Always tasteful and visually restrained, the Gretsch G6129 Silver Sparkle Jet first appeared in 1954 as an answer to the Les Paul model. While there are some immediately apparent visual similarities – the single cutaway body of Mahogany with a Maple cap – underneath there were significant differences. From 1954, the original Gretsch Jet models started with a Maple body, routed to provide a number of chambers for resonance and weight relief.
Bigsby
The Airline H78 Thinline was built for the Montgomery-Ward company by Harmony from 1965 to 1972, as a re-branded version of the Harmony H78. Indeed, it seems that the only difference is the head plate and logo!
Harmony, purchased by Sears-Roebuck in 1916 and owned by them until 1940, was at one point by volume the largest guitar maker in the USA, which also meant in the world.
The Gretsch White Penguin 58 Reissue, officially model G6134, re-creates the 1958 Bigsby-equipped version of the Jet-based Penguin. The White Penguin was created in response to the Gretsch White Falcon, itself created as a showpiece for the 1954 NAMM show and not intended for production.
This Gibson ES-335 TD dates to 1966, and was originally purchased at Manny’s Music in New York City, and the Bigsby B7 added in 1969. From 1974 it was used by the Canadian Creative Music Collective and is a part of Canadian music history. When introduced in the spring of 1958, the Gibson ES-335 TD was revolutionary.