![]() “They even named their guitars after cars: they had the Corvette model, the Streamliner and the Convertible, and they used automotive references like Cadillac Green in their color scheme. ![]() There’s a ‘cool’ factor, there’s an aesthetic factor, there’s a macho factor, and I think Gretsch saw a parallel there. “Guitars and cars have always gone together,” says Ed Ball, author of Ball’s Manual of Gretsch Guitars: 1950s. Guitars and cars have always gone together Ed Ball If Fender’s and Gibson’s electric guitar designs embraced the styling of hot-rod culture, then the White Falcon – Gretsch’s “Cadillac of guitars” – embodied the zeitgeist of the 1950s.Īdorned in gold, and finished in a dazzling white automotive-style paint, it mirrored with equally lavish elegance the angular, futuristic geometry of dream cars through its Cadillac V emblem tailpiece, V-contoured headstock and truss-rod cover, and Grover Imperial stair-step tuners. “The ’58s are built like a brick,” Ed Ball says. This 1958 6136 features Gretsch’s reinforced trestle bracing system, introduced that year. “I’ve got a blackguard Tele and some other ’50s guitars, but there’s something about the White Falcon that conjures up that amazing time of rock and roll.” They really capture the ’50s era well, and there’s nothing else like it. I can’t imagine them being produced in any other era than the ’50s. The earlier ’50s ones generally have a body depth of 2¾ inches, but when Gretsch reduced it to 1 7/8 inches, the feel of the guitar completely changed. “I did have a ’60 thinline, but it didn’t seem to have the same magic. There’s something about the White Falcon that conjures up that amazing time of rock and roll Anonymous British collector The other three in his collection – a ’58 mono 6136, a ’59 6136 and a ’59 stereo 6137 – were acquired from the United States. “So I bought it and was smitten from then on. ![]() ![]() “It totally lived up to my expectations,” the collector continues. Includes a deluxe hardshell case.The Madagascar ebony fretboard has feather engraved block inlays and goldsparkle binding. The iconic G6136-55 Vintage Select Edition ‘55 Falcon™ Hollow Body with Cadillac Tailpiece is the quintessential “Holy Grail” guitar. The White Falcon drips with sophisticated class, sporting shining gold hardware-including the iconic Cadillac “G” tailpiece and gold jeweled arrow knobs-gold sparkle bound neck, body and F-holes, gleaming vintage white gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish and gold, vintage thick plexi pickguard with Gretsch logo. The 12”-radius ebony fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and elegant mother-of-pearl Hump Block and feather inlays tops a maple neck with a comfortably familiar standard “U”-shaped profile for supple playability, making complex chords and intricate single-note playing effortless. Parallel tone bars reinforce the solid spruce top mated to laminated maple back and sides for powerful, balanced sound and increased projection from the 2.75”-deep body. The Synchro-Sonic™ bridge not only lends original-era authenticity, it offers pinpoint intonation accuracy, locking into place with a thumbscrew for tool-free adjustment. Fluid playability, robustly flexible tone and, of course, stunning Falcon style combine for a big, bold instrument that pops in the spotlight.Ī pair of TV Jones® T-Armond single-coil pickups and the new Gretsch “Squeezebox” paper-in-oil capacitors power this sonic raptor for crystal-clear transparent tone that lets the soul of the guitar’s definitive hollowbody tone shine through. The G6136-55 Vintage Select Edition ‘55 Falcon™ Hollow Body with Cadillac Tailpiece is a true “Dream Guitar” that will be the hallmark of any guitar collection. Gretsch G6136-55 Vintage Select Edition '55 Falcon Hollow Body with Cadillac Tailpiece TV Jones T-Armond Pickups Vintage WhiteĮxperience the Falcon as it was envisioned by the great Jimmie Webster in 1955.
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