What year did Baldwin buy Gretsch?

1985 He bought Gretsch from Harrison in January 1985, and with that the Baldwin era was truly over. As it had been for its first 84 years, Gretsch was once again a family-run company.

Are Chinese Gretsch any good?

They can make very high quality guitars. The key is in the “can”. If a company like Gretsch has a say in the manufacturing and pays for good quality control they will get very good products. I have owned an older Chinese Electromatic.