c.1955 Gretsch Soprano Ukulele

This Gretsch-made soprano uke dates to probably around 1955-1960 and is all-solid mahogany throughout with a very thin rosewood fretboard. It's styled after Martin ukes but is a lot less fancy. In terms of quality it rounds out about the same as a Favilla from the same period.

This is a customer's instrument and the work included a neck reset (plus reinforcement), fret level/dress, cleaning, brace reglues, and setup. I'm not sure if the tuners on it are original but they work just fine for plain-Jane friction pegs.

Sound is sprightly and alive with good volume. This is not that "creamy" Gibson or Martin uke tone, but more of the pronounced higher-grade Harmony tone.

Fun Gretsch decal on the headstock.

Brass frets, tiny plastic or clay dots.

I had to slot the saddle a little bit to improve action.

The mahogany on the back is very lightly curly in figure.

So, like all these post-war Gretsch ukes I've had the pleasure to play, it really stacks up especially when you compare prices of these guys to prices of Favillas or Martins.