Portrait of the artist as a young NAMM: me and my Duo Jet in 2004.
I used to own a Gretsch Duo Jet, the Dynasonic- and Bigsby-equipped variety made to look like George Harrison's merely semi-famous and semi-iconic (sorry, Gretsch PR department!) 1957 model.
I bought it in 2001 for about $1,700, and yes, it was made in Japan a good nine years before the Gretsch Custom Shop decided to produce the limited-edition $20,000 George Harrison signature model that was introduced at the Winter NAMM show last weekend.
So I'm not comparing the two instruments. I'm not implying that what I owned is the same as the new models that have been bought up by "collectors" who probably don't know a double stop from a triple Nelson.
But what I am implying is that the Duo Jet I owned wasn't very good.
Although it was beautiful in its own, understated, classic way, it:
* Lacked character; it was weak and devoid of any personality; it wasn't noticeably trebly, bassy, middy -- or anything
* Did not record well; it was always the guitar I started with before switching to a 1966 Tennessean or 1981 Les Paul
* Didn't cut through the mix in the studio or at gigs
* Didn't sound like Harrison's Duo Jet on PLEASE PLEASE ME; if anything, it did an OK job of reproducing the Duo Jet sound on The Beatles' Jan. 1, 1962, Decca audition recordings -- but is that really a desirable thing? Have you heard "Three Cool Cats"?
* Didn't stay in tune
* Sounded NOTHING like Cliff Gallup's (or Jeff Beck's) 1956 Duo Jet
* Provided a nightmare when I broke a B string on stage in Cleveland in 2004; I'm still haunted by this!
* Wasn't assembled very carefully; the Bigsby wasn't perfectly aligned with the bridge.
So I took the usual steps: I sold it for beer money in 2006.
I'm kidding, of course. Yes, I did sell it, but I think I bought a Strat and a few Fulltone effects pedals, all of which I still use.
Here's hoping the $20,000 models SOUND good. I mean, meticulously reproduced Liverpudlian scratches and nicks are one thing (actually, are they really?), but a guitar needs to sound great. Otherwise, there's no point.
Which is kind of how I feel about the $20,000 George Harrison signature model Duo Jet and all the hoopla that has surrounded it.