Gretsch Custom Shop Masterbuilt Stephen Stern G6128CS-59 Koa Duo Jet With Case

The Gretsch Custom Shop is where the time-honored legacy reaches its creative apex. No instruments epitomize the extraordinary expertise and attention to detail of Gretsch’s most trusted hands like Custom Shop instruments. From modern versions of legendary Gretsch instruments to artist tribute models and specially requested one-off guitars, the Gretsch Custom Shop takes “That Great Gretsch Sound” to an entirely new plane, but also preserves and perfects it.

Truetone Music is proud to have a long and close relationship with Gretsch, especially with the Custom Shop.  Every year, we make a pilgrimage there to sit down with Masterbuilder Stephen Stern and his team to cook up a batch of Custom Shop guitars.  Sometimes we go for vintage-styled recreations, sometimes we go for modernized tweaks.  Sometimes it's a classic color, sometimes it's a totally new color or even reclaimed wood.  Either way, they always knock it out of the park!

This G6128CS 1959 Koa Duo Jet is a result of this partnership.  A slightly reinvisioned recreation of the Duo Jet, it has the classic Gretsch sound and feel, perfected by Stephen Stern.  It has a chambered mahogany body, reducing the weight - this one comes in at 7.7 lbs, quite light for a Duo Jet.  We chose the NOS finish package, to give it a "fresh off the line" look - there is no aging on this one.  The mahogany neck is a very comfortable C shape (standard on Duo Jets), topped with an ebony fretboard.

Where this guitar really stands out is the Natural Koa top.  Not only does it look amazing, but sounds great too.  As a tonewood, koa is warm but balanced with a clear bottom end and defined upper range without being overly bright. Its midrange is nice and open with moderate warmth. It's not overly loud but does have great projection.  And visually, it's hard to beat this one - Stephen Stern handpicked the top for this one, and we couldn't be happier with the end result.  It is truly stunning.  To top it off, the guitar has a matching koa headstock face, another nice touch to make this a one of a kind.

We also went with the Tru Arc Serpentune compensated rocking bar bridge, which is radiused to match the fretboard of the guitar.  This enhances playability and allows for lower action, as well as an improvement to intonation. The Tru-Arc has a more pronounced radius than the standard Gretsch bridge. It's also heavier, which increases tone and sustain.  Typically, you'll see brass Tru-Arc bridges, but for this guitar we went for stainless steel at Stern's suggestion - not only does it match the rest of the hardware better, but it also has a full, even and smooth hi-fi response, with max sustain.   If you're a stickler for intonation, the SerpenTune version of the Tru-Arc bridge is the one to go with - it's a rocking bar bridge with a compensating ridge milled into the top surface which puts every string at its measured ideal position for dead-on intonation.

That, together with the Bigsby B3C vibrato and Ray Butts Full Fidelity pickups and the classic Gretsch wiring set up, gives you the legendary old-school Gretsch sound and feel, with a twist.   Stern suggested those pickups, as he feels that they are the most authentic sounding.  You get the full clarity and bite expected from Filtertons, and the treble bleed control allows you to ease up without losing highs.

This is the only one with these specs in existence, making it truly unique.  We put together a run of Duo Jets with Stephen Stern, in various versions, and this is easily one of the coolest.  As always, he nailed it!  Come to Truetone Music to experience it in person, or make it yours right here.

BODY STYLE: Chambered Single Cutaway