 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Mannheim- The Cradle of "That Great Gretsch Sound""A Gretsch guitar truly glorifies the talents of the artist who comands it"
His father, Wilhelm Gretsch, had already proven himself a good businessman and was also fond of travelling. Born in 1822 in Simmern (Hunsrück), he moved to Speyer, where he married and became a father of two sons. In 1850 he settled down in Mannheim. His first wife passed away and in 1854 Wilhelm Gretsch married Anna Marie von Gerichten. Between 1855 and 1867 another nine children where born. Friedrich was the fourth child of the family and was born in 1856. In 1860 Wilhelm Gretsch bought a well-situated and well-assorted grocery store for colonial goods on Mannheim's marketplace. But for eight of his eleven children Mannheim was only a temporary home; they all went to America. The most sustainable success in the new world was granted to young salesman Friedrich Gretsch. In 1883 he opened a small music store in Brooklyn and he started manufacturing banjos, tambourines and drums. In 1895 the enterprise was dealt a severe blow, when Friedrich Gretsch died suddenly in Hamburg during a journey through Germany. But his fifteen-year-old son, Fred Gretsch, showed courage and took over business. The foundation of the music dynasty of the Gretsch family had now been set out. Around 1900 mandolins where added to the production, and at the same time the first music instruments where imported from Europe. Eventually, Fred Gretsch Sr. made the guitar another important product of the prospering enterprise: in 1933, the first instruments with Gretsch-logo appeared on the market. Today, Fred Gretsch, the great grandson of Friedrich, takes care of "that great Gretsch sound"-although "Gretsch Guitars" belongs to Fender since 2002. Bettina Höcherl |
When in 1873, sixteen-year-old Friedrich Gretsch left his hometown Mannheim for America in pursuit of his happiness, he did not travel unprepared. He had 150 Gulden in his pocket and his first stop was to be New York, where his older brother Wilhelm lived.