Gretsch Guitars issues Billy Zoom Tribute Silverjet model!!

[paologregorio]

It's about freakin' time that Bill Zoom has his own model of Gretsch!!! BZ is probably responsible for more sales of Gretsch Silverjet guitars than any ad or endorsement by any other guitarist period:

http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/inde ... 2=&q=&st=1

My complaints: Gretsch only offers the "distressed" replica, instead of a proper/regular Billy Zoom Signature model, meaning if you want one, it's an exact copy of his guitar, complete with all of the dings, dents, and extra screwholes. I don't know why Gretsch didn't offer a regular BZ signature model, and then a distressed replica, as the company did with the Brian Setzer sig and distressed replica models. Oh well, maybe they'll get around to it.

Stuff I like:

-Plain arrow knobs
-Square block inlays
-Gretsch logo headstock log made with real pearlescent inlay
-Extra chambered body to match the CAT scanned original
-SD Dynasonics (if Seymour did his homework, they should sound just like BZ's, and even better than the standard DS p/u)

Stuff I don't like (can't they just put a kit bag with all of this stuff in it, along with a small hammer and strip of sandpaper-for distressing the guitar- inside the case for the nuts who have to have a guitar just like BZ's?!!):
-BZ's black switch tip instead of original metal Gretsch Switch tip.
-Extra screwholes
-distressed finish
-Bigsby B12 whammy (I KNOW they're being authentic, but c'mon, it's not as cool as a period Bigsby. BZ put the B12 on his SJ because that's what was available at the time).
-Grover Banjo tuners (ugly, boxy)
-Melitta Bridge, with base SCREWED IN to the body. OUCH!Couldn't he have just used double stick tape like everyone else?!!!
-No pickguard-I'll take it off myself if I like, thank you.

Despite the pros and cons, I am, on the whole, ECSTATIC, that BZ has his own signature tribute model. I wish him any $$$ he can earn from any musical venture, as he scraped by for years while playing in X.

[whojamfan]

Billy Zoom just plain rocks, really cool he got a signature guitar. Last I heard he was making his own amps.

[jch]

I totally agree with everything Paul has said on the like/dislikes.

I would have loved one of these, but it being a LTD edition the price is going to be just silly.

So, hopefully we will see the chambered bodies on regular Jets soon.

[paologregorio]

That would be really cool. I would like to see a regular BZ sig model without all of the nonsense, but if not that, I'd love to see period Gretsches with bodies chambered to the extent BZ's is! I'd buy one. I love any of the "jet" guitars with Dynasonics. I laready have a `55 Duo Jet RI and a `57 Silverjet RI, both are similar to the BZ model, though in the case of the former, I replaced the Melitta bridge with a space controller for better sustain, as well as the fixed arm on the Bigsby.

[jch]

Paul, if your interested there's an interview with Billy over on the Gretsch Pages,with some sound clips.

The guitar sounds sweet

http://gretschpages.com/forum/billy-zoo ... 648/page1/

[paologregorio]

Paul, if your interested there's an interview with Billy over on the Gretsch Pages,with some sound clips.

The guitar sounds sweet

http://gretschpages.com/forum/billy-zoo ... 648/page1/

Cool! thanks for the 411!

[jingle_jangle]

I custom-built a very special Pro Jet for Aitch a couple of years ago. It was completely chambered with a new back, to the extent that it was virtually a hollow-bodied Gretsch with a center block instead of a sound post type hollowbody.

We called it the "Pro deVille", as it was done in '55 Cadillac colors of pale cream yellow and dark green Metallic-Chrome. All the hardware was gold. It has double-binding and alligator-covered armrest and output jackplate.

For those of you who haven't seen it, here are a few photos. First, the beginning...it sits on my mill, bolted down and ready to have about 1/2" taken out of the thickness and both bouts hollowed out:



The hollowing:



New pickup routs for the Filtertron: (Pro Jets come with stock, terrible-sounding Gretsch "DumBuckers")



Prior to painting, posed next to my 6120JR2, showing the thickness reduction:



I also laser-engraved the TRC and pickguard for Aitch, and inlaid "Gretsch" into the headstock in MOP in place of the gold "Electromatic" that once resided there. The hardware--pickups (hot TVJones units right out of an Atkins 6122-59), Bigsby, knobs, and Grover tuners, and all screws and brackets--is gold-plated. All wiring is new, Teflon-jacketed and shrink-tubed.

Finished up:









I'll bet that Aitch paid less for his handbuilt one-off than one of the production Zoomers would set you back, too...

[paologregorio]

I remember this guitar. Gorgeous!

Both of my jet guitars are already pretty light straight from the factory. How much lighter do you think the guitars weigh after they're further hollowed out?

I popped off the back covers on my `55 fixed arm bigsby Duo Jet RI http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/inde ... 2=&q=&st=1 , and my `57 silverjet RI http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/inde ... 2=&q=&st=1 ; there is a difference in the amount of wood that is visibly routed out. The Duo Jet is more chambered and is slightly lighter, but it doesn't feel that much lighter.

Do you have any pics with the back off that show how big the sound chambers were before you hollowed them out? It would be interesting to see the difference if so.

Could you describe the effect on tone of the guitar being more hollow than the typically chambered Jet models?

Also, how would one go about making repairs to the pots, etc., without rear access covers? Very carefully, I imagine.

[jingle_jangle]

Paul, in the picture of the chambers above, the 2" diameter lighter circles showing are the "chambers" from the factory in Korea (actually Forstner bores).

I don't recall the exact weight of Aitch's deVille, but it must have been around 5-5 1/2 pounds, wet. It was light, had a hot, woody sound, and felt great...

[paologregorio]

That's pretty minimal on the factory "chambering"!

In case I forgot to mention before, AMAZING!!! Great idea for a one-off!

[blue330]

I met Billy Zoom the other night! He handed me his guitar to check out- it was one of the new reproductions, not his original one, which I think he said he wouldn't be taking out anymore. He said he rejected several prototypes but considers the thing they're making now to be all right. I got the impression that he felt that the "relic" aspects were a bit silly. I suppose in the instrument business this concept has been proven to be a winner, but yeah, if I were buying one of these I wouldn't feel like I needed all the scratches replicated. Oh, and the guitar seemed good, but I was kind of freaked out to be