Founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, The Gretsch Company first started producing Guitars in the early 1930s. Gretsch Guitars then became very much sought after in the 1950s and 1960s, but then however lost favour with musicians in the 70s and 80s due to problematic relationships between Gretsch and the Baldwin Piano Company. The Gretsch Company was revived in 1989 by Fred W. Gretsch and remains the company's president to this day.
