GRETSCH BIKINI BASS AND GUITAR BY ZACHARY FJESTAD
Hey Zach,
I enjoy your column every month and
I have an oddball guitar I’d like you to
“Trash or Treasure.” It’s the unique and
undeniably cool Gretsch Bikini. I’m a
Gretsch junkie and I bought this gui-
tar many years ago, but I really don’t
know much of the story behind it.
Why did Gretsch make such a strange
guitar and what is it worth today?
Thanks,
George in Trenton, New Jersey
Hi George,
LEFT: Introduced in 1961, the Gretsch Bikini features removable and interchangeable guitar and
bass necks rigged with onboard electronics. MIDDLE: To facilitate travel, the Bikini’s body is cut in
half and sports a piano hinge on the back, which allows it to be folded when the neck is removed.
RIGHT: A swingin’ Bikini configured as a bass. Doubleneck versions were also available.
According to the 1961 Gretsch catalog,
“The butterfly back can be used inter-
changeably with either guitar or bass
shafts [necks]. Each instrument can be
played separately. With the complete gui-
tar-in-bass ensemble, the double-butterfly
back takes both guitar and bass shafts
[necks] at the same time—allowing the
artist to double on bass without changing
instruments!”
The butterfly backs were made of
poplar and finished in black lacquer. The
bikini necks were constructed of solid
maple with an adjustable, steel truss rod
that was adjusted at the body-end of the
instrument. Electronics included a single
Hi-Lo’Tron pickup with volume and tone
controls, and an adjustable ebony bridge,
trapeze tailpiece, and standard three-
per-side tuners completed the hardware.
Because every workable part of the guitar
was mounted on the bikini neck, the but-
terfly body was unnecessary for playing—
most likely making it similar to playing Les
Paul’s infamous Log!
The concept of the Bikini showed merit,
especially for the untapped market for por-
table guitars, but according to Dan Duffy
from Gretsch’s quality-control department,
“It was a great idea, but in my estimation it
wasn’t really engineered correctly.”
The Gretsch factory manager, Bill
Hagner, had this to say about the Bikini’s
downfall: “You talk about a hard guitar to
make, forget about it! Headache! To get
that thing on correctly and sliding up and
down—it was awful. We didn’t make that
many of the Bikini, thank god.” Estimates
put the total production of the Bikini at
50 instruments.
ZACHARY R. FJESTAD is author
of Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, Blue
Book of Electric Guitars, and Blue Book
of Guitar Amplifiers. For more information,
visit bluebookinc.com or email Zach at
guitars@bluebookinc.com.
