1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Moderators: Slowy, Capt. Black
- GrantB
- ADMIN
- Posts: 15893
- meble-kuchenne.warszawa.pl
- Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2003 9:04 am
- Location: Where I need to be
- Has liked: 1358 times
- Been liked: 2097 times
1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet from 1969
Features include treble boost circuit, B5 Gretsch Bigsby, body is slim (like an SG) mahogany and the top maple. Large neck, Superton I’s, original case and factory card, original leather strap.
I purchased from the son of an ex Gretsch employee. Here’s the summary he gave me in a letter dated 13th July 2010:
- (His father) Graduated from a New York City trade school for carpentry and was hired by Mr Fred Gretsch
- Worked for Gretsch from 1965 – 1970
- Salary was $65 a week plus “piece work”
- Started in wet sanding then dry sanding and fitting the guitars!
Dad remembers Mr Chet Atkins making frequent factory visits to quality check, play & tune.
- Dad remembers when an old water tower at the factory was dismantled they used the wood for some of the guitar necks – says it was hard as concrete.
- My Mother remembers Dad telling her when they were working on guitars for George Harrison – “your father signed the inside of one of the guitars”.
- My parents actually watched the home of Mr Gretsch (one day) when his daughter was getting married.
- When the choice was made to move production from New York to Arkansas my Father was not able to move.
- Mr Gretsch was the Chairman of the board for Lincoln Savings Bank where he was able to find Dad a job.
- Both my parents say Mr Gretsch was a very kind and compassionate man.
The guitar had not been played for probably 3 decades. The wood was brittle and dry yet had been exposed to moisture at some stage. All of the binding was rotten. The fretboard was brittle, dry and had shrunk a tad. The Gold hardware was mostly green with a white hue. The electronics were completely rusted out. The switches broken, the pots frozen and rusted and the original battery, still in its compartment had spilt its volatile contents onto the plastic control cover rendering it brittle has dust. Generally a bit of a basket case. BUT, for a Gretsch it had the most important part right – the neck was sweet. Correct angle and no issues.
Here’s the recovery program.
- Rehydrate guitar for a month with humidifiers inside the case when not being worked on.
- Remove electrics immediately
- Remove hardware
- Gentle oiling of the fretboard over a period of time
- Remove all binding
- Refret – neck dead straight so only a light levelling
- Rebind
- Strip top (should have done while binding was off but only decided to refin it towards the end)
- Rebuild electrics from usable bits and new parts
- Age binding
- Refin top, clear coats
- G0ld plating and pickguard work
- Re-assembly
- Rock n roll!
Sounds easy but the binding work was extremely difficult. Additionally I have three boys, 1.5, 3.5 and 5.5 years old. And a day job, and a wife. Time is difficult to get.
Binding was not available to me (in NZ – remember no shipping of celluloid from the USA) in the correct size or material. I had to use Stew Mac ABS which was hard to work with and not the right wdth or height. To make matters worse the channel was rough and not at 90 degrees....more like 110 so everything had to be hand carved before placing for glueing. A drama.
Anyway, I did maybe 4 nights of 1am recently getting it all sorted and I have to say the results are very pleasing. It plays super well, the neck is large but not real fat – like a wide mid 70’s Les Paul. The pickups are to die for – chiming, raunchy and airy...everything I like about Supertrons.
These are VERY rare guitars. It’s easier to buy a 50’s Jet than a late 60’s one. I am privileged to be the new minder of this guitar – it’s turned out real well.
I have lots of old shots which I will add to this post but here’s a brief of before & after.
And after some love.
Features include treble boost circuit, B5 Gretsch Bigsby, body is slim (like an SG) mahogany and the top maple. Large neck, Superton I’s, original case and factory card, original leather strap.
I purchased from the son of an ex Gretsch employee. Here’s the summary he gave me in a letter dated 13th July 2010:
- (His father) Graduated from a New York City trade school for carpentry and was hired by Mr Fred Gretsch
- Worked for Gretsch from 1965 – 1970
- Salary was $65 a week plus “piece work”
- Started in wet sanding then dry sanding and fitting the guitars!
Dad remembers Mr Chet Atkins making frequent factory visits to quality check, play & tune.
- Dad remembers when an old water tower at the factory was dismantled they used the wood for some of the guitar necks – says it was hard as concrete.
- My Mother remembers Dad telling her when they were working on guitars for George Harrison – “your father signed the inside of one of the guitars”.
- My parents actually watched the home of Mr Gretsch (one day) when his daughter was getting married.
