Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • EVH trance state
  • Antonoff on Please Please Please
  • “Mick looked peeved. The Beatles had upstaged him”
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

Gretsch Broadkaster Jr LX Center Block with Bigsby
Guitars Gretsch’s unveils new MIJ high-end semi-hollows with redesigned bodies and Pro Twin Six humbuckers
Gretsch Limited Edition Jim Dandy Parlor Solid Top
Guitars Gretsch drops two limited edition Jim Dandy acoustics with solid spruce tops and off-the-charts mojo
Gretsch Limited Edition Streamliner 2025: three limited edition semi-hollow electric guitars are pictured against a bank of studio hardware.
Guitars Bigsby wobble, rock ’n’ roll mojo for $699? Gretsch unveils trio of limited run Streamliner models
Gretsch Limited Edition Paisley Penguin [left] and Honey Dipper Resonator: the Penguin dresses the famous singlecut in gold sparkle with a Paisley Pattern graphic, while the 99 per cent aluminium Honey Dipper makes a welcome return to the lineup.
Guitars Gretsch just unveiled one of the most decorative Penguins you'll see – and a super-cool resonator
Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet FT
Electric Guitars "This is a guitar that proves affordability can still bring looks that stun": Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet FT review
Legendary guitarist Robbie McIntosh (Paul McCartney/the Pretenders) plays a butterscotch Telecaster in the Monty's workshop as he demos his new signature pickup set.
Guitars Robbie McIntosh and Monty’s new pickup set offers best of both worlds for Esquire and Tele fans
Mark Knopfler of Dire Straights performs onstage in 1985 with his red Fender Stratocaster. He wears a dark suit and a burgundy shirt with an open collar.
Artists How Mark Knopfler grew up wanting to be Jimi Hendrix until he ditched the pick and went fingerstyle
  1. Guitars

9 alternative Gretsch guitar icons

News
By Total Guitar ( Total Guitar ) published 28 July 2016

Gretsch heroes who don't fit the rockabilly stereotype…

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

There's a rich world of lawless music out there, and numerous icons have long put Gretsch guitars to use in territory far beyond the Stray Cat Strut

Ahead are a few of our favourites from the worlds of rock, punk and grunge…

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
1. Tim Armstrong

1. Tim Armstrong

The Californian punk was honoured with his own G5191BK signature hollowbody model in 2010 but it’s a battered 1971 Country Club that it was based on; a right-handed model flipped for southpaw Tim.

“To me, it sounds like a piano,” Tim told Gretsch. “Like, it’s full-bodied and thick. I hear the chords as if I’m playing a piano. That’s just a simple way for me to explain it.”

Hear: Life Won't Wait (1998)

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
2. George Harrison

2. George Harrison

The Beatle dubbed his 1957 Duo Jet G6128 his ‘first real decent guitar’ and it was indeed a massive step up from his Futurama when he saw a newspaper advert for what was an extremely rare find in 1961 Liverpool.

He eventually paid £70 (with an extra £20 on IOU) and the Duo Jet served him through the band’s hard-working Cavern Club and Hamburg days, and made a Gretsch fan for life out of George. A limited edition Tribute model was released in 2011.

Hear: Please Please Me (1963)

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
3. Patrick Stump

3. Patrick Stump

The Fall Out Boy frontman’s signature is packing three Mega’Tron humbuckers to power the band’s pop-rock, but throws in a couple of curveballs, too - its TV Jones-designed circuitry allows a two-position rotary switch for different combinations of the three pickups, and a two-position killswitch.

“When I’m playing live, I want to get as many tones as I can out of one instrument,” Stump told Gretsch. “This is the most versatile guitar I own and it’s everything I need in a guitar.”

Hear: Soul Punk (2011)

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
4. Billy Duffy

4. Billy Duffy

Duffy’s mid-70s single-cut mono Falcon became a huge part of the seminal early Cult era, and has popped up frequently since.

It’s the Falcon we hear spreading its wings on She Sells Sanctuary’s expansive delayed riffs, and is the guitar his recent signature is based on, but with his preferred Bigsby tailpiece installed.

Hear: Love (1985)

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
5. Malcolm Young

5. Malcolm Young

The rhythm king rarely deviated from his 1963 double-cut Jet Firebird, even when his G6131MY model took flight in 1987.

The guitar was originally red when it was given to him by the band’s early producer, Harry Vanda, but stripped to the maple top around the ’77 Let There Be Rock tour.

The neck and middle pickups were also deemed surplus to requirements, and Malcolm stuck a sock into their cavities to reduce feedback.

Hear: If You Want Blood You’ve Got It (1978)

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
6. Chris Cornell

6. Chris Cornell

Cornell has proved the Duo Jet’s hard-rocking credentials with his 1989 reissue.

“I’ve been using it ever since Gary Lee Conner from the Screaming Trees gave it to me,” he told us in 2012. “That’s a guitar I used a lot for a specific texture I always like.”

As well as being put back into service for Soundgarden’s King Animal comeback album, its wholesome tones were employed for Superunknown’s classic Fell On Black Days.

