Gretsch BillyBo Jupiter Thunderbird

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Gretsch ‘Billy-Bo’ Jupiter Thunderbird £2,099

PHOTOGRAPHY AMANDA THOMAS

Two of our most wonderfully eccentric artists – Billy Gibbons and Bo Diddley –

team up to produce, well, a wonderfully eccentric guitar

by Dave Burrluck

f you were to combine two of the

guitar’s most colourful characters,

it’d be hard to beat the combination

of Billy Gibbons and Bo Diddley.

Generations apart they may be but

both are eccentric, and both know how

to make their music dance. Long-time

Gretsch user Bo Diddley knew how to

put on a show in his day, and his

Thunderbird tailﬁ n-shaped electrics

and rectangular guitars were all part of

his inﬂ uential act. Hey, he even came

up with a beat… And Billy Gibbons, as

last month’s feature on his new book

Rock + Roll Gearhead proved, is no

stranger to the weirdest of guitars. So

how did this latest dual signature

model come about?

“Some time ago, Bo gave me the

guitar as a gift,” says Billy. “It was

during the recent ZZ Top recordings

that the engineering crew and I snaked

through the guitar vault searching for

that ‘certain something’ guitar – and

there it was! We didn’t risk subjecting

such a rare instrument to the rigours of

the road, so this new reproduction

model was created with some BFG

mojo thrown in for good measure. It’s

now the main stage guitar with a

groove.” To prove that point, even the

latest ZZ Top ‘Whack Attack’ tour

poster features our favourite Texas

104 DECEMBER 2005

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Summary of content (6 pages)

PAGE 1
Gretsch ‘Billy-Bo’ Jupiter Thunderbird £2,099 Two of our most wonderfully eccentric artists – Billy Gibbons and Bo Diddley – team up to produce, well, a wonderfully eccentric guitar by Dave Burrluck I PHOTOGRAPHY AMANDA THOMAS f you were to combine two of the guitar’s most colourful characters, it’d be hard to beat the combination of Billy Gibbons and Bo Diddley. Generations apart they may be but both are eccentric, and both know how to make their music dance.
PAGE 2
GRETSCH ‘BILLY-BO’ JUPITER THUNDERBIRD £2,099 ELECTRICS triumvirate standing proudly behind the ‘Billy-Bo’. “It’s an unusual-looking instrument, but quite attractive to my eyes,” continues Billy. “It’s from Bo’s genius artistic capability. Bo told me he came up with the idea in ’59.
PAGE 3
GRETSCH ‘BILLY-BO’ JUPITER THUNDERBIRD £2,099 ELECTRICS CD TRACKS 6 & 7 GRETSCH G6199 ‘BILLY-BO’ JUPITER THUNDERBIRD PRICE: £2,099 (inc case) ORIGIN: Japan TYPE: Custom-shaped semi-solid electric BODY: Chambered mahogany with ‘ultrathin’ laminate maple top NECK: One-piece mahogany, glued-in SCALE LENGTH: 626mm (24.6-inch) NUT/WIDTH: White synthetic/43.
PAGE 4
GRETSCH ‘BILLY-BO’ JUPITER THUNDERBIRD £2,099 ELECTRICS rather basic-looking open-geared Grovers. However, looks can be deceptive, and these work smoothly. Overall, and to be expected at this price, the guitar’s set-up is spot on. Gretsch has been using the highly regarded TV Jones pickups on many models in recent years. This USAmade pickup range (available in numerous styles) is known for its Gretsch reproductions and the Power’Trons fitted here are new to the range this year.
PAGE 5
GRETSCH ‘BILLY-BO’ JUPITER THUNDERBIRD £2,099 ELECTRICS CD TRACKS 6 & 7 Verdict It would be easy to dismiss the ‘BillyBo’ as yet another example of rock star excess. But that really is the point. Bo Diddley’s original vision was all about flash and Billy Gibbon’s reinvention, not to mention love of cars and guitars, makes us wonder why we haven’t seen the ‘Billy-Bo’ before. It’s not a cheap guitar and doesn’t exude the features we’ve come to expect of a £2,000 instrument.
PAGE 6
GRETSCH ‘BILLY-BO’ JUPITER THUNDERBIRD £2,099 ELECTRICS CD TRACKS 6 & 7 Rocking the Cavern Gretsch may be one of the oldest established guitar brands, but keeping it alive requires considerable effort. We track down marketing manager Mike Lewis in Liverpool. Where else? Words and pics Dave Burrluck It’s late September, and Liverpool’s Cavern Club is rockin’ to the sound of Gretsch.