Gretsch
Introduced late 1933, Gretsch’s archtop line initially comprised four models. All of these had a 16-inch wide body with f-holes, a carved spruce top, maple back and sides, a three-piece neck (two sections of maple with rosewood laminate) and an ebony fingerboard.
Gretsch Super Auditorium Synchromatic 300
The 17-inch wide ‘Super Auditorium’ Synchromatic 300 (price $300) pictured below was introduced in 1939. Distinctive features included streamlined cat’s eye soundholes, slashed hump-top fingerboard inlays, a ‘stairstep’ bridge and a stylish ‘harp’ tailpiece. The model was discontinued by the mid 1950s.



Images courtesey of Nice Guitar