Firebirds came stock with a solid G-logo tailpiece, although Bigsby vibratos were often added.
It also has a personal connection. A guitarist in the band I toured with in the 1980s played a Jet Firebird from this batch extensively, but later sold it. At a decades-on reunion, it was sorely missed, leading me to obtain this one to provide the same “Great Gretsch Sound,” as the company’s ads trumpeted, and style.
Gretsch’s so-called “Jet Stream” models have been one of the company’s enduring creations. Spurred by Gibson’s 1952 Les Paul, Gretsch replied with a guitar of similar size and layout, but different construction. The single-cutaway Jets appeared in late 1953. Designated as solidbodies in the catalog, they were actually semi-solid, built on a mahogany body hollowed out from above and capped with an arched plywood top. This reduced weight and gave them a different sound and feel.
“Designated as solidbodies in the catalog, they were actually semi-solid, built on a mahogany body hollowed out from above and capped with an arched plywood top.”
By 1955, Gretsch fielded a line of Jets: the black-topped Duo Jet and Western-themed Round-Up were followed by the sparkle-top Silver Jet, the red-over-black Jet Firebird and Western orange 6121 Chet Atkins solidbody. Several sold well through the ’50s, but by the turn of the decade, sales seemed to slump, as with the Les Pauls that inspired them. In 1960–’61, Gibson redesigned the Les Paul into a slim-sculpted double-cutaway. In late ’61, Gretsch restyled the Jet body into a symmetrical double-cutaway, retaining the semi-solid construction while persisting in calling them solidbodies. The new catalog announced: “Out of this world.... Find yourself soaring through musical space and time … the epitome of solidbody construction.” The revised Jet Firebird listed at $325, soon raised to $350. The actual transition occurs in a batch bearing serial numbers in the 420XX series. At the time, Gretsch numbering usually allotted 100 pre-numbered labels to a production-year model, with all Jets lumped into one batch. The label is inside the control cavity; the serial number is also hand-etched onto the back plastic cavity cover.
Jets from 1961 retain the main features of their late-1950s predecessors: twin Filter’Tron humbucking pickups, master volume on the lower cutaway, individual pickup volumes on the lower quarter with the pickup selector and tone switch (aka “mud” switch) on the upper, bass side. The Jet’s evolution happened rapidly, moving through three stages over this one batch. The first 30 to 40 420XX examples are still single-cutaways. By 42043, the double-cut body appears, showing a notable eccentricity: the pickup selection and tone switches arrayed across the upper body in a straight line above the pickups, to the rear of the prior position. Unfortunately, this meant players could easily hit them while picking, inadvertently changing tones in mid song!
Note the chips in the headstock wood—signs of an earlier alteration of the tuning pegs, now restored to vintage spec.
Photo by George Aslaender
Shortly after this Jet Firebird bearing the number 42057 was made, the switch array was moved forward to the upper horn, mounted at an angle. This change appears by 42064, suggesting only around 20 to 30 of these first-style double-cuts exist. Known examples are mostly Duo Jets, with a few Jet Firebirds and a couple of rare Sparkle Jets. These also lack the 1961–’62 standby switch fitted on the lower bout. All came stock with a solid G-logo tailpiece, although Bigsby vibratos were often added. The next Jet batch introduced the top-mounted Burns of London vibrato unit as a stock fitting and an upgrade to gold hardware. While the double-cut body gave the Jets a new, modern look, it apparently did not improve sales. The balance suffered from the upper strap button moving back several inches, but otherwise they felt and sounded pretty much like their predecessors. This model is most associated with AC/DC’s Malcom Young, who powered the band with one right from the beginning, with that particular guitar heavily altered along the way.
The company’s Filter’Tron pickups have always had their own distinctive bark.
Photo by George Aslaender
This 1961 Jet Firebird survives in more original condition. The bridge and tuners previously went missing but have been restored to original. A driver’s license number is etched on the back of the headstock, and chips on the peghead face remain from the tuner alteration. A strap button was added to the heel, giving a better balance point. The playability is excellent and the Filter’Trons offer the classic ring and crunch, accentuated by the chambered body. The neck is slim and round-backed, with a bound-ebony fretboard inlaid in the company “neoclassic” pattern, retaining the original frets. Not being a heavy-handed strummer, the eccentric switch location has never bothered me. While in the early 1960s these pseudo-solidbodies seemed to fade from popularity, for me, this early example of Gretsch “jetting” its way into the 1960s remains a solid favorite.
Flame Top Mandolin Burst
The Speed of Sound is a bolt-on construction instrument featuring the Patent-Pending "ResoLink" - a brass plate which links the body and neck to aid in resonance, sustain and articulation. The 'Reso-Link' is tuned specifically to sonically connect the neck and body to aid in the sympathetic resonance of each note. There's a defined note separation and sparkle added to the tones of the guitar that make it reminiscent of the touch-sensitive response of vintage guitars that have had decades to acclimate as a musical instrument and vibrate as one whole piece.
The tone woods of the guitars (fretboards to necks and tops to bodies) are joined together using hot hide glue. The use of hide glue is a process adapted from vintage guitar construction, violin makers, and stringed instruments from decades and centuries past. Hot hide glue adds sustain and brilliance and brings out the natural tonal properties of the wood. The pickups are designed in collaboration with Mark Stow of OX4, a well-respected pickup winder known for his incredibly accurate PAF replicas.
The pickups are a blend of some of Tommy and Mark’s favorite original PAF pickups from the late 1950s. The introductory sets also include a reverse magnet neck pickup to replicate the Peter Green & Gary Moore-owned Burst pickup that has become popular over the last few years. It delivers out-of-phase single coil sounds as well as blistering humbucking tones. The bridge pickup not only takes the best attributes from those early PAFs pickups, but combined with a slightly degaussed Alnico 5 magnet and 42 enamel wire, delivers a sound unmatched in current handmade pickups today.
The hardware and electronics of the guitar are also built of the highest quality materials. The Speed of Sound features a brass tremolo design made popular in the late '70s through early '80s. They are constructed from 360 brass, and the bridges are available in hard-tail and tremolo models. They provide a unique tone and sustain tuning stability due to the unique shape of the bridge saddle. Of course, models are available with Floyd Rose tremolos upon request. The Speed of Sound is wired with vintage-accurate cloth-covered 22-gauge wire with authentic paper-in-oil capacitors and vintage-taper potentiometers designed to get great tones delivered from zero to ten.
Roasted Birdseye Top Merlot Finish
Features
- Solidbody Electric Guitar
- Maple Top (Options for Roasted, Quilt & Flame Maple)
- More Top Wood Options include Ash & Mahogany
- Colletti Carve Neck with Heavily Rolled Shoulders
- 5 Degree Headstock Angle • Brass Side Dots
- 25.5" or 24-3/4" Scale Length Options
- 1.65” Width Brass Nut • Jumbo Nickel Frets
- Specially-Voiced OX4 Pickups with Reverse Magnet Neck Pickup
- Emerson Paper in Oil .022 capacitor
- Mojotone Vintage taper volume and tone potentiometers with Cloth Wiring
- Brass Ground and Jack Plates, , Legacy Control Cavity
- Patent-Pending Reso-Link
Introducing the Colletti Guitars 'Speed of Sound': Vintage-Inspired & American-Made!
Currently, the Colletti Guitars Speed of Sound is available exclusively at The Music Zoo. You can shop at The Music Zoo's website, or make an appointment to the showroom in Farmingdale, New York.