Gretsch BillyBo Jupiter Thunderbird
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 USA-
made pickup range (available in
numerous styles) is known for its
Gretsch reproductions and the
Power’Trons fi tted here are new to the
range this year. “It was borne out of our
desire to create a Filter’Tron-sized
pickup with a strong mid-range
presence and high output while still
retaining the famous sparkle and bass-
note clarity of our TV Classic,” says TV
Jones. “The tone is remarkably close to
a fi fties PAF humbucker, blended with
a zing and twang that’s all Gretsch.”
At the neck, we have a standard
Power’Tron with a slightly wider
pole-spaced Power’Tron Plus at bridge
that’s also a little hotter than the
standard Power’Tron bridge pickup. As
you can see, they’re dressed up to look
like classic Filter’Trons complete with
partial chrome-plated covers and 12
adjustable pole pieces.
There’s also a high knob-count with
virtually any Gretsch; and the Billy-Bo
is no exception. Along with the
shoulder-mounted three-way toggle,
we have a master volume mounted
through the black acrylic plastic
pickguard, then a volume for each
pickup, and fi nally a master tone. The
output jack is neatly mounted in a
circular metal housing on the inside of
the treble side ‘tail-fi n’.
SOUNDS: You don’t need the blues-
based skills of Mr Gibbons or the
rhythmic drive of Mr Diddley to
appreciate the ‘Billy-Bo’. Simply plug
into a Fender-style amp, keep your
gain down but wind up the power amp,
add a bucket of reverb and you’re
taken back a few
decades to that
classic bright-but-
not-thin twang
that is hallmark
Gretsch. That’s not
to say the ‘Billy-Bo’
sounds like a 6120:
it doesn’t. The
Power’Trons dish
out a more muscular voice – the bridge
pickup has an almost nasal bite
contrasted by the well-matched softer
and darker neck humbucker. It’s a true
hot-rod Gretsch tone as we still get the
sparkle and twang, but with enough
beef to fry your preamp stage – though
not excessively.
Kick in a fuzztone or switch to a
grittier amp setting and try out your
Texas Top riffs, and we’ll guarantee it’ll
bring a smile to your face. Again, the
muscular PAF-like power sits so well
with those higher harmonics; Gibbon’s
pinched harmonics fl y from your pick
and anyone who likes a bit of single-coil
P-90 beef mixed in with their grit will
enjoy this. At high levels, you can’t help
notice the chambered construction
that really makes the guitar feel
resonant and alive.
The controls are easy to use and,
for cleaner styles, mixing the pickup
volumes creates some softer voices –
the sound rounds out a little when you
reduce the volumes. But if you wanted
to use the ‘Billy-
Bo’ in a more rock
environment you
might be tempted
to rewire with
just two controls
for a more
standard volume
and tone set-up.
While the smaller
fretwire suits older fl uid slides, a
slightly bigger wire would help you
really dig in (especially if you wanted
to use heavier gauge string) but there’s
no doubt it all adds to the guitar’s
character and the sounds you produce.
“We’ve introduced a few little
modifi cations just to tweak it into the
tone zone,” says Billy. “The fi rst one off
the boat was sent over for our approval
and, man, they sound great. It’s a really
neat-sounding thing.” We’d have to
agree with that…
Gibson Firebird V
£1,640 (approx)
Gretsch Bo Diddley
£1,999
(left-handed, £2,099)
Italia Maranello Classic
£499
Conceived a few years
after Bo designed the
T-Bird, Gibson’s Firebird
shares automotive
inspiration. While many
‘modernistic’ designs
haven’t stayed the
course, the Firebird’s
elegant design is a
true classic. Bo’s other
famous design is the
rectangular-shaped
model originally built
for him in 1958.
Powered by two High
Sensitive Filter’Tron
pickups it’ll still get
you noticed today.
Italia’s range, designed
by Trev Wilkinson, is
named after Ferrari cars
and imbued with retro
elegance. Great quality
too – just ask Chris Rea!
The rivals
DECEMBER 2005 109
GRETSCH ‘BILLY-BO’ JUPITER THUNDERBIRD £2,099
ELECTRICS
CD TRACKS 6 & 7
You don’t play a Gretsch
because it’s value-for-
money. You play one because
they look damn cool and that
sound – albeit beefi er here –
is frankly unique
These new TV Jones
Power’Tron high-
output pickups have
a strong mid-range
GIT271.rev_gretsch 109GIT271.rev_gretsch 109 11/11/05 11:06:11 am11/11/05 11:06:11 am