Gretsch has heralded the arrival of summer by introducing two new signature guitars.
The G6131G-MY-RB and G6134TFM-NH were created for late AC/DC rhythm guitar dynamo Malcolm Young and Nigel Hendroff, respectively, and each boasts some unique kit.
We'll take you through each of them below, starting with the Young model.
Gretsch G6131G-MY-RB Limited Edition Malcolm Young Signature Jet
Malcolm Young's favorite electric guitar was a legendary six-string affectionately dubbed "The Beast." Early on in AC/DC's career, it was a Firebird Red Jet with stock neck and bridge humbuckers, plus a middle humbucker installed by Young.
The rhythm guitar great then decided to strip that middle humbucker, and the neck humbucker, leaving only a bridge pickup. He also stripped the guitar down from its original Firebird Red look to his preferred natural finish.
The G6131G-MY-RB recreates The Beast as it appeared in AC/DC's It's A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) music video – after the addition of the middle 'bucker.
We don't have its full spec sheet yet, but we do know that it boasts a double-cutaway chambered mahogany body with a maple top, plus a trio of TV Jones pickups – Ray Butts Ful- Fidelity Filter’Trons in the neck and bridge, and a Starwood humbucker in the middle, for added punch.
These are controlled in part by an individual pickup toggle switch, a three-way tone switch and a three-position standby switch.
Elsewhere, there's a harmonica-style Adjusto-Matic bridge with a pinned ebony base, and a print of Young's signature on the guitar's truss rod cover.
The Gretsch G6131G-MY-RB Limited Edition Malcolm Young Signature Jet will be available starting in October for $3,399. It seems bound to be a good option for those who loved the power of Gretsch's previous G6131-MY Malcolm Young Signature Jet, but are looking for a bit more tonal variety on top.
G6134TFM-NH Nigel Hendroff Signature Penguin
Second on tap is a new signature Penguin for Nigel Hendroff, a prominent guitarist in the world of Christian music.
Like a typical Penguin, the G6134TFM-NH features a chambered mahogany body with a maple top. It also sports a mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard, and is powered by a pair of Broad’Tron BT65 pickups. Intriguingly though, the G6134TFM-NH's control set seems to our eyes to be a bit more streamlined than that found on a typical Penguin
The spec sheet is rounded out by a string-thru Bigsby B7CP vibrato, Grover Imperial locking tuners and strap locks.
The Gretsch G6134TFM-NH Nigel Hendroff Signature Penguin will be available starting in July – in Amber Flame and Dark Cherry Metallic Flame finishes – for $3,499.
For more info on both new models, visit Gretsch.
