Gretsch G6134T-58 Vintage select Penguin

90
GUITARIST NOVEMBER 2017
his penguin shuffles
into a pub, sidles up to the bartender and
says, “Excuse me... has my dad been in?”
“I dunno,” the barkeep replies. “What does
he look like?”
Yeah, it’s funny cos it’s true. Penguins
have this tendency to look the same as one
another; and that conspicuous sharing of
DNA doesn’t only apply to those flightless
souls huddled together on the Antarctic ice
with an egg jammed between their knees.
With its new Vintage Select model, Gretsch
has nailed its most accurate reissue of the
iconic 50s White Penguin to date.
The Penguin first hatched back in 1954
but, as this latest model’s catalogue number
reveals, our vintage white G6134T-58
is a doppelgänger for the 1958 edition.
Although it was never designated as such,
the White Penguin is basically a pimped
up version of a Duo Jet, the black-topped
model made famous by ‘Savage Young
Beatles’ era George Harrison and Gene
Vincent & His Blue Caps genius Cliff
Gallup. You could think of the Penguin
then as an identi-kit photo with a Duo Jet
body wrapped in one of Elvis Presley’s
Vegas jumpsuits and topped with the
neck and headstock of its big brother,
the White Falcon.
Like the ’57 Duo Jet in Cadillac Green,
the Penguin is described by Gretsch as a
‘Solidbody’. That’s not strictly true and it
misleads many into assuming the Jet is a
takeoff on another iconic single-cut guitar:
the Gibson Les Paul, which pre-dated it
by a year when it was launched in 1952.
The prosecution’s smoking gun might
be the mahogany/maple construction of
the Duo Jet’s single-cutaway body – all
classic Les Paul, of course. The jury would
be advised to dismiss the twin pickup
layout and three-a-side tuner format as
purely circumstantial. Gibson can’t claim
ownership of that stuff...
The defence would justly counter
that, beneath its skin, the Duo Jet is a
very different beast to legendary Gibson
president Ted McCarty’s first solidbody
design. You see, the reason the ‘Solidbody’
description becomes evident the moment
you pick up the ’58 Penguin and ’57 Duo Jet.
Just like their illustrious ancestors, both
guitars feature a chambered mahogany
back paired with an arched laminated
maple top. When you consider that even
partly occupied by a pair of single coil TV
Jones T-Armond pickups each boasting a
dedicated volume control, a shared master
tone and master volume, and a three-way
pickup selector switch.
Befitting its top-of-the-line status, the
’58 Penguin comes with a nitrocellulose
finish, ebony fingerboard, oodles of gold
sparkle binding – with matching back plates
and a truss rod cover – plus G-Arrow knobs
studded with a little ‘jewel’ and pretty
Grover Imperial tuners, too.
The ’58 also documents some key spec
changes that occurred to solidbody guitars
that year. You’ll find mother-of-pearl
neo-classic thumbnail fingerboard inlays
on show now but it’s the wiring loom
that garnered the most attention. This
was the year that Gretsch switched to its
Filter’Tron humbuckers – here replicated
with TV Jones Classics. There’s a volume
knob for each pickup, plus the master
volume near the Penguin’s cutaway. The
loom is completed with a three-way pickup
switch. The old master tone control is
replaced with a pre-set switch with a trio
of options.
One aspect of both guitars that may
divide opinions is the bridge. The ’57 offers
up the epically over-engineered Synchro-
Sonic (aka the Melita), while the Penguin
is harbouring the equally maligned Space
Control bridge. Both are usually dumped
by Gretsch-heads for the simpler bar
bridge made by Gretsch and artisans like
Tru-Arc. Personally we like the look and
performance of the stock items. Some
bemoan the fact they can’t palm mute
with the Melita and Space Control but
we managed just fine.
However, there’s obviously another,
way more affordable, guitar that may be
worthy of attention. If our Penguin and
Cadillac Green Duo Jet were kicking it
back in first class with a glass of Dom
Perignon and a plateful of vol-au-vents,
the Chinese-made Electromatic G5435T
Pro Jet might be slumming it in economy
with complimentary nuts and a plastic
cup full of Tizer. So, how did this budget
Jet manoeuvre its way into such esteemed
company? Well, the Electromatic range has
picked up a cult following over the past few
years. ’Matic fans love pimping these things.
Electromatic tweakers can also be
somewhat cynical of the price tags on the
a weight-relieved Les Paul won’t give you
much change out of 10lbs, the Penguin
and Jet’s average of 8lbs makes for happier
shoulders. The chambered construction
has a huge effect on tone, too, and while
there are some significant spec differences
despite being reissues of consecutive model
years, the ’57 Caddy Green Duo Jet and ’58
Penguin do have a lot in common.
The big news for Gretsch geeks is that
these guitars feature period correct 2-inch
(50.8mm) deep bodies – just like the
G6128T-GH George Harrison Signature
Duo Jet which has been around for a
while. Non-Vintage Select Jet and Penguin
reissues ship with a 1.75" (44.45mm)
body depth. Aside from the chambered
mahogany and maple chassis both guitars
come spec’d with gold hardware, including
a banjo-style armrest, a 625mm (24.6")
scale set mahogany neck, a 305mm (12")
fingerboard radius, 22 medium jumbo
frets and a bone top nut.
As for the differences, the ’57 Duo Jet
has classic period correct features like a
rosewood ’board punctuated by pearloid
‘hump block’ inlays, aged white body and
neck binding, G-Arrow control knobs and
open back Grover Sta-Tite tuners. You get
a Bigsby vibrato too, of course, and while
it’s basically the same model fitted to the
Penguin, the ’57 features a beautifully
sculpted arm, attached to the Bigsby body
with a big slot-head bolt. The Penguin
comes spec’d with the more familiar
flat Bigsby arm secured with a rounded
smooth-top bolt.
Moving on, the ’57 Jet’s beautiful
polyurethane Cadillac Green finish is
·
“If the Penguin and
Cadillac Green Duo
Jet were in fi rst class
sipping champagne the
Chinese-made Pro Jet
would be in economy”
·
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GRETSCH SINGLECUTS
90
GUITARIST NOVEMBER 2017
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