Award-winning singer-songwriter Richard Hawley talks about the mystique of the Gretsch brand and how it helps him achieve a very special sound on stage
What first attracted you to Gretsch guitars?
“Eddie Cochran and Duane Eddy.
Simple as that. When I was a kid, I saw pictures of Eddie and Duane playing and I listened to the records, joined the dots and realised that these incredibly beautiful-looking guitars actually sounded amazing as well. So if you’re a young guitar player who was into that kind of thing it just ticked every single box.”
Were you drawn to a particular model at the time?
“The semi acoustics, obviously, or the full acoustics. I only encountered the solidbodies years later. I love the 6120s, but it’s the Country Club that I love the most. I’ve got a 1954 blonde Country Club with DeArmond pickups on it… it’s to die for. The sound of that guitar and the way it plays, because it’s got a slab neck, you know, completely flat. A lot of guitars at that period And this 2003 Country Club 6196CG certainly passes that test were like baseball bat necks – really fat.
But this is really slim, the profile of it is lovely. I’ve still got my 6120s as well; I love those DeArmond pickups and the factory fitted Bigsby. They’re incredibly beautiful things. I’ve got two 1956 6120s and it’s a bit of a battle with them. It wasn’t at that stage where they’d quite got every single guitar to be absolutely brilliant, and it’s a bit of a battle to set them up.”
How many Gretsch guitars do you own?
“Probably about 30, I think. I’ve got a ’63 Country Gent, a couple of Tennesseans and Duane Eddy gave me one of
