The flashy little semi-solid was the only production-model Gretsch to feature the vibrant Oriental Red top (the only others were the guitars specially built for Bo Diddley). The Jet Fire Bird first appeared in the company’s 1955 Guitars For Moderns catalog. Three other instruments without airplane-sounding names were introduced at the time – the Western adorned Round-Up (Model 6130) and Chet Atkins Solidbody (Model 6121) in ’54/early ’55, and the spectacular white-and-gold sparkle of the White Penguin (Model 6134) in ’55. Next to glittery silver and red, even the gold-topped Les Paul looked a bit tame. The company quickly outflanked the Les Paul by expanding the Jet Series to include the sparkle-top Silver Jet (Model 6129) in ’54 and the flashy Oriental Red Jet Fire Bird (Model 6131) in ’55. At a time when few guitars were adorned in anything other than sunburst or natural finishes, Gretsch outfit many of its models with dazzling colors and cool-looking appointments. However, by ’54, Gretsch began to forge guitars that were unique, visually, and had a sound all their own thanks to their DeArmond pickups. Clearly intended to compete with Gibson’s 1952 Les Paul model (whose shape it very closely resembled) the Duo-Jet started as an imitator. The single-cutaway Jet Series debuted in 1953 with the Model 6128 Duo-Jet, finished with a black top. On the “commercial” side were the Jet Airliner, Jet Mainliner, Jet Twin, Astro-Jet, and the Roc Jet. Then there were the sturdy, reliable “tankers” represented by laminated archtops like the Corsair and the seldom-seen Jet 21. There were the flashy “fighters” like the Duo-Jet, Silver Jet, and Jet Fire Bird. In 1963, the 6129 Silver Jet was officially discontinued, although Gretsch continued to offer the same silver sparkle finish in the form of a Duo-Jet custom order.Given the number of jet-related model monikers in Gretsch’s 1950s and ’60s catalogs, one might get the impression the company built airplanes. Yet another major design feature change came in 1961 as the Silver Jet received a symmetrical double cutaway, which enabled players easier access to the upper frets, with a Burns vibrato arriving the following year. Both independent pickup volume knobs remained on the lower treble bout, while the master volume knob was also retained on the upper treble bout. Later, in 1958, the Silver Jet received a pair of fatter, crunchier sounding Filter’Tron humbucking pickups that were, much in the same way as Gibson’s humbuckers, intended to reduce the 60 cycle hum that plagued guitarists at the time.Īt this point, the layout of the Silver Jet’s controls altered slightly as the master tone knob relocated from the lower treble bout to the upper bass bout and was converted to a second switch adjacent to the pickup selector. In many ways the Duo-Jet/Silver Jet could be likened to both the Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul Model insofar as they are both seminal instruments of their type in terms of shape, but under the hood the Gretsch guitars were somewhat different.ĭeArmond Dynasonic pickups have a round, snappy, punchy and percussive tone and are often identified with the sound of Duane Eddy. In 1950, Fender had introduced their Broadcaster (later renamed the Telecaster) and, in response, 1952 saw Gibson release its version of a solid-body electric guitar in a striking gold finish: the Les Paul Model. The early 50s were a revolutionary time for electric-guitar design and the new, futuristic electric solid-body guitar craze was well underway. The silver sparkle finish is a Gretsch hallmark akin to the sparkle-finish drums they manufactured in the 1950s, and it just smacks of 50s sci-fi! According to anecdotal reports it was an employee of the factory that suggested Gretsch apply these eye-catching finishes to the Duo-Jet, and so the Silver Jet was born.Ī chambered mahogany body with a pressed laminated maple arched top gave the guitar some unique acoustic characteristics
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