the script-logo headstock, corroborating the fact that the
first few specimens from this
second Jet solidbody production batch apparently received
the last of the script-logo headstocks. Research also shows that
the switch to the new-for-’ 54
T-roof headstock motif was
complete by serial number
12958, which means this holy
grail Silver Jet is one of the last
guitars to receive the script logo
on its headstock.
So this Silver Jet, plausibly the first of its 6129 kind,
might simultaneously be the
last of its kind relative to
the script-logo headstock. It
remains to be seen if any of
the other eight guitars from
the beginning of that second
batch (serial numbers 12950–
12957) were Silver Jets with
the rare script-logo headstock.
Regardless, this specimen is
[The Jet Firebird] went on to be associated with
the great Bo Diddley, who could be seen playing
it on the cover of his 1959 album Go Bo Diddley.
a unique and historically significant instrument coveted by
many Gretsch aficionados.
Firebirds and cadillacs
In the 1955 model year, Gretsch
designers expanded the Jet solidbody options again with the
introduction of the Jet Firebird
model 6131. Sharing identical
features and hardware with its
siblings, this variation offered an
Oriental red top finish and black
back and sides. This model went
on to be associated with the
great Bo Diddley, who could be
seen playing it on the cover of
his 1959 album Go Bo Diddley.
Upon this third finish
option’s inclusion in the Jet
solidbody lineup, all subsequent Jet batches included all
three models (6128, 6129, and
6131). These guitars would represent the Jet solidbody offering
until sometime in late 1957,
when Gretsch introduced two
special limited-run mini batches
with a new finish and a different hardware package.
These mini batches began
with serial numbers 255XX and
262XX, and they consisted of
Jet solidbodies with a Cadillac-
green finish that previously had
been exclusive to the company’s
Country Club model 6196
electric archtop. In addition to
this new finish, the hardware
on guitars in these mini batches
was gold-plated—an upgrade
option not available on the
other three existing Jet models.
These Cadillac green Jets have
labels with the standard 6128
Duo Jet model stamp, and
their potentiometer codes date
from August 1957. Another
unique feature on many (if
not all) of these Cadillac-green
Jets is a banjo-style armrest, an
accoutrement only shared with
the legendary White Penguin
model 6134—which, perhaps
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