1953 GRETSH 6128 DUO JET "SCRIPT JET"  - ONE OF THE ORIGINAL 150 MADE!!!!!

EXTREMELY RARE FIRST BATCH "SCRIPT JET" - SERIAL 12031 - WITH HARDSHELL CASE!!

The first batch of Duo Jets consisted of 150 guitars comprised of serial numbers 11900 through 12049, making this piece the 132nd Duo Jet EVER made!

PLAYS LIKE A DREAM AND SOUNDS INCREDIBLE!

As 1953 dawned, Gretsch's response to the success of the solidbody was swift and came in the form of the “Gretsch Electromatic Solid Body Guitar,” a.k.a. the model 6128 Duo Jet.

Arriving in stores in the fall of ’53, the 6128 superficially resembled the Les Paul in terms of body contour and features – dual pickups, large fretboard inlays, scale length, etc. But in reality, there were key fundamental differences. The body of the Duo Jet was actually chambered, which not only reduced its weight but contributed to its sonic signature. Its pickups were the same single-coil DeArmond Dynasonics the company used in its electric archtop models.

The Duo Jet’s elegant black finish was a rather dramatic departure for the brand. No less distinctive than the metallic gold on the Les Paul, the Duo Jet’s black/chrome/white aesthetic was so appealing one could speculate Gibson’s 1954 Les Paul Custom (a.k.a. “Black Beauty”) was in some way inspired by it. The black top on many early Duo Jets was made of Nitron, a plastic used to cover drums, including those made at the Gretsch factory.

Its pickups were the same single-coil DeArmond Dynasonics the company used in its electric archtop models.

The first batch of Duo Jets consisted of 150 guitars comprised of serial numbers 11900 through 12049, this being 12031!

A unique and identifying feature of the guitars from the first batch is the “script logo” inlaid into their headstocks. This style of Gretsch logo, along with the lack of a marker at the first fret, are carryovers from the design aesthetic of the Synchromatic acoustic archtops Gretsch made from 1939 through the late ’40s. This first group of Duo Jets is the only full batch of solidbody guitars to possess the script-style headstock logo, resulting in their modern day reference as “scripty Jets.”

This guitar is almost all original, with only the bridge having been changed!