Here is a rare example of a rare model of an acoustic archtop guitar made in 1936 for Gretsch & Brenner wholesale musical instrument company.  The known instruments in the two orders made for Gretsch & Brenner that are noted in the Gibson shipping ledgers number only 76 in total.  This instrument, however, is not from those factory orders and clearly shows a 1935 factory order number, show by the "A" suffix in the number.  This anomaly leads me to believe that this guitar was likely a prototype for approval, prior to the 1936 runs. Spec-wise, this guitar shares most of its features with the Cromwell G-5 which was being made in 1935, but has fancier, real mother of pearl inlay work.  It also has nicer, early Grover Sta-tite tuners which are of short-lived variation that were also used on Martin guitars of the era, making them very valuable on their own.  The guitar appears in all original condition, except for a replacement pickguard.
 
This Ambassador archtop features a carved spruce top, arched mahogany back, mahogany sides, mahogany neck with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and Brazilian rosewood bridge.  The top is parallel braced, allowing for the classic 16-inch Gibson archtop punch.  The frets show little wear for the age of the guitar with only light divots under the B string at the first three frets.  The guitar plays beautifully with no buzzing with the action set as low as I would go on a fully acoustic guitar. The neck has the V-shaped carve typical of the era.
 
The short version story is that this guitar provides the classic 1930s Gibson-made archtop sound with rare branding in an apparent prototype guitar.
 
Nut width - 1.76 inches
Scale length - 24.75 inches
Weight - 4.6 pounds
 
The guitar comes with a well fitting non-original hardshell case.
 
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