1967 Gretsch 6003 "Folk" 00-Size Flattop Guitar

Update 2019: I originally worked-on and sold this to a friend back in 2014, but it's come back in trade and so I've updated the post with new pics, a video, and new description.

These 00-size Gretsch guitars from the '50s and '60s are unknown to most players and are phenomenal bang for the buck. The necks are truss-rodded and comfortable, the sound is generally robust, chunky, and with decent volume, and the looks are retro and classic. They come in two types -- ladder-braced and x-braced -- and thus generally have two distinct voices. The ladder-braced ones tend to be short scale and have a Gibson LG-1/LG-0, woody-ish tone to them. The x-braced ones (like this one) are long-scale and have a mini-OM vibe going on. This is much more leapy and projecting and has a nice, compressed little rumble to it. It's a bit like a Gibson-player's Martin in terms of how that tone comes out and the way it feels in the hands.

Anyhow, back in 2014 I'd given it a fret level/dress, new bridge, new saddle, parts-bin pins, new tuners, cleaning, and did some stabilization of the deteriorating (as in most Gretsches) binding.

Recent work included: a new compensated saddle, bridge plate cap (with very thin maple -- the original plate was spruce) and pinhole fill/redrill, new tortoise-style pickguard to replace a warped original pickguard (it's the same shape as the original, though), minor cleaning, and a good setup with 54w-12 string gauges. The neck is straight and it plays bang-on with 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret. The truss-rod works as intended.

Scale length: 25 1/2"
Nut width: 1 3/4"
String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"
String spacing at saddle: 2 1/4"

Body length: 18 1/2"
Lower bout width: 14 3/8"
Upper bout width: 11 3/8"

Side depth at endpin: 4 1/8"

Top wood: solid spruce, x-braced
Back/sides: ply mahogany
Neck wood: mahogany
Fretboard: rosewood

Neck shape: 14" radius with slim-to-medium C-shaped rear

Bridge: rosewood, new

Nut: original

Saddle: bone

Condition notes: binding is deteriorated along the top and back on the bass side. It's not chipping-off like crazy, but it may chip some more if it gets bumped in those areas. The pickguard, bridge, saddle, bridge pins, and tuners are all replacements, but the guitar is otherwise original. The bridge plate has a very thin (less than 1/32") cap on it to help seat the pins better. There's average wear-and-tear throughout the finish and some discoloration near the binding deterioration on the top.

While the new bridge is fairly thin like the original, the saddle does have ~1/8" adjustment room for action adjustments.