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Artist / Player

Chet Atkins

American guitarist and producer · Architect of the Nashville sound · Signature Gretsch and Gibson instruments

Artist / Player
Producer

Chester Burton "Chet Atkins" was an American guitarist, record producer and RCA Victor executive whose fingerstyle technique and studio work shaped the Nashville sound of the 1950s and 1960s. Beyond his playing and production, he was unusually influential on instrument design: his long collaboration with Gretsch from 1954 produced the 6120, Country Gentleman and Tennessean models, and after 1982 he worked with Gibson on the Country Gentleman and on the CE and SST nylon- and steel-string solidbody electrics. The Chet Atkins Appreciation Society continues to gather players around that repertoire and those instruments.

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Connected records

  • Gretsch

    Gretsch was founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1883 by German immigrant Friedrich Gretsch, growing into a major American maker of drums, banjos and hollowbody electric guitars. Its guitars have been distributed under license by Fender since 2002, and the current lineup ranges from the entry Electromatic and Streamliner lines up through the Professional Collection and Players Edition, spanning the brand's signature Broadkaster, Jet, Falcon and Country Gentleman body styles, plus the acoustic Roots Collection.

  • Gibson

    Defining manufacturer across acoustic, archtop and solidbody electric guitar history.