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 the end of this article). As a huge
fan of both the Beatles and Gretsches, I was
thrilled to witness his painstaking reproductions
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.
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
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 feature
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 modern
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-omatic-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 intonate
strings. Though the intonation problems
with our review guitar weren’t egregious, full
barre chords further up the neck didn’t sound
quite as in tune as they would with the aforementioned
bridge types. Personally, I would
rather have precisely intonated strings than a
little extra sustain. Then again, who am I to
tell George what to put on his guitar?
While most current Duo Jets have
either block or thumbnail position markers,
the Harrison signature Jet features a
12"-radius bound rosewood fretboard with
“hump-block” position markers. Up at the
headstock, it sports Grover Sta-Tite tuners,
a period-correct “T-roof” logo, a bone nut,
and a truss-rod cover emblazoned with its
namesake’s autograph.
Like the Custom Shop Harrison Tribute
guitar, the signature model is equipped with
Seymour Duncan-designed pickups built
to the original specs of late-’50s DynaSonic
single-coils. As with other DynaSonic-outfitted
Duo Jets, it has a 3-way pickup
selector on the upper bass-side bout, a
Master Volume on the treble-side cutaway,
Volume controls for each pickup, and a
Master Tone knob.
Overall, the guitar’s finishing touches
and setup were excellent. The finish is
blemish free and beautiful, the medium-thickness,
slightly C-profiled neck is
comfy, the frets are well dressed, and all
the hardware twists, turns, and flicks with
a solid, reassuring feel. The only hiccup
was that the small, circular cover for the
pickup-selector cavity was slightly raised
on one side, creating a slight lip above the
surface of the guitar’s back. This lip wasn’t
significant enough to feel against your body
while playing, but it was surprising considering
the guitar’s MSRP of $5000.
Pleasing Me
When you think of Beatles tunes from the
period when Harrison was using his ’57
Duo Jet the most, you inevitably think of
open-position chords, simple-but-catchy
riffs, and jangly Vox tones. And when you
plug Harrison’s new signature Jet into an
EL84-powered amp, those tones are there in
spades—it’s almost comical how easy it is to
get early Brit Invasion sounds with just two
ingredients. Anyone contemplating starting
a Fab Four cover band would be hard
pressed to find an instrument that fits the
aural and visual bill better. But the G6128TGH
has a lot more utility than that.
With a tube amp’s power section
working up a sweat to pour out gritty
overdrive—I plugged it into a Vox AC30
and a Goodsell Valpreaux 21—the Duo
Jet served up slashing bridge-pickup tones
that sounded great for both crisp, in-your-face
classic rock (think early Beatles or Neil
Young), rockabilly twang, or even brash
punk. With gentler chicken-pickin’, I got
nice quasi country sounds, although they
sounded slightly fuzzier and less distinct
than you’d get from, say, an old-school
Telecaster bridge pickup. But I think that’s
due to a combination of the DynaSonic
pickups’ hollow-ish tonal character and the
bar bridge’s tendency to sacrifice a little
articulation for extra sustain.
As for the pickups’ resonant character, it
certainly stems from their unique wiring,
individually adjustable pole pieces, and
alnico 5 magnet. But one must also remember
they are modeled after pickups that predate
the concept of high-output single-coils.
That’s not to say they’re wimpy sounding—
there’s just a little less bite than a
typical Strat’s bridge unit or my Tele’s alnico
5 bridge pickup. But with all the sameness
in guitar design these days, pickups are one
of the few ways to really distinguish your
sound, and I don’t think I’ve ever played
a pickup that has the resonant-but-semi-twangy
quality of these DynaSonic repros.
My favorite pickup setting was the middle
position—with both pickups on, the neck-pickup’s
Volume knob eased back a couple
of hairs, and the Tone knob all the way up.
While the soloed neck pickup felt a little too
fat and bass-heavy unless I dialed in a pristine
clean sound to play mellow B.B. King-style
blues, the neck-bridge combination through
the Valpreaux (with Gain a smidge below 3
o’clock, Tone cranked, and Volume right at 3
o’clock) sounded absolutely glorious. With a
perfect blend of girth and bristling harmonic
richness, the G6128T-GH had me falling
into riffs and rhythms inspired by the other
gods of classic rock:
Exile on Main Street- and
Aftermath-like progressions oozed an addictive
vibe that sent me back in time and gave
me a taste of what I imagine Keith, Brian,
and Mick felt all those years ago. When I
eased off the attack, Travis-picked patterns
sounded downright lovely.
The Verdict
There’s something inexplicably cool about
playing a guitar that looks exactly like what
one of your heroes played—and that goes
double for the George Harrison Signature
Duo Jet. While there’s no shortage of Les
Pauls and Strats out there to help you summon
Page or Clapton, instruments with this
unusual-yet-still-classic look and sound are
pretty rare. Although the price tag seems a
bit high—especially considering how good
many affordable guitars are these days—it’s
pretty much par for the course with signature
models, especially ones associated with such
an iconic and influential player. And the
quality of craftsmanship is close to flawless,
even if I would prefer a bridge that intonates
and articulates a little better. If you’re after
the most authentic early Beatles electric tones
money can buy, I doubt you’ll find a better
option. But even if you’re just looking for
a vintage-styled guitar with unique pickup
voicings, the G6128T-GH is worth a go.
Watch the video review:
Buy if...
you seek early-Beatles tones and
looks, or a uniquely satisfying
carved-top single-cutaway.
Skip if...
you prefer leaner neck-pickup tones
and more accessible pricing.
Rating...
