Joe
Carducci
of
Gretsch
shows
The Chet
Atkins
Proto
Tom
Doyle
does in
hand
interview
on "Dark
Eyes"
Well, its official... Tom Doyle is finally ready to come out with and re-release to the world, The Early 6120 Black Sealed Top Proto that was made famous when Chet Atkins played it on "Dark Eyes". This guitar was the precursor for all things to come in the future with the relationship of Chet and Gretsch... its THE guitar that started it all! This amazing and very historical piece was of course owned and used by Chet Atkins, and worked on/experimented by the genius - Ray Butts... then was given to famous sound engineer, Bill Porter. Some years later the guitar became part of the legendary "Chinery Collection", and was displayed for quite some time at the Smithsonian. Tom was the special luthier and curator of Scott Chinery's Collection, and Scott knew that Tom had always admired the instrument. So one day, in a grand gesture of his appreciation, Scott generously bestowed this essential guitar to Tom as a gift. In an ironic twist of fate Scott Chinery passed away, all too early about a week later.
This guitar is the very essence and the embryo of all things to come as far as Chet Atkins and Gretsch... There would be no 6120, there would be no Country Gentleman, no George Harrison Model, no Brian Setzer, etc, etc... Gibson had Les Paul, and Gretsch had Chet Atkins - This guitar was the beginning of it all for Gretsch and Chet. So you can see that this is way more than just a guitar... its a piece of history!
Joe Carducci, Gretsch Guitar's Senior Product Manager came to inspect and evaluate The Original Chet Atkins 6120 Prototype Black Sealed Top with Gold F Holes at Tom Doyle's Custom Guitar Shop. He called it "The Holy Grail" as far as all things Gretsch guitars are concerned... and he and Gretsch have decided to make a reproduction of the guitar to offer in their upcoming Chet Atkins Professional Collection... how great is that?
CHECK BACK SOON TO SEE SOME OF THE OTHER AMAZING AND HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT GUITARS TOM WILL BE RELEASING TO THE GUITAR AFICIONADO AND COLLECTOR WORLD!
History
is funny sometimes... Often there's
more legend, lore, hearsay, fiction,
and spin than actual truth to certain
stories as they get passed around
over time. That's certainly the
case with regard to the legacy of
Mr. Les Paul - one of the most creative,
ingenious, and important musicians
and inventors of this or any other
time. Even though Les is/was a recent
figure in music history over the
last millennium... the man, his
guitars, his contribution to music,
and his influence are covered in
myth... mired in misinformation
and laden with erroneous fable.
One man was there, through it all...
the ups and the downs, the good
times and the bad, the major discoveries
and the foibles - and that was Tom
Doyle. Tom was Les' close friend,
confidant, co-inventor, ear, sounding
board, and fixer for all those decades.
Its been said before, but never
was it so true - Tom Doyle was
"The
man behind the man".
LES PAUL'S LUTHIER/GUITAR TECH/ENGINEER
FOR 45 YEARS
-
While Les Paul was certainly more
than a genius in his quest for his
ultimate sound, tone, and
understanding of music and the instruments
that it took to get there, for over
four decades he relied constantly
on Tom Doyle to make his guitars
whole again after he chopped them
to pieces in has mad pursuit of
that sound in his head. Most people
automatically assume that because
there is a famous guitar with his
name on it, that Les was a guitar
builder, tech, bench man, etc.,
and knew how to build, repair and
refurbish guitars. That just simply
was not the case... he relied on
Tom for that. Tom and Les worked
on countless projects over the 40+
years together and Tom is nothing
less than a walking/talking encyclopedia
about all things Les Paul, Gibson,
build specs, musical history, and
knows more about guitars of all
kinds than anyone you will ever
encounter alive today.
Keep an eye out for articles about
Tom Doyle in:
Les
Paul was working very diligently
in the last years of his life in
an attempt to clean up the
Humbucker pickup. He felt that
the bottom end of the frequency
response was muddy and unclear,
and he fervently wanted to fix
that. Les had an incredible
passion for making things “just
right”... and would tinker,
test, and experiment on things
he wanted to fix, tirelessly -
almost to the point of
obsession. His constant passion
towards the end of his life was
for getting the high-impedance
Humbucker to come alive, and
deliver that clarity that he so
desired. As an homage to his
longtime friend and mentor, Tom
Doyle has brought Les Paul's
Dream of a clear, articulate,
harmonically lively Humbucker
pickup to life...
Tom Plays & Speaks on
The "Thank You Les" DVD
Featuring such Greats as Keith Richards,
Steve Miller, Billy Gibbons, Slash,
José Feliciano and many more!
