Gretsch G6143 Spectra Sonic Electric Guitar

they were still making them pretty recently... they were probably in production as recently as 2014. They are a Japanese copy of the TV Jones solidbodies that are one-off custom shop type instruments... I've played the spectrasonic, its just okay... better than a Corvette, not as nice as the Duo Jet reissues put out since Fender got involved, but I have a real Duo Jet bias... big fan, miss my Caddy green one

yeah, its cumbersome as heck (and I play an ES335 a lot), I played on at a VERY nice store called Bill's Music when I lived in Maryland and was looking for my SG, those guys carried EVERYTHING new (every model squire thru the fanciest Custom Shop instruments)... the sound is very much in the LP special camp, but with less output and more chime thanks to the filtertrons... the size makes it a bit heavier than your average junior/special/SG from Gibson, but just a bit. Its major upshot is tht while its a large-bodied instrument it is EXTREMELY well balanced for playing standing up since its back heavy and not neck heavy like the slab body Gibsons tend to be. Otherwise it seemed like a poor-man's TV Jones or Echo Park. The one I played was black with chrome hardware and white plastic, meant to look all "tuxedo" but in person it looked more like a fat penguin. It definitely has more of a "working musician" aesthetic than your usual glitzy gretsch models, but it does not have the typical gretsch sound or feel if that's what you are seeking.

It reminds me a lot of the 70s Baldwin-era solidbodied Chet Atkins models like the "super-axe." Particularly the one with rear-mounted controls, not the one with the control plate and all the Les Paul Recording inspired features. For what a professional series Gretsch costs these days I might consider a cintage solidbody Chet Atkins mode. They are relatively affordable vintage guitars being from a questionable era for Gretsch, but should appreciate in value a lot faster than the spectrasonic:

http://gretschpages.com/media/img/memorabilia/cat_1978gretch_page31.jpeg

this is the sleeper model: http://gretschpages.com/media/img/guitars/2003_Gretsch_G7686_11.JPG

the Super-Axe is the really valuable model for collectors (but is so non-traditional its not much of a player's guitar): http://www.normansrareguitars.com/images/D/NEW2704Gretsch%20Super%20Axe_01-06feab715f.jpg