Hear: King Animal (2012)

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
7. Neil Young

7. Neil Young

He’s best known for his 1953 ‘Old Black’ Les Paul, but Young has actually played plenty of Gretsches, indeed he traded a 6120 from his Buffalo Springfield days for that legendary Gibson.

Still, Gretsch remained ever-present in his career; Neil even introduced his old Springfield compadre Stephen Stills to White Falcons in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young helping establish Gretsch with a new generation. Young’s long-owned rare 1961 White Falcon is still part of his rig to this day.

Hear: Déjà Vu (1970)

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
8. Richard Hawley

8. Richard Hawley

Hawley was gifted his first Gretsch (a Country Gent) by his dad, “The cadillac of guitars,” as Richard remembers fondly.

Today, there are a few Gretschs he treasures; several vintage 6120s and a 2003 Country Club he’s fond of due to the DynaSonic pickups – the sound of which, so says Richard, has “colossal testicles”…

Hear: Hollow Meadows (2015)

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
9. Jack White

9. Jack White

White used a 1957 White Penguin at the end of The White Stripes, and loves the bass response of a Rancher Falcon acoustic.

But his most-used Gretsch is his White Penguin Billy-Bo model that he plays with the Dead Weather, and also featured in the video for Jack’s Bond theme, Another Way To Die.

Hear: Sea Of Cowards (2010)

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Total Guitar
Total Guitar
Social Links Navigation

Total Guitar is Europe's best-selling guitar magazine.

Every month we feature interviews with the biggest names and hottest new acts in guitar land, plus Guest Lessons from the stars.

Finally, our Rocked & Rated section is the place to go for reviews, round-ups and help setting up your guitars and gear.

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/totalguitar

Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition. image
Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition.
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
Read more
Gretsch Broadkaster Jr LX Center Block with Bigsby
Gretsch’s unveils new MIJ high-end semi-hollows with redesigned bodies and Pro Twin Six humbuckers
Gretsch Limited Edition Jim Dandy Parlor Solid Top
Gretsch drops two limited edition Jim Dandy acoustics with solid spruce tops and off-the-charts mojo
Gretsch Limited Edition Streamliner 2025: three limited edition semi-hollow electric guitars are pictured against a bank of studio hardware.
Bigsby wobble, rock ’n’ roll mojo for $699? Gretsch unveils trio of limited run Streamliner models
Gretsch Limited Edition Paisley Penguin [left] and Honey Dipper Resonator: the Penguin dresses the famous singlecut in gold sparkle with a Paisley Pattern graphic, while the 99 per cent aluminium Honey Dipper makes a welcome return to the lineup.
Gretsch just unveiled one of the most decorative Penguins you'll see – and a super-cool resonator
Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet FT
"This is a guitar that proves affordability can still bring looks that stun": Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet FT review
Legendary guitarist Robbie McIntosh (Paul McCartney/the Pretenders) plays a butterscotch Telecaster in the Monty's workshop as he demos his new signature pickup set.
Robbie McIntosh and Monty’s new pickup set offers best of both worlds for Esquire and Tele fans
Latest in Guitars
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: My pick of Father's Day deals for musicians include $400 off the Polyend Play+, $200 off a Martin acoustic and so much more
Gretsch Broadkaster Jr LX Center Block with Bigsby
Gretsch’s unveils new MIJ high-end semi-hollows with redesigned bodies and Pro Twin Six humbuckers
Jackson X and JS Series Surfcasters: the long-awaited offset electric guitar is now being offered in white, satin black and metallic black, and and at the entry-level JS price point and the mid-priced X Series.
“A bold new take on a classic metal machine”: Having ridden the wave of popular demand, Jackson’s Surfcaster offset has landed – and it’s built for speed
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL: The new flagship amp modeller and multi-effects unit is a dramatic expansion of the Helix framework with a suite of state-of-the-art features
Line 6 debuts all-new AI tech as it supercharges its amp modelling platform with the Helix Stadium
Orangewood Del Sol: the new offset is the brand's first ever electric guitar and it was designed in collaboration with Josh Forest of TreeTone Guitars.
Orangewood teams up with TreeTone for its first-ever electric – a baritone offset semi, priced $695
Kirk Hammett of Metallica wears a studded denim jacket as he plays live with his Mummy ESP signature guitar
“Guitars should be played”: Kirk Hammett has been anonymously selling his guitars online
Latest in News
Home studio
You don't need to be a music theory expert to make electronic music, but it helps - here's our guide to the basics
Ed Sheeran, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix
How Ed Sheeran generated royalties for Bob Dylan by borrowing from Jimi Hendrix
Richie Hawtin
“All my equipment kind of glowed and then shut down”: The weather event that shaped a Richie Hawtin classic
Apple's new Automix
Sack The DJ: Apple launches its new feature that can mix tracks using AI
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: My pick of Father's Day deals for musicians include $400 off the Polyend Play+, $200 off a Martin acoustic and so much more
pmt
"It’s been a tough few years": UK gear retailer PMT closes its doors, makes 96 staff redundant and sells £2.4m of stock to Gear4Music

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...