"The Sonic Sound of the Times"

1966 Gretsch 6126 Astro Jet

Way ahead of its time was this 16 inch wide, 1 3/8 inch thick, solid mahogany guitar with asymetrical 'sharp' horns, a bevelled edge body and a two-tone red over black color scheme. Weighing 8.60 lbs it has a one-piece mahogany neck with a very comfortable nut width of 1 11/16 inches and a medium-to-thick profile. Single-bound neck with a scale length of 24 1/2 inches, an ebony fretboard with a zero fret and 22 original medium-thin frets and pearl half-moon (thumbnail) position markers. Black-faced headstock with inlaid pearloid Gretsch "T-roof" logo. Dome shaped, two-layer, white over black plastic truss-rod cover with three screws. Individual Grover StaTite tuners, four on the bass side of the headstock and two tuners on the treble side all with metal cloverleaf-shape buttons. Two Gretsch Super'Tron humbucking pickups with outputs of 4.18k and 4.22k. Black lucite pickguard with six screws. Three controls (one volume, one tone and one master volume) and three three-way switches (one for pickup selection, one for tone and a three-way standby switch) all mounted on on pickguard. Gretsch chrome-plated control knobs with with arrow through 'G' and knurled sides. The potentiometers are stamped "34 7604 134 6606" (Centralab, February, 1966). Gretsch Space Control bridge on height-adjustable ebony base and string tension bar secured by two screws. Gretsch (Burns-style) straight-arm vibrato (vibrato arm missing). The serial number "126688" is stamped vertically in white on the back of the headstock. This interesting sixties solidbody is in all original condition with just a few small surface marks on the body and a few repaired cracks to the fretboard binding. Together with an original Gretsch warranty and Instruction card. Housed in the original Gretsch five-latch, shaped silver gray hardshell case with padded purple felt lining (9.00).

Gretsch's mid-1960's motto "the Sonic Sound of the Times" drew the company into an experiment in cosmic consciousness. If you took a Gibson Explorer and mixed it with an SG, you might have a guitar shaped like the Gretsch Model 6126 Astro-Jet. Introduced in 1964, the $325, double cutaway solidbody with the hideously distorted shape has an unusually contoured, 4-plus-2 headstock, an ebony neo-classic fingerboard and black plastic parts including pickup rings and a large pickguard that covers the control cavity. The open-back, Grover StaTite tuners, space control bridge, "G" indent control knobs, Burns vibrato tailpiece and two Super'Tron 1 pickups are chrome plated. A rectangular plate is screwed into the guitar's bass cutaway and says "Astro-Jet" and bears the guitar's serial number [the serial number on the two examples that we have seen was stamped vertically in white on the back of the headstock]. The top is opaque red and the back is painted black. The 6126 Astro-Jet lasted for three or four years in the company's lineup of solidbody guitars. It appeared only in the 1965 catalog." Jay Scott. The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company, p. 219).

"The sky's the limit when it comes to the sound of the new Gretsch Astro-Jet solid body guitars. Its totally new design and concept is as bold and challenging as the modern world we live in. The Gretsch Astro-Jet is truly the solid body with everything. 16" double cutaway body, 1 3/8 thickness. Specially designed twin Super Filter'Tron pickups for the most diverse tonal colors. Unique 4-to-2 tuning heads for exceptional style and dash. Hand-carved edges to highlight its unusual body design. Exclusive Gretsch Vibrato and Space Control bridge. Red and black hand-polished finish. Double cutaway. Standby switch. Neo-Classic fingerboard. Polished metal parts. PX6126 Gretsch Astro-Jet Electric Guitar… " (1965 Gretsch catalog)

Ironically, what was meant to look futuristic when it debuted is now definitely “dated” as a highly desirable relic of the Swinging ’60s. One of stranger episodes in the Gretsch saga that now rates as quite collectible!