By the late ’50s, Gibson was offering a few economical solidbodies—like the Les Paul Junior and Les Paul Special. The Fred Gretsch Company, seeing this was a niche they had not yet filled, created a double-cutaway solidbody called the Corvette in 1961. The earliest production guitars had flat slab bodies like a Les Paul Junior, but by 1962 they had contoured edges like Gibson’s new SG guitars.
The Tone Twister vibrato was meant for small bends rather than the epic twanging that early whammy-guitar firecrackers like Ike Turner put into tunes like 1962’s “Prancing.” Too much force on these palm vibratos caused detuning and other problems.
Gretsch came up with a variation on the contoured Corvette that same year aimed specifically at women. The new model, called the Princess, was offered in a variety of colors with hopes of appealing to feminine aesthetics. The Gretsch catalog stated: “Now for the first time, a guitar that is unmistakably ‘hers.’ When she’s out in front of others, she’ll see the admiration in their eyes.” The colors available were a white body with a grape pickguard, a blue body with a white pickguard, and a white body with a gold pickguard. The guitar and matching amp could be purchased as a set. Unfortunately, the Princess fell short of its ambition to inspire young women, and didn’t last in the Gretsch lineup beyond 1963.
The Princess came with a pad on its back. Tone purists debate the impact that these pads have on sound, with some arguing it has no effect and others claiming a slight damping.
The 1962 Gretsch Princess pictured is white with a grape-colored pickguard. The hardware is gold, including a HiLo’Tron pickup and removable Tone Twister, for light vibrato. The back pad is also gold. The catalog further described the model: “Feminine in size, light in weight, the Princess is a double cutaway solidbody guitar with carved edges. The neck is joined at the 21st fret—everything designed and scaled for her ease of playing. The white back is comfortably padded.”
A close-up view of the headstock reveals the serial number stamped in its top: 48759.
The original list price for the Princess was $169 plus $15 for the special white guitar case. The current value for one in excellent all-original condition is $1,500. The amp behind the guitar is a 1961 Fender Princeton. The brownface Princeton had many upgrades from its tweed predecessor, including two 6V6 power tubes pushing 12 watts of power through a 10" speaker, and built-in tremolo. The 1961–’62 Fender catalog proclaimed: “This radically new Fender Princeton Amplifier is a result of much effort on the part of the Fender Engineers to combine in one instrument the desirable features which have been suggested by dealers, teachers, and studio operators.” The original list price was $99.50. The current value for the amp is $2,000.
Sources for this article include 50 Years of Gretsch Electrics: Half a Century of White Falcons, Gents, Jets, and Other Great Guitars by Tony Bacon, Gretsch: The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company by Jay Scott, The Gretsch Book—A Complete History of Gretsch Electric Guitars by Tony Bacon and Paul Day, and Fender Amps: The First Fifty Years by John Teagle and John Sprung.
Billy Gibbons is an undisputable guitar force whose feel, tone, and all-around vibe make him the highest level of hero. But that’s not to say he hasn’t made some odd choices in his career, like when ZZ Top re-recorded parts of their classic albums for CD release. And fans will argue which era of the band’s career is best. Some of us love drum machines and synths and others don’t, but we all love Billy.
This episode is sponsored by Magnatone
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
Released in 1983, the Roland SDE-3000 rackmount delay was a staple for pro players of the era and remains revered for its rich analog/digital hybrid sound and distinctive modulation. BOSS reimagined this retro classic in 2023 with the acclaimed SDE-3000D and SDE-3000EVH, two wide-format pedals with stereo sound, advanced features, and expanded connectivity. The SDE-3 brings the authentic SDE-3000 vibe to a streamlined BOSS compact, enhanced with innovative creative tools for every musical style. The SDE-3 delivers evocative delay sounds that drip with warmth and musicality. The efficient panel provides the primary controls of its vintage benchmark—including delay time, feedback, and independent rate and depth knobs for the modulation—plus additional knobs for expanded sonic potential.
A wide range of tones are available, from basic mono delays and ’80s-style mod/delay combos to moody textures for ambient, chill, and lo-fi music. Along with reproducing the SDE-3000's original mono sound, the SDE-3 includes a powerful Offset knob to create interesting tones with two simultaneous delays. With one simple control, the user can instantly add a second delay to the primary delay. This provides a wealth of mono and stereo colors not available with other delay pedals, including unique doubled sounds and timed dual delays with tap tempo control. The versatile SDE-3 provides output configurations to suit any stage or studio scenario.
Two stereo modes include discrete left/right delays and a panning option for ultra-wide sounds that move across the stereo field. Dry and effect-only signals can be sent to two amps for wet/dry setups, and the direct sound can be muted for studio mixing and parallel effect rigs. The SDE-3 offers numerous control options to enhance live and studio performances. Tap tempo mode is available with a press and hold of the pedal switch, while the TRS MIDI input can be used to sync the delay time with clock signals from DAWs, pedals, and drum machines. Optional external footswitches provide on-demand access to tap tempo and a hold function for on-the-fly looping. Alternately, an expression pedal can be used to control the Level, Feedback, and Time knobs for delay mix adjustment, wild pitch effects, and dramatic self-oscillation.
The new BOSS SDE-3 Dual Delay Pedal will be available for purchase at authorized U.S. BOSS retailers in October for $219.99. To learn more, visit www.boss.info.