Editing Gretsch (section)

===Beginnings===
[[File:Gretsch G6122-1958.jpg|thumb|right|160px|A G6122-1962 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman model.]]

Gretsch was founded in 1883 by [[Friedrich Gretsch]], a young German immigrant who opened his own musical instrument shop on 128 Middleton Street in Brooklyn, New York that year. His shop was designed for the manufacture of [[banjo]]s, [[tambourine]]s and [[drum]]s, with the company experiencing some success catering to marching bands.<ref name="BriefHistory">{{cite web|url=https://guitar.com/features/brief-history-of-gretsch-guitars/ |title=A brief history of Gretsch guitars|website=Guitar.com|first=Brandon|last=Stoner|date=2022-10-10|access-date=2024-12-01}}</ref> The operation moved to South 4th Street in 1894. In 1895, Gretsch died at the age of 39 and the company was taken over by his wife and fifteen-year-old son Fred.<ref>{{cite web |title=Where Are Gretsch Guitars Made? – From Workshop to World Stage Source |url=https://primesound.org/gretsch-guitars-made/ |website=primesound.org |publisher=Alicia Steen |access-date=15 July 2023}}</ref>

Fred Gretsch expanded the business, incorporating it and adding Gretsch Building #1 at 109 South 5th Street in 1903, Gretsch Building #2 at 104-114 South 4th Street in 1910, and a new ten-story Gretsch Building #4 at 60 Broadway in 1916.<ref name="BriefHistory"></ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bedfordandbowery.com/2014/12/these-luxury-lofts-are-home-to-rock-history-and-a-rocket-related-mystery/|title=These Luxury Lofts Are Home to Rock History and a Rocket-Related Mystery|date=30 December 2014|website=Bedfordandbowery.com|access-date=2012-09-08}}</ref> The company ultimately owned or operated six properties in the immediate area, including a warehouse on Dunham Place. Gretsch Building #4 was owned by the Gretsch family until 1999.

The first Gretsch branded guitar was produced in 1928, but was one of 3000 instruments in the Gretsch catalog, with it still being primarily a drum company.<ref name="BriefHistory"></ref>

[[WWII]] marked a transitional period for Gretsch when Fred Gretsch Sr. handed over the family business to his son, Fred Gretsch Jr., after retiring in 1942. Soon after taking over, Fred Jr. left to serve as a Navy commander, leaving the business in the hands of his younger brother, William Walter "Bill" Gretsch. Bill Gretsch died in 1948 and the company was again run by Fred Jr.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Swearingen|first=Cynthia|date=2019-10-01|title=A Brief History Of Gretsch Guitars|url=http://vintageguitarmasters.com/gretsch-guitars/|access-date=2021-09-17|website=Vintage Guitar Masters|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="BriefHistory"></ref>

In the post-war period, Gretsch brought a greater focus on electric guitars. Fred Jr and Gretsch employees Christopher 'Duke' Kramer and Jimmie Webster worked with [[Chet Atkins]] to overhaul the look and sound of Gretsch electric guitars.<ref name="BriefHistory"></ref>