- When the choice was made to move production from New York to Arkansas my Father was not able to move.
- Mr Gretsch was the Chairman of the board for Lincoln Savings Bank where he was able to find Dad a job.
- Both my parents say Mr Gretsch was a very kind and compassionate man.
The guitar had not been played for probably 3 decades. The wood was brittle and dry yet had been exposed to moisture at some stage. All of the binding was rotten. The fretboard was brittle, dry and had shrunk a tad. The Gold hardware was mostly green with a white hue. The electronics were completely rusted out. The switches broken, the pots frozen and rusted and the original battery, still in its compartment had spilt its volatile contents onto the plastic control cover rendering it brittle has dust. Generally a bit of a basket case. BUT, for a Gretsch it had the most important part right – the neck was sweet. Correct angle and no issues.
Here’s the recovery program.
- Rehydrate guitar for a month with humidifiers inside the case when not being worked on.
- Remove electrics immediately
- Remove hardware
- Gentle oiling of the fretboard over a period of time
- Remove all binding
- Refret – neck dead straight so only a light levelling
- Rebind
- Strip top (should have done while binding was off but only decided to refin it towards the end)
- Rebuild electrics from usable bits and new parts
- Age binding
- Refin top, clear coats
- G0ld plating and pickguard work
- Re-assembly
- Rock n roll!
Sounds easy but the binding work was extremely difficult. Additionally I have three boys, 1.5, 3.5 and 5.5 years old. And a day job, and a wife. Time is difficult to get.
Binding was not available to me (in NZ – remember no shipping of celluloid from the USA) in the correct size or material. I had to use Stew Mac ABS which was hard to work with and not the right wdth or height. To make matters worse the channel was rough and not at 90 degrees....more like 110 so everything had to be hand carved before placing for glueing. A drama.
Anyway, I did maybe 4 nights of 1am recently getting it all sorted and I have to say the results are very pleasing. It plays super well, the neck is large but not real fat – like a wide mid 70’s Les Paul. The pickups are to die for – chiming, raunchy and airy...everything I like about Supertrons.
These are VERY rare guitars. It’s easier to buy a 50’s Jet than a late 60’s one. I am privileged to be the new minder of this guitar – it’s turned out real well.
I have lots of old shots which I will add to this post but here’s a brief of before & after.
And after some love.
"Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible god and destroys a visible nature. Unaware that this nature he's destroying is this god he's worshipping." - Hubert Reeves
- jeremyb
- Chorus of Organs
- Posts: 41113
- Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:03 am
- Has liked: 7724 times
- Been liked: 4169 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Wow, do not remember seeing this, fantastic work G!!
Slowy wrote: That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.
-
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 4937
- Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:53 pm
- Location: Auckland
- Has liked: 163 times
- Been liked: 102 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
what can i say apart from wow at the skills and results
edit: and i actually do quite like them when they have no sparkle
edit: and i actually do quite like them when they have no sparkle
- Polar Bear
- Burns BHM
- Posts: 6305
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:53 am
- Location: Wellington
- Has liked: 340 times
- Been liked: 342 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Looks amazing!
Zephyr - Wellington's Leading Covers Band
http://zephyrband.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/ZephyrBandNZ
http://zephyrband.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/ZephyrBandNZ
- Slowy
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 22777
- Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:13 pm
- Location: Orcland
- Has liked: 1018 times
- Been liked: 2482 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Mate, you're an International Treasure.
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.
- bender
- Darth Fader
- Posts: 11848
- Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:46 pm
- Location: Dorkland
- Has liked: 415 times
- Been liked: 1010 times
- Jay
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 7790
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2010 9:35 pm
- Has liked: 1633 times
- Been liked: 1297 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Super Gretch and Super Skills
Pity I did not know else I would have loved to have a good look at it last week.
The second photo shows a plastic clamp - do you move it over the full length of the fret and tighten it every time, or are you just pressing both ends in?
The last photo - nice bit of detail. Just so I understand.... you file the fret ends perfectly flat, then glue the binding on, then shape the binding so that each fret end has a matching binding extension. Right?
Pity I did not know else I would have loved to have a good look at it last week.
The second photo shows a plastic clamp - do you move it over the full length of the fret and tighten it every time, or are you just pressing both ends in?
The last photo - nice bit of detail. Just so I understand.... you file the fret ends perfectly flat, then glue the binding on, then shape the binding so that each fret end has a matching binding extension. Right?
When faced with quality, I recognise it every time.
