A Reasonable FacsimileThis is Dad's guitar, made for him by his second wife's daughter's husband (my brother-in-law is a much less complicated title, especially since I'm not actually sure if step-brother-in-law is an actual thing or just a gratuitous overuse of hyphens). After my dad passed, I gave most of his guitars to my BIL because he's an actual musician and I'm not. Ironically, this guitar - which he had manufactured for Dad - was one of the few I didn't give to him, because of its sentimental value.
This is the guitar I referred to in the previous post as being a functional replica of the iconic Chet Atkins Gretsch Country Gentleman. I guess you could call it an Aria Rural Chevalier, or whichever synonymical phrase you prefer. And yes, I completely made that word up. Dad always viewed Chet as the GOAT of guitarists, which is hardly a controversial take. Tommy Emmanuel - who has been called the greatest living guitarist - would likely tell you the same thing. So Dad, who was a mediocre guitarist at best, always drooled over Chet's guitar, but it made no sense from either a talent or financial perspective to invest in one. So when he got this replica for Christmas, he lit up like Dodger Stadium. Even though he couldn't do any of the virtuoso stuff that Chet did (and I don't mean to say Dad was a hack, because he was a fine rhythm player), he loved playing his replica Country Gentleman, and it made me happy to see something bring him that kind of happiness in his later years.
Anyway, I figured I'd give this instrument some love because it's a beautiful piece of musical equipment in its own right.May 10, 2026
This is the guitar I referred to in the previous post as being a functional replica of the iconic Chet Atkins Gretsch Country Gentleman. I guess you could call it an Aria Rural Chevalier, or whichever synonymical phrase you prefer. And yes, I completely made that word up. Dad always viewed Chet as the GOAT of guitarists, which is hardly a controversial take. Tommy Emmanuel - who has been called the greatest living guitarist - would likely tell you the same thing. So Dad, who was a mediocre guitarist at best, always drooled over Chet's guitar, but it made no sense from either a talent or financial perspective to invest in one. So when he got this replica for Christmas, he lit up like Dodger Stadium. Even though he couldn't do any of the virtuoso stuff that Chet did (and I don't mean to say Dad was a hack, because he was a fine rhythm player), he loved playing his replica Country Gentleman, and it made me happy to see something bring him that kind of happiness in his later years.
Anyway, I figured I'd give this instrument some love because it's a beautiful piece of musical equipment in its own right.May 10, 2026
Comments
