In 1952, his friend, guitarist Bill Goldtony, asked him, “Les Paul was performing with an echo effect during his live shows, so I want an amp that can do that.” In response, Batz built a prototype by embedding a wire recorder into a Gibson amp.However, this caused noise whenever the wires crossed, so after much trial and error, he settled on using tape instead.

The resulting amplifier was named the “Echosonic.” Considering that amplifiers with reverb didn’t appear on the market until the early 1960s, this was a remarkably early development. It is said that the Echosonic later served as a reference for the EchoPlex.

In 1954, Batz met the legendary guitarist Chet Atkins. Atkins took a liking to the Echo Sonic and purchased it immediately. It is said to have been used in the recording of numerous classic songs, including “Mr. Sandman.” This was the fateful meeting between Ray Batz and Chet Atkins.

In 1954, Gretsch released the 6120 as Chet Atkins’ signature model. This 6120 was equipped with the “Gretsch Dual-Monde Federatone Pickup” (later known as the Dynasonic), developed by Dual-Monde.

In 1957, the 6122 Country Gentleman was released. This model was co-developed with Atkins, and its name was derived from one of Chet Atkins’ songs. This model would be equipped with the Filter’Tron pickup, newly developed by Batz. The EchoSonic amplifier, mentioned earlier, played a major role in the development of the Filter’Tron pickup.

At the time, Atkins was plagued by hum noise when using the 6120 in combination with the Echo Sonic, so he consulted with Batz. Thus, Batz coincidentally arrived at the same solution as Gibson: hum cancellation.

The resulting pickup featured a humbucker design and was named the “Filter’Tron.” Batz pitched the Filter’Tron to Gretsch, and with Atkins’ backing, it was installed in the 6122. From then on, more Gretsch models came standard with the Filter’Tron, and it became the flagship model of Gretsch pickups.

Like Gibson pickups, the Filter’Tron features a humbucker design, but it is built smaller than its Gibson counterparts. This results in a narrower spacing between the pole pieces compared to Gibson pickups. Additionally, it utilized Alnico or ferrite magnets that were approximately twice as thick as those used by Gibson. As a result, the pickup produced a sound characterized by clear high frequencies and a crisp, articulate tone.