Gretsch White Falcon
Encyclopedia
The Gretsch White Falcon is a visually distinctive guitar commercially introduced in 1955 by Gretsch
. While it has seen vast and substantial changes to its body shape and features through the years, and is currently offered in several styles, the White Falcon has always maintained a striking and unmistakable presence and has become a highly recognized piece of Rock
history.
The White Falcon is best known for its large 17-inch size and distinctive appearance, with gleaming white paint, copious gold trim, and a falcon
in mid-flight engraved on the gold pickguard.
marketing strategist Jimmie Webster sought to design a guitar to improve upon the Gibson
Super 400. He wanted a "Dream Guitar", and gained his inspiration by walking through the immense Gretsch factory and watching the construction of the staggering diversity of musical instruments the company produced. From the banjo
production line, Webster recalled the engraved pearl inlays that adorned the fretboard and headstock. Many of Gretsch's drum
s were covered with thick sparkly gold plastic that could also be used as binding on guitars. The combination of these eye-catching features with an immense 17" wide by 2¾" deep white body and highest quality gold-plated hardware rendered "the Cadillac
of guitars," the White Falcon.
The White Falcon was unveiled at the NAMM show in July 1954. It was displayed as "the guitar of the future," but Gretsch initially had no plans to actually manufacture the model. It was supposed to be a showpiece, much like GM's Motorama "Dream Cars" of the day.
The sheer volume of questions sales reps received about the eye-catching instrument led Gretsch to begin commercial manufacturing of the guitar, and the first publicly available White Falcon hit stores in 1955. As the company's new high-end guitar, Gretsch marketed it as "the finest guitar we know how to make – and what a beauty!" The White Falcon originally cost $600 (about $4,100, adjusted for inflation); this price tag was second only to the $690 asking price of Gibson's Super 400CESN.
So popular was the White Falcon (and other Gretsch models of the time) that this era in Gretsch guitar history is frequently referred to as "The Golden Years" or "The Great Years" of the company. Through the '60s, Webster continually improved the Falcon with more features, including a Stereo version. By the late '60s, the Falcon was substantially altered from what is considered its former glory. It also switched to a twin-cutaway body beginning in 1962.
With over a decade of accomplishment, Fred Gretsch retired in 1967 and sold his company to Baldwin Manufacturing. Baldwin would have trouble understanding guitars in general and the White Falcon in particular, which disastrously failed to evolve smoothly out of the rockabilly
era. Most who were inspired by the new hot guitarists Jimi Hendrix
, Jeff Beck
, Eric Clapton
and other musical greats were turning to Fender, rather than Gretsch.
To make matters worse, the rapidly deteriorating Baldwin Manufacturing experienced two destructive fires at its new Arkansas plant in 1973. Gretsch limped through the '70s and finally closed production in the '80s. Falcon guitars quickly evolved into mere collectables, being owned more as keepsakes or for vintage sound than as a popular instrument. In 1989, Fred Gretsch III resumed control of the family business and began making guitars again. These instruments are based on classic Gretsch designs, including the venerable White Falcon.
finish, ebony
fingerboard
, 17" wide hollow body, gold-plated hardware, engraved gold pickguard
, and gold sparkle binding. Throughout its history, some features have changed as technology and style evolved.
1954–1958, model number 6136:
Vertical gold
headstock
logo with winged "G;" pearl
block fretboard inlays with avian-themed engravings; two DynaSonic single coil
pickups; control configuration consisting of master tone, master volume, volume for each pickup, and three-way toggle pickup selector switch; trapeze tailpiece with "G" and Cadillac-inspired "V"-shape; Melita bridge; 2¾" deep single-cutaway body.
1958–1962, model number 6136:
Horizontal "T-roof" headstock logo sans wings; "Neo-classic" thumbprint fretboard inlays; two FilterTron humbucking pickups; control configuration consisting of master volume, volume for each pickup, three-way toggle pickup selector switch, and three-way toggle tone switch; Space Control bridge. A stereo model (6137) was introduced; this model featured an extra set of pickup selector and tone switches and had the bridge pickup moved closer to the neck.
