GRETSCH U.S.A. CUSTOM SHOP
Brian Setzer 1959 Gretsch 6120 Hollow Body Electric Guitar
G6120SSC : Brian Setzer Tribute : 240-0114-822 no. 39 of 59 pieces worldwide
This is not a guitar for the feint hearted. Based on the exact specifications of Brian’s infamous 1959 Gretsch 6120 that he used during the heyday of the Stray Cats era, you’ll find every detail here; the worn out stickers that Brian purchased at the five and dime, every scratch and injury incurred along the way, and a sound that is so Rockabilly you’ll wonder if it’s 1959 all over again.
Brian Setzer wanted a Gretsch 6120 from the moment he saw a photo of Eddie Cochran, the rockabilly great best known for “Summertime Blues.” I had no idea what it was called but I know I had to have one,” remembers Setzer. “When I was 17, I saw an ad in the paper: ‘Gretsch for sale.’ When I saw that it was an ‘Eddie Cochran,’ I bought it on the spot for $100.”
Just three years later, Setzer and his Stray Cats sparked a rockabilly revival in England, and would soon do the same in America. He made virtually no modifications to the guitar—though he did personalize it with a stickers of Fifties pinup girls and dice.
“The stickers and the dice became trademarks, but I put them on without much thought,” says Setzer. “I found the pinup girls in an old lawnmower repair shop. And I put the dice on because it didn’t have any knobs. I just got a set Monopoly dice, drilled holes in them and squirted in some Krazy Glue. My only real modification to the guitar was putting Sperzel locking tuners on: when the band got serious, I realized that I had to play in tune. The pickups are stock Gretsch FilterTrons—they’ve always sounded fantastic.”
After being played night in and night out for several years, the 6120 had become a little worse for the wear, says Setzer. “It had beer spilled on it and smoke blown all over it; it was beat on pretty badly. In about 1984, I ran into Steve Miller in a bar in Germany. We talked about Gretsches and how mine was getting trashed. When I got back to New York there was a big box waiting for me, and, to my delighted surprise, it was a 6120 from Steve Miller. And not just a 6120, but a great one!”
The second 6120 immediately became Setzer’s number one, and is the guitar upon Gretsch’s new Brian Setzer model is based.
“I started using the Miller guitar almost all the time, but I took them both on the road—until a Stray Cats tour of Japan several years ago. At the last gig, I threw it up in the air, which I’ve done for 25 years, and I missed it for the first time. The neck flew into the audience, and the guy who caught it gave it back to me—which would only happen in Japan—and I glued it back on. It still plays great, and I used it in a few places on the album [Brian Setzer Orchestra, Hollywood], but I’ll never take it on the road again. It went out with a bang.”
Gretsch Brian Setzer 1959 Gretsch 6120 Hollow Body Electric Guitar special features
- Single Cutaway Hollow Body
- Pickup Selector Switch (yes, we’ve left the hole where the tone switch used to be!)
- Dual TV Jones Classic Pickups
- Trestle Bracing
- Ebony Fingerboard
- Neo-Classical Inlays
- Relic Cowboy Case
- Documentary DVD featuring Brian Setzer
This remarkable guitar is available exclusively from southcoastmusic. “For those in the know”, southcoastmusic has become the place to go to for “One Off”, “Limited Edition”, Rare and Collectible guitars.
This is the only Gretsch Brian Setzer Tribute G6120SSC to have been imported into Australia by Fender, the Australian Gretsch Guitar Distributors.
Guitar Enthusiasts and Brian Setzer Fans take note of this remarkable instrument…This is a collector’s dream! Take an up-close look at the Gretsch Custom Shop Limited Edition G6120SSC Brian Setzer Tribute Guitar and you’ll be forgiven for thinking Gretsch mistakenly swapped the original for the replica — even the man himself couldn’t tell the difference when he first saw the two side by side. It even sports the same serial number as the original!
Stephen Stern from the Gretsch/Fender Custom Shop in Corona, California is the artist behind these creations. This instrument is number 39 of 59 pieces Worldwide – this very limited run of guitars feature very specific attributes (electronic & cosmetic) that are related to the 1959 Gretsch 6120 that Brian used throughout his years with the Stray Cats.
Gretsch G6120SSC Brian Setzer Tribute Hollow Body Electric Guitar Features:
- Number 39 of a total of 59 made
- Finish: Vintage Western Maple Stain
- Body style: Single cutaway
- Top: Arched laminated maple
- Bracing: 1959 trestle bracing
- Back and sides: Laminated maple, 16″ wide, 2.75″ deep
- Neck: Hard rock maple
- Scale length: 24.6″
- Fingerboard: Ebony, 9.45 radius
- Width at nut: 1-11/16″
- Number of frets: 22
- Fingerboard inlays: MOP neo-classic thumbnail
- Pickups: Two TV Jones Classic humbuckers
- Controls: 3-position toggle, Volume 1, Volume 2, and Master Volume
- Hardware: Distressed chrome/nickel/polished aluminum
- Bridge: Space-Control, fixed with double-sided carpet tape
- Tailpiece: Bigsby B6CB vibrato
- Tuning machines: Schaller
- Includes re-creations of classic Stray Cats backstage passes
- Re-creation of Brian Setzer’s leather bejeweled guitar strap
- Deluxe Gretsch Cowboy case
- Authentic re-creations Decals associated with the original guitar
- An “OK Card” signed by Brian Setzer.
Brian Setzer’s 1959 Gretsch Inducted into the Smithsonian Institute
In 2014, Brian Setzer’s donated one of his personal 1959 replica Gretsch 6120 Hollow Body Electric Guitars to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
The renowned original was used during the ’80s heyday of the Stray Cats, when he personalised it by mounting dice (taken from his Monopoly board game) on two of its Tone pots and added stickers depicting a black cat, skull and crossbones, and a pin-up girl. Those touches were duplicated on the replica, which was built in 2006 by Stephen Stern, master builder at Gretsch.
At the Smithsonian, it has become part of the museum’s stunning collection of musical instruments that include Edward Van Halen’s “Frank 2,” Prince’s Yellow Cloud along with other iconic instruments such as John Coltrane’s saxophone and Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet.
Brian originally commissioned this replica as his original guitar had deteriorated to the point where it had became unplayable. Master guitar builder Stephen Stern replicated every detail of the original and created an exact replica in 2006 and Brian Setzer used that guitar instead.
Curator of American music at the Smithsonian Institute, John Edward Hasse had this to say at the induction ceremony, “Brian Setzer is a prolific and distinctive contributor to American music, Proof of his legacy exists not only in the longevity of his career and in his lengthy discography, but also in his ability to cross musical boundaries.” To learn more, visit http://americanhistory.si.edu.
If you were ever uncertain to the intrinsic value of the Gretsch Brian Setzer Tribute G6120SSC, the honor bestowed by the Smithsonian Institute says it all.
This is the only Gretsch Brian Setzer Tribute G6120SSC Custom Shop hollow body electric guitar imported by Fender Australia. It was purchased by us at Fender Australia’s recommended retail price of $37,000 and other than being checked over on arrival has remained in our Vault since. It is brand new, unplayed and unaffected by UV or fluorescent lighting. This is an irreplaceable bona fide collectors guitar and as far as “Big Boy’s Toys” go, it doesn’t get much better than this. Inspection is by appointment only.
