“Honor its storied heritage while pushing the boundaries of innovation”: Gretsch gives three hollowbody designs a Professional Collection reboot – rolling out its “most advanced bracing system to date” in the process
Gretsch has announced the latest additions to its Professional Collection, unveiling new Nashville, Tennessean and Falcon electric guitars.
These three models represent the quintessential Gretsch vibe, with generously proportioned single-cut designs, hollowbody structures, elegant hardware appointments, and a raft of colorways that make these high-end instruments stand out from the rest of the Gretsch family.
At first glance, all three look incredibly similar – and that’s because, admittedly, they are. Having said that, there are a few subtle differences between each model that make them wholly independent of each other.
The Falcon, for example, has that winged headstock design, which finds the Gretsch logo printed vertically down the headstock flanked by a two-pronged truss rod cover and metallic wing motifs.
(Image credit: Gretsch)
Available in Black, Cerulean Smoke and White, the Falcon is also the widest of the bunch, weighing in with a 17” body that is made from maple and Arc-Tone bracing. At 2.5” deep, the guitar also offers a U-shape maple neck, 12”-radius ebony fingerboard with rolled edges, and, rather surprisingly, Luminlay side dots.
Other appointments include PRO-FT Filter’Tron humbuckers, a B6GP Bigsby, Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut, Grover Imperial locking tuners and a pickguard that boasts the firm’s famed Falcon logo.
The differences between the Nashville and Tennessean are slightly more subtle. Both have the same body dimensions (16” x 2.5”) but the former has been spruced up a tad more: it offers gold hardware, a ‘Nashville’-embossed pickguard, and a color matched headstock, which arrives in either Cadillac Green, Midnight Sapphire or Orange Stain.
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(Image credit: Gretsch)
Other model-specific specs include a 12” radius ebony fingerboard and a B6GP Bigsby.
The Tennessean, meanwhile, offers nickel hardware and a regular black headstock, which is accompanied by Walnut Stain, Deep Cherry Satin or Havana Burst finishes. It also has a rosewood fingerboard, instead of the more premium ebony.
(Image credit: Gretsch)
Tone-wise, they both feature those familiar PRO-FT Filter’Trons, and identical control layouts that offer a treble bleed circuit. At their core, maple bodies with U-shaped maple necks can be found, as can the aforementioned Arc-Tone bracing.
According to Gretsch, this is its “most advanced bracing system to date”, and offers torrefied maple tone bars and arc-shaped spruce supports to deliver “enhanced sustain, crisp note attack and excellent feedback control”.
“With the Professional Collection, Gretsch continues to honor its storied heritage while pushing the boundaries of innovation,” the firm notes.
The Professional Collection Falcon, Nashville, and Tennessean are available now for $3,599, $2,699 and $2,499, respectively.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
