.

The guitar did feature a few other oddities, including an onboard active treble booster switch.  This wasn’t really useful since the HiLoTron pickups already gave the guitar a lot of treble.  The Rally 6105 featured a double cutaway hollowbody and a rosewood fretboard.  The fretboard markers were T-Zone tempered treble, and the neck and bridge both featured HiLoTron pickups.

In addition to the 6104 and 6105 Rally models, a Songbird model was also produced.  It was slightly different than the other two.  The Rally guitars were discontinued in 1970.

It’s hard to justify buying a guitar based on the colors and the stripes that the 6104 featured.  These sporty looking stripes were featured on the truss rod cover and the pickguard.  The colors were odd combinations that hadn’t been used on any other guitar at the time, including things like copper mist and bamboo yellow.  This model also introduced Rally Green, a shade of green that was more drab than other greens used at the time.

The 6104 Rally guitar also featured an onboard active treble booster switch, something that wasn’t really that useful since HiLoTrons already had a lot of treble in them.  While all of this combines to create a guitar that it seems few would have any interest in, there was one good feature about these two models: they were fairly cheap, retailing for only about $395.

While the 6104 and the 6105 Rally models were the main two produced, there was also a Songbird model that featured G soundholes and did not include the striping.

Even though it’s closer to the 6123, there are, of course, some differences.  The Monkees model featured a unique, different kind of fretboard.  This fretboard featured new classic inlays on both the bass and the treble sides of the instrument’s neck.  On the other hand, the Streamliner features only inlays on the bass side only, which is what is now known as the traditional Gretsch setup.  The 6103 Streamliner series also moved the tone and the pickup switches to the upper bass bout while the 6123 had all of its controls grouped on the treble side.

The 6103 has a 16 inch body width done in a double cutaway hollowbody style.  It has a rosewood fretboard, neo-classic fretboard markers, and a bone nut.  The neck pickups are SuperTron, and it features five controls: master volume, neck and bridge pickup volume, a pickup selector switch, and a tone switch.

While the 6103 Streamliner isn’t one of the classic Gretsch instruments, it’s still a very nice guitar, and it plays very well.

First of all, the 6123 featured a unique fretboard.  It had what is now known as the classic inlays on the treble and the bass sides of the neck, while the Streamliners featured only inlays on the bass side only.  This is the setup that Gretsch traditionally used on most of their guitars.  The Streamliners also had the tone and pickup switches in the upper bass bout, while the Monkees model had all of the controls grouped on the treble side.

The 6102 Streamliner was produced in 1968, and it featured a double cutaway hollowbody, a rosewood fretboard, neo-classic fretboard markers, and SuperTron neck and bridge pickups.  Its controls included a master volume, neck pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, a pickup selector switch, and a tone switch.

While the original Country Club guitar was one of Gretsch’s first successful electric guitars, the 6101, which was introduced in 1958, never really caught on.  Based on the 6030 and the 6031, the 6101 Country Club Stereo drew on many of Gretsch’s strengths.  They included some features of the 6192, the 6193, and the 6196.  However, there were some changes.  The 6101 models used FillerTron pickups instead of DeArmonds.  They also featured a tone switch instead of a knob, and the pickups were more closely spaced together. In addition to the 6101 model, some Country Club Stereos were marketed as 6102 and 6103 models.

The Country Club line was actually produced until the Gretsch factory closed in 1981, making it Gretsch’s longest selling model.  However, few were produced during the 1970s.  Because they were not popular, very few 6101 Country Club Stereo models were made at this time.

The 6101 featured a 17 inch body that was done in a single cutaway hollowbody style.  It had an ebony fretboard, bone nuts, and FillerTron pickups.  The model wasn’t changed much over the years, probably because it was fairly unsuccessful.

Under each guitar brand you’ll find a number of different relic guitars made by that company.  Under Nash guitars, for example, you’ll see entries for the S-57, S-68, and the S-63 in addition to general information about Bill Nash and his guitars.  These entries are highly detailed and include some history about each model, a picture, and specifications about its body, neck, and other parts.  You won’t find a more detailed description of these guitars anywhere.

Guitar Relic has more than just information about each type of guitar, though.  They also have a relic guitar shop.  The shop is arranged by type of guitar, so you can quickly see what types of relic telecasters, Stratocasters, and jazzmasters are available.  Categories for Gretsch, Fender, and Nash are also available.  You can also look at relic guitar parts.  Each category lists a number of different eBay auctions.  You can quickly see the name of the item up for sale, an image of the item, the current price, and the length of the auction.

The site is rounded out with a featured video that focused on a relic guitar.  There’s also an email newsletter you can subscribe to if you want to keep up with the site updates and information.  Guitar Relic is a great site for anyone who has loved and collected relic guitars for years or for those just getting into the hobby.

This guitar, which is very similar to the other Van Eps models that Gretsch has created, features a 4+3 setup, a gold model plaque, custom 14-pole FilterTrons for the pickups, special FilterTron covers, and even an unique seven-string tailpiece.  The Van Eps had their seventh string tuned to A, while today’s seven-strings are generally tuned to B.  The 6080 Van Eps were produced between 1968 and 1971, after which Gretsch discontuned their seven-string instruments because there wasn’t much interest.  Today, however, more and more players have become fascinated by seven-string instruments, and so the 6080 Van Eps has become sought after.

During the time the guitar was produced, Gretsch did create a very small number of 6080 models that only had six strings.  Today, these models are very hard to find, and if you do find one, chances are, you’ll pay quite a lot for it.  Even the seven-string guitars may be pricey, depending on the condition of the instrument.

In addition to the seven-string 6079 Van Eps, a six-string model was also made.  It was very rare, however, and it’s very hard to find today.  In fact, the 6079 seven-string model can be difficult to find as well since it was only produced for three years.  In 1972, Gretsch changed the design of the guitar to what is now known as the 7580.  Today, the Van Eps has become quite popular once again as more and more players are becoming interested in seven-string guitars.