At 16" across, the fully-hollow 1950s Gretsch Streamliner is essentially a stripped-down, single-pickup version of the Chet Atkins Nashville. Sure, it might not have the Bigsby tailpiece and all the fun Western details, but the Streamliner shares the same single-cutaway body that is 2-7/8" deep. Just like the Nashville, the Streamliner is constructed from a laminate Spruce top and Maple back and sides. It has the same elaborate Gretsch f-holes, and it's a great hollowbody with no shortage of "that great Gretsch sound." This Gretsch Streamliner dates to 1956, and it is model 6189 so it features a Bamboo Yellow top finish with Copper Mist on the back and sides. It sports its original DeArmond Dynasonic pickup, which sounds absolutely fantastic. Introduced in 1949, the Dynasonic was designed with individually adjustable Alnico V poles. It's a big single-coil with glossy, clear highs and tight low-end response. With volume and tone controls mounted directly to the top, the single-pickup Streamliner gives you more versatility than you might expect, and you've got to love those classic Gretsch "Arrow" knobs. This '56 Streamliner is set up with its original Melita "Synchrosonic" bridge and original Gretsch "G" tailpiece. One nice feature about the Melita bridge is that you can intonate each saddle individually to each string. On many '50s archtops with wooden bridges, the intonation was fixed, and it was usually compensated for wound G strings (which were more common at the time). But the Melita lets you use a plain G electric string, so it's a great choice for today's players who want to play these old archtops like a modern electric guitar. As for repairs, there is a crude finish touch-up on the back. It's probably where someone tried to clean up some buckle rash, and it's unfortunate because the buckle rash would probably look more authentic than the finish patch. Also, it appears that this Streamliner has had the neck set issues that are typical of '50s Gretsch guitars. Fortunately, the neck has been reset properly and—although there's a witness line at the heel—it's stable and the neck angle is in a good place. This '56 Streamliner is a great player. The Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard has been refretted, and interestingly it has one gold fret at the 2nd fret (almost like a gold tooth). At some point, the original tuning machines were replaced with '60s Grover Rotomatics, and these tuners do a great job keeping everything in tune. The original nut has been reworked but still does the job. There is a little excess back bow to the neck that causes some string buzzes unplugged, but nothing that causes issue through an amplifier. All in all, this 1956 Gretsch 6189 Streamliner has a lot to offer, and it includes a brown period case that completes the '50s mojo.