1962–1964, model numbers 6136 and 6137 (stereo
):
Two-inch deep double-cutaway body with dual string mutes; standby switch; zero fret
; white leather pad on the back.
1964–1972, model number 6136 and 6137 (stereo):
Bigsby vibrato
with telescoping "dog leg" arm; "T-zone tempered treble" slanted upper frets.
1973, model numbers 6136 and 6137 (stereo):
Bigsby tailpiece with "V" cutout, reminiscent of the original "Cadillac" tailpiece. This is the last model year for "vintage" White Falcons.
1974–1981, model numbers 7593 (single-cutaway) and 7595 (double-cutaway):
Angularly-shaped pickguard without "Gretsch"; rectangular block fretboard inlays; Baldwin "B" trapeze tailpiece; truss rod cover, string mutes and standby switch removed. In 1981, Gretsch ceased manufacturing guitars.
1995–present, model numbers 6136 and 7593:
Models are now available commemorating every phase in the design of the White Falcon. Features are reproduced accordingly. Modern Falcons are also available in black and silver, and include a Stephen Stills
signature model (based on the 1958 incarnation), as well as a green Bono
Irish Falcon that incorporates the original vertical headstock logo and engraved block inlays with the post-1958 electronics configuration and features "The Goal Is Soul" silkscreened onto the pickguard. Gretsch recently added a Brian Setzer Black Phoenix model to its lineup. Like Brian Setzer's signature Hot Rod 6120, the Black Phoenix features stripped-down electronics that consist of two pickups, a selector switch, and a volume knob.
Gretsch
The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
. While it has seen vast and substantial changes to its body shape and features through the years, and is currently offered in several styles, the White Falcon has always maintained a striking and unmistakable presence and has become a highly recognized piece of Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
history.
The White Falcon is best known for its large 17-inch size and distinctive appearance, with gleaming white paint, copious gold trim, and a falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
in mid-flight engraved on the gold pickguard.
Origins and history
In early 1954, GretschGretsch
The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
marketing strategist Jimmie Webster sought to design a guitar to improve upon the Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
Super 400. He wanted a "Dream Guitar", and gained his inspiration by walking through the immense Gretsch factory and watching the construction of the staggering diversity of musical instruments the company produced. From the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
production line, Webster recalled the engraved pearl inlays that adorned the fretboard and headstock. Many of Gretsch's drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s were covered with thick sparkly gold plastic that could also be used as binding on guitars. The combination of these eye-catching features with an immense 17" wide by 2¾" deep white body and highest quality gold-plated hardware rendered "the Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
of guitars," the White Falcon.
The White Falcon was unveiled at the NAMM show in July 1954. It was displayed as "the guitar of the future," but Gretsch initially had no plans to actually manufacture the model. It was supposed to be a showpiece, much like GM's Motorama "Dream Cars" of the day.
The sheer volume of questions sales reps received about the eye-catching instrument led Gretsch to begin commercial manufacturing of the guitar, and the first publicly available White Falcon hit stores in 1955. As the company's new high-end guitar, Gretsch marketed it as "the finest guitar we know how to make – and what a beauty!" The White Falcon originally cost $600 (about $4,100, adjusted for inflation); this price tag was second only to the $690 asking price of Gibson's Super 400CESN.
So popular was the White Falcon (and other Gretsch models of the time) that this era in Gretsch guitar history is frequently referred to as "The Golden Years" or "The Great Years" of the company. Through the '60s, Webster continually improved the Falcon with more features, including a Stereo version. By the late '60s, the Falcon was substantially altered from what is considered its former glory. It also switched to a twin-cutaway body beginning in 1962.
With over a decade of accomplishment, Fred Gretsch retired in 1967 and sold his company to Baldwin Manufacturing. Baldwin would have trouble understanding guitars in general and the White Falcon in particular, which disastrously failed to evolve smoothly out of the rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
era. Most who were inspired by the new hot guitarists Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and other musical greats were turning to Fender, rather than Gretsch.
