This model, which Gretsch advertised as having both acoustic and electric capabilities, was introduced by the manufacturer in 1955 as an option for acoustic players who were hesitant about going down the electric guitar path.
If you didn’t know everything in the guitar business in the early to mid 1900s, you were in good company—as so much was only just emerging. In 1936, Charlie Christian ripped open a can of electrical worms when he used his “pick-up unit” to soar over his otherwise acoustic band, establishing the guitar as a solo instrument and touching off a phenomenon in guitar manufacturing. Then, in 1948, Fred Gretsch Jr. returned to the helm at Gretsch—having briefly managed the company in the early ’40s—with a bold new vision that would meet the demands of guitarists wanting to plug in and turn up.
Gretsch began offering exciting custom finishes and all manner of gadgetry and gizmos, but not every guitarist was ready to take the electric plunge. They needed a guitar for the electric skeptic. So, in 1955, the Model 6199 “Convertible” was introduced. “Play it electric or play it acoustic and get top tone either way,” extols the 1955 Gretsch catalog. “That’s because instead of being built-in, the Gretsch Dynasonic pickup of this guitar is suspended clear of the top to allow full, free vibration.”
Fred Gretsch Jr. returned to the helm at Gretsch in 1942, with the goal of building electric models for the relatively nascent and growing industry.
Photo by Madison Thorn
But, as is so often the case when one tries to be all things to all people, the Convertible was not a big seller. It did, however, attract the attention of prominent jazz guitarist Sal Salvador, pictured proudly with his sunburst Convertible on his album covers. Salvador was a capable performer who valued a willingness to learn, teaching many students privately in New York at the height of his musical popularity.
“If you didn’t know everything in the guitar business in the 1950s, you were in good company.”
In 1956, one of Salvador’s students, 24-year-old Dan Duffy, was hired to oversee quality control at Gretsch. He wrote a book about his experience called Inside the Gretsch Factory 1957/1970. I managed to track down a copy, and found it written in all caps. I delighted myself in imagining Duffy shouting the entire book to someone. It’s really a fun little book. In it, Duffy describes the Convertible as a “good guitar” that had “a great sound but was prone to feedback.”
Duffy had his own learning experience trying to fix this problem. Installing soundposts had a minimal effect, so Duffy decided—in all his 24-year-old wisdom—to stuff it with fiberglass and test it out on a gig. “That night, I shook more than Elvis did,” writes Duffy. “Somehow I got it down my neck and was jumping out of my pants all night.... I brought it to work. I put the air pressure hose inside the guitar and blew it out. The next day, some of the workers complained they had a terrible itch all night. I said, ‘Me, too.’ I knew this was stupid when I was doing it.”
The Dynasonic pickup featured on the Gretsch Convertible, later dubbed the “Sal Salvador,” is suspended above the top plate of the guitar by a thin strip of wood.
Photo by Madison Thorn
By 1958, when the dust of Duffy’s debacle had settled, the Convertible had become so closely associated with Salvador that Gretsch just went ahead and renamed it the Sal Salvador model. Which brings us to ours: a 1961 Sal Salvador model in great cosmetic condition. It has obviously been well taken care of and is all original. Its remarkable acoustic projection does in fact make it a great choice for someone wanting to switch between plugged and unplugged jazz playing. The inviting C-shape neck feels comfy and the action is 2/32″ on the low side and 1/32″ (!) on the high side. Playing this guitar feels a little like floating on air.
One could easily engage with guitars only on this surface level: assessing the neck angle, the scale length, the condition of the finish, et cetera. But digging a little deeper and indulging our desire to learn guided us on a journey: from the earliest days of amplified instruments to the fine old jazz box laying in my lap today. Here’s hoping these guitars keep passing through our doors and telling us their stories, as long as we are willing to listen.
The Airline Professional Vibrato was Valco's top-of-the line Res-O-Glas model.
In 1961, the Valco Company began to revamp their factory in Chicago and invested in a new fiberglass technology for building guitars. The company highlighted how fiberglass guitars would be more durable and resistant to changes in climate. Additionally, it would be much cheaper compared to using wood. By 1962, a large portion of the factory was dedicated to building 6-strings using fiberglass, and there were about 10 different models dubbed Res-O-Glas guitars.
Sure, those knobs and the pickup selector will get in the way of your strums, but they don’t make this hip-looking Airline any less cool.
Valco made different Res-O-Glas guitar models using the brands National, Supro, and Airline. The Airline-branded guitars were sold through Montgomery Ward department store catalogs, and the most expensive model was the Airline Professional Vibrato. This 3-pickup guitar was an interesting departure from the traditional Airline offerings. It featured an angular, oddly shaped body identical to the red Airline guitar that would later be made popular by Jack White. The Professional only came in white, featured a genuine Bigsby vibrato, and sold for a whopping price tag of $249!
Whenever I’m presented with someone who is obsessed with wood quality, I think about the pine, Formica, and fiberglass electric guitars made by Danelectro and Valco as examples of guitar building that totally ignored the traditional process.
The guitar featured fine Kluson tuners, a bound neck with celluloid inlays, nickel-silver frets, and the always exquisite-sounding single-coil Valco pickups (that look like humbuckers) that were made in-house and have a great, aggressive tone, even with fiberglass. The controls for this model include a row of knobs above each pickup for bass and treble. The idea was that you could have each pickup preset to your tastes. There was also a master volume control and a 3-way blade pickup selector switch.
The guitar featured fine Kluson tuners, a bound neck with celluloid inlays, and nickel-silver frets.
This excellent guitar initially appeared in the 1965 catalog, but was gone by 1967, which makes it an extremely rare and desirable instrument. It’s a shame more people haven’t had the chance to play this model, because it offers such a unique experience. The guitar is super light but still well-balanced. The tonal sin of many Valco guitars is that the electronics were often over-done and blanketed in all sorts of capacitors, and this Airline Professional is no exception. The upper row of knobs is also right in the way of your strumming motion, so that’s a bit of a problem. But even with these quirks, the guitar sounds amazing. And all Res-O-Glas instruments are alive and full of vibration!