- StrummersOfThunder
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 7193
- Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:23 pm
- Has liked: 815 times
- Been liked: 1304 times
- Starfire
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 4415
- Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:20 am
- Location: Te Whanganui-a-Tara
- Has liked: 243 times
- Been liked: 597 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Yah, I have posted my adoration for this guitar a couple of times already. Really plays beautifully, and those Supertrons! Phwoar, stop it at once!
What was it Grant said at the gearfest? "You'd have to kill me to get it off me."
What was it Grant said at the gearfest? "You'd have to kill me to get it off me."
- sizzlingbadger
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 8259
- Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
- Location: Wire Wrapper
- Has liked: 1208 times
- Been liked: 1401 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Great work I really like that. Ive always wanted a guitar that shares my birth year.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...
- Polar Bear
- Burns BHM
- Posts: 6305
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:53 am
- Location: Wellington
- Has liked: 340 times
- Been liked: 342 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Me too, sadly outside if some very pretty LP Customs, '83 doesn't have as much excitement as the '60s!sizzlingbadger wrote:Great work I really like that. Ive always wanted a guitar that shares my birth year.
Zephyr - Wellington's Leading Covers Band
http://zephyrband.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/ZephyrBandNZ
http://zephyrband.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/ZephyrBandNZ
- GrantB
- ADMIN
- Posts: 15893
- Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2003 9:04 am
- Location: Where I need to be
- Has liked: 1358 times
- Been liked: 2097 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Wow -dead thread resurrection!!
My youngest is 4.5 now...
I once found a Stratocaster that wasn't only my birth year, it was my exact birthday, stamped on the neck. That was at the height of vintage guitar prices in 2005/06....they wanted $25KUSD. I didn't get it.
This is one of those rare guitars that seems to have soaked up all it's fabulous history and converted it into playability and tone. It sounds quite something as others attest to. And it plays real good.
jvpp - that clamp, from memory was to hold a few of those frets in as the fingerboard had shrunk quite a bit. It's only clamped lightly to keep it down. There's hide glue in the slot. Frets - yes, removed binding, inserted new frets over the edge and then carefully file the frets flat. New binding then goes on and then it's scraped flush with the f/board and over each fret end. Final rounding to match the neck profile is last. Then you have to touch up the lacquer and match the yellowing.
This guitar came in just before I restored the 335 and I recall my wife being a little, ah, over it all by then.
Thanks JB for dusting this one off!
My youngest is 4.5 now...
I once found a Stratocaster that wasn't only my birth year, it was my exact birthday, stamped on the neck. That was at the height of vintage guitar prices in 2005/06....they wanted $25KUSD. I didn't get it.
This is one of those rare guitars that seems to have soaked up all it's fabulous history and converted it into playability and tone. It sounds quite something as others attest to. And it plays real good.
jvpp - that clamp, from memory was to hold a few of those frets in as the fingerboard had shrunk quite a bit. It's only clamped lightly to keep it down. There's hide glue in the slot. Frets - yes, removed binding, inserted new frets over the edge and then carefully file the frets flat. New binding then goes on and then it's scraped flush with the f/board and over each fret end. Final rounding to match the neck profile is last. Then you have to touch up the lacquer and match the yellowing.
This guitar came in just before I restored the 335 and I recall my wife being a little, ah, over it all by then.
Thanks JB for dusting this one off!
"Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible god and destroys a visible nature. Unaware that this nature he's destroying is this god he's worshipping." - Hubert Reeves
- Jay
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 7790
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2010 9:35 pm
- Has liked: 1633 times
- Been liked: 1297 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
Thanks, and again, amazing attention to detail. Looking forward to the next one you will be restoring - I think it is another Gretsch right?Frets - yes, removed binding, inserted new frets over the edge and then carefully file the frets flat. New binding then goes on and then it's scraped flush with the f/board and over each fret end. Final rounding to match the neck profile is last. Then you have to touch up the lacquer and match the yellowing.
When faced with quality, I recognise it every time.
- GrantB
- ADMIN
- Posts: 15893
- Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2003 9:04 am
- Location: Where I need to be
- Has liked: 1358 times
- Been liked: 2097 times
Re: 1969 Duo Jet - saved!
This photo is the fabrication of switches from old and new parts. I had to do that for the tips....but below the housing it was all rusted away. I purchased new switches and bent, cobbled, soldered operating switches out of both sets. That was quite satisfying.
"Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible god and destroys a visible nature. Unaware that this nature he's destroying is this god he's worshipping." - Hubert Reeves