To make matters worse, the rapidly deteriorating Baldwin Manufacturing experienced two destructive fires at its new Arkansas plant in 1973. Gretsch limped through the '70s and finally closed production in the '80s. Falcon guitars quickly evolved into mere collectables, being owned more as keepsakes or for vintage sound than as a popular instrument. In 1989, Fred Gretsch III resumed control of the family business and began making guitars again. These instruments are based on classic Gretsch designs, including the venerable White Falcon.
Models and features
From its introduction in 1954 through today, the White Falcon has always been known for its whiteWhite
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
finish, ebony
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
fingerboard
Fingerboard
The fingerboard is a part of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument and above which the strings run...
, 17" wide hollow body, gold-plated hardware, engraved gold pickguard
Pickguard
A pickguard is a piece of plastic or other laminated material that is placed under the strings on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument...
, and gold sparkle binding. Throughout its history, some features have changed as technology and style evolved.
1954–1958, model number 6136:
Vertical gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
headstock
Headstock
Headstock or peghead is a part of guitar or similar stringed instrument. The main function of a headstock is holding the instrument's strings. Strings go from the bridge past the nut and are usually fixed on machine heads on headstock...
logo with winged "G;" pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
block fretboard inlays with avian-themed engravings; two DynaSonic single coil
Single coil
A single coil pickup is a type of magnetic transducer, or pickup, for the electric guitar and the electric bass. It electromagnetically converts the vibration of the strings to an electric signal...
pickups; control configuration consisting of master tone, master volume, volume for each pickup, and three-way toggle pickup selector switch; trapeze tailpiece with "G" and Cadillac-inspired "V"-shape; Melita bridge; 2¾" deep single-cutaway body.
1958–1962, model number 6136:
Horizontal "T-roof" headstock logo sans wings; "Neo-classic" thumbprint fretboard inlays; two FilterTron humbucking pickups; control configuration consisting of master volume, volume for each pickup, three-way toggle pickup selector switch, and three-way toggle tone switch; Space Control bridge. A stereo model (6137) was introduced; this model featured an extra set of pickup selector and tone switches and had the bridge pickup moved closer to the neck.
1962–1964, model numbers 6136 and 6137 (stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
):
Two-inch deep double-cutaway body with dual string mutes; standby switch; zero fret
Zero fret
A zero fret is a fret placed at the headstock end of the neck of a banjo, guitar, mandolin, or bass guitar. It serves one of the functions of a nut: holding the strings the correct distance above the other frets on the instrument's fretboard...
; white leather pad on the back.
1964–1972, model number 6136 and 6137 (stereo):
Bigsby vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
with telescoping "dog leg" arm; "T-zone tempered treble" slanted upper frets.
1973, model numbers 6136 and 6137 (stereo):
Bigsby tailpiece with "V" cutout, reminiscent of the original "Cadillac" tailpiece. This is the last model year for "vintage" White Falcons.
1974–1981, model numbers 7593 (single-cutaway) and 7595 (double-cutaway):
Angularly-shaped pickguard without "Gretsch"; rectangular block fretboard inlays; Baldwin "B" trapeze tailpiece; truss rod cover, string mutes and standby switch removed. In 1981, Gretsch ceased manufacturing guitars.
1995–present, model numbers 6136 and 7593:
Models are now available commemorating every phase in the design of the White Falcon. Features are reproduced accordingly. Modern Falcons are also available in black and silver, and include a Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
signature model (based on the 1958 incarnation), as well as a green Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
Irish Falcon that incorporates the original vertical headstock logo and engraved block inlays with the post-1958 electronics configuration and features "The Goal Is Soul" silkscreened onto the pickguard. Gretsch recently added a Brian Setzer Black Phoenix model to its lineup. Like Brian Setzer's signature Hot Rod 6120, the Black Phoenix features stripped-down electronics that consist of two pickups, a selector switch, and a volume knob.
Sources
- Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia by Tony Bacon, Dave Burrluck (Contributor), Paul Day (Contributor), and Michael Wright (Contributor). Thunder Bay Press, 2000. ISBN 1-57145-281-8
External links
- The Gretsch Pages: White Falcon models
- The Gretsch Pages: History
- White Falcon at Zuitar Guitar DataBase