The Signature Guitar

If a musician is lucky to gain some notoriety throughout their career..the chance of them aquiring more than one musical instrument is very likely.. after all, diversity is the bane of aspiring musically creative minds..so with that possibilty, a guitarist can be expected to try his or her hand with different instruments..ie: banjo, mandolin, steel guitar, dobro...maybe even violin. But the ultimate goal is perhaps to make a name for oneself via the instrument itself...hence the signature guitar.

.I hadn't really paid much attention to active endorsee's of the most popular guitar models, but I did own a few pieces that had been previously endorsed by famous people from years ago..ie; Les Pauls' Gibson..and Chet Atkins' Gretsch. So when the opportunity to be part of a guitar's history arrived..I was more than thrilled..and it was a happy accident really.

Keith visits the Gretsch Factory

From time to time I had used this particular orange Gretsch guitar model..and when we we're asked to film a video in the Sherwood forest for the song "Everything I Do.." I gave some thought as to what color of guitar should be used.. since the surroundings would be mostly green..an orange Gretsch guitar would stand out of course! So... we wound up using this orange Gretsch guitar and it really stood out against the green forest background. A short time later, while on tour in America, the head of the Gretsch guitar company attended our concert in Atlanta Georgia.

Fred Gretsch

He thanked me profusely for using the orange Gretsch guitar in the video. He also mentioned if I needed anything special..he would be happy to help me design something. I said I'd give it some thought and I soon forgot about it..

A few years had passed.. and while making the "Unplugged" album in New York.. I ran into Mr. Gretsch again. He said he hadn't forgot about his offer of a special model guitar for me...so we began discussing it some more and after that point, we agreed on some of the details and eventually worked toward a design that would result in my own signature model. Hence..The KS gretsch model 6120 semi hollow body electric guitar..!

I can honestly say it is an honor to be affiliated with such a historied guitar maker and I am completely happy with final result..Especially the lovely gold color of the guitar with the gold plated hardware and trim and it's ease of playability..It's so much more than I expected..!

I have been slowly trying to work the guitar into the live show and it remains a staple of my guitar collection, mostly residng in my home studio.. I can only hope that other guitarists around the planet will have the chance to have their "john henry" on a favorite musical instrument of theirs...a nice feather in ones cap!..

cheers!

K-man