Author Topic: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070  (Read 9280 times)

amptech

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NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« on: September 30, 2015, 07:26:30 AM »
Just in!
Nice bass, fantastic hollowbody sound... The neck is a huge log, though.
Killer looks for sure. So now I´m in the Gretsch club, too.
Had to let a ´67 EB3 go to get this one.




Pilgrim

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2015, 09:10:18 AM »
Oh, mama.  What a GREAT-looking bass! 

I wonder what kind of -tron pickup they used in 1967??
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amptech

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2015, 10:01:15 AM »
The Gretsch bass is from 1963, I was told it was a ´supertron´but not sure. My gruhn´s guide say little about these basses. It is looks like a filtertron with blades.

It sounds really good, but the pickup lies on top of the body - cannot adjust it´s height. If I lower the action for better playability, the strings hit the blades. Maybe a neck reset is needed.

But the acoustic sound, wow....

godofthunder

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2015, 10:20:01 AM »
  The House of Guitars gad one of these for years. Bigest neck I ever played!
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ilan

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2015, 02:10:27 PM »
Welcome to the club!

Here's my 6070
The guy who bought the same bass twice — first in 1977 and again in 2023

Dave W

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2015, 08:31:53 PM »
Congratulations.

I've played one in a store before, in the late 90s, it also had an enormous neck.

amptech

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2015, 02:19:28 AM »
That neck is so big you just gotta laugh, but such a big lump of maple sure does something with the sound.

Ilan; nice sunburst.. I have a couple of questions : Can you set the action on yours low enough without touching the pickup?

And, the previous owner said he had someone to disengage the switch below the mute, as it was just a ´kill´switch.
Is that right? It has three positions?

drbassman

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2015, 04:59:51 AM »
That is nice looking!  Very cool vintage vibe.  I played one too, the neck's too big for me.  The RI 6072 was much more playable.

Is this a short scale?  I don't remember if they were or not.
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amptech

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2015, 06:11:10 AM »
It´s long. I must say it is very much playable - I have played skinnier necks that was ´harder´to play.

According to gruhn, the 6070 and the two pickup 6072 are long scale, while the 6071 and two pickup 6073 were shorties.
The 6071/3´s had 29" scale, only one cutaway zero fret, 4-on a side tuners, and they were only produced between 1968 and 1972. But the book says nothing wether or not the short scales had log neck like the long scales :)

ilan

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2015, 03:01:25 PM »
Can you set the action on yours low enough without touching the pickup?

And, the previous owner said he had someone to disengage the switch below the mute, as it was just a ´kill´switch.
Is that right? It has three positions?
Some previous owner messed with the electronics on my bass too, so I don't know. I also made it a kill switch...

The action is low and the strings don't touch the pickup, but if I could I'd lower it a bit.
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Dave W

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2015, 03:40:40 PM »
The only short scale one I've ever seen also looked like it had a big neck although I didn't play it.

There's a 6071 for sale now at Cream City Music in Wisconsin. The neck is described as chunky.

Hörnisse

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #11 on: October 01, 2015, 03:51:58 PM »
They called them the "John Holmes" model for a reason. :mrgreen:

chromium

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #12 on: October 01, 2015, 10:09:01 PM »
Congrats- nice looking bass!

This is only one I recall seeing "in the wild":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksOzvYYHW48

ilan

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #13 on: October 02, 2015, 03:36:20 AM »
Entwistle had a 6070 in 1965.

In a 1975 interview he said: "... Then I got rid of the Precision and got a Gretsch bass, which I could hardly play. I played it for ten minutes, and my hand got worn out."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXU0GvtOTH0
« Last Edit: October 02, 2015, 04:05:34 AM by ilan »
The guy who bought the same bass twice — first in 1977 and again in 2023

ilan

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Re: NBD : ´63 Gretsch 6070
« Reply #14 on: October 02, 2015, 03:54:20 AM »
According to Gretsch, the switch below the mute was originally a kill switch.

http://www.gretschguitars.com/blog/product-plugs/six-great-extinct-gretsch-basses/
The guy who bought the same bass twice — first in 1977 and again in 2023