All Gretsch Jet guitars are virtually identical apart from their colours, the Duo Jet was black, the FireBird was a deep red, and the SilverJet was, of course, capped in silver sparkle plastic drum material. Some Duo-Jets were finished in Cadillac Green, but they're pretty rare. Even more rare - the Bigsby B-3 tremolo that was an extra-cost option.
The Duo and Silver were both first released in 1954. Jets are unique due to the nature of their bodies that have been heavily routed which makes them in essence semi solid guitars. In 1961 big change came and the Jets became double cutaways, the first double cutaways are roughly equivalent to the earlier Jets, but shortly after the change-over Gretsch began to change the Jets.
In 1962 Vibrato tailpieces became standard other changes to '62 included gold hardware replacing chrome and other sparkle finishes, including gold, champagne, burgundy and tangerine being offered, a few Jets were made with the special sparkle finishes, and they're quite rare today.
These changes last till 1970 when Gretsch, urged on by Duke Kramer and plant manager Bill Hagner, switched back to a single-cutaway body, hoping to rekindle past glories.
If your looking to pick up your own Gretsch Duo Jet why not swing by our store and try one out yourself.
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