GRETSCH
G6128T-GH DUO JET
BY SHAWN HAMMOND
One of the highlights of Winter NAMM this year—for me, at least—
was getting to interview Gretsch senior
master builder Stephen Stern about the
limited-edition Custom Shop G6128T-GH
George Harrison Tribute Duo Jet (watch
the video at premierguitar.com). As a huge
fan of both the Beatles and Gretsches, I was
thrilled to witness his painstaking reproduc-
tions of every scratch and anomaly on the
black 1957 beauty Harrison used at the
rambunctious and legendary Cavern shows
and on early hits from “Please Please Me,”
to “P.S. I Love You,” and “Ask Me Why.”
Stern’s crew made just 60 of those
Custom Shop tribute guitars—which
went for a princely sum of $20k each.
Fortunately for non-trust-fund types,
Gretsch elected to make the G6128T-GH
George Harrison Signature Duo Jet part of
its standard line. Made in Japan, the guitar
features all the custom appointments that
differentiated Harrison’s guitar from other
Duo Jets of the late ’50s and early ’60s,
minus more labor-intensive details such as
matching distress marks and fretboard inlays
that mimic the less-precise methods of yore.
Seymour Duncan-designed
DynaSonic replicas
Bar bridge on pinned
rosewood base
3-way pickup selector
Master
Volume
Nods to the mod’s mods
Like the ’ 57 Duo Jet it’s based on, the
new G6128T-GH features a chambered
mahogany body and a one-piece mahogany
neck. Unlike other current Duo Jets, which
feature a brown-stained back and neck,
the Harrison signature model’s mahogany
elements are finished in the same black
urethane finish that’s on the 3-ply laminated
maple top. (Although Jet Firebird models
of the late-’50s had black backs and necks,
Gretsch expert Ed Ball confirms that the
back and neck of Harrison’s original guitar
were refinished sometime after the guitar
was purchased by original owner Ivan
Hayward—who bought it new in 1957 at
Manny’s Music in New York City for $210.)
Other departures from the standard Duo
Jet setup include nods to other mods made
to Harrison’s guitar. For instance, before the
Relocated
strap button
Beatle acquired the Jet in 1961, Hayward had
a Bigsby vibrato installed (Ball believes this
was sometime in 1959 or ’ 60, based on the
Phillips screws), and in the process the strap
button was relocated up a bit from its standard
location. (While we’re talking strap buttons,
can I just ask why no one ever gives Gretsch
props for making locking buttons standard
equipment on its axes?) The 24. 6"-scale signature model’s Bigsby arm also has a black,
star-head pivot screw rather than the smooth
aluminum pin found on most Bigsbys.
Perhaps the most unique hardware fea-
ture on Harrison’s new axe—at least relative
to other current-production Duo Jets—is
that the bridge is a “rocking” bar style with
a pinned rosewood base, where most mod-
ern Duo Jets have ebony bases and either
a Synchro-Sonic or a Space Control roller
bridge. While some Gretsch fans swap out
the latter two bridge types (or the Tune-o-
matic-style bridge found on other modern
Gretsches) for a bar bridge—a big, solid
hunk o’ metal that adds extra sustain—doing
so sacrifices the ability to individually into-
nate strings. Though the intonation problems
with our review guitar weren’t egregious, full
barre chords further up the neck didn’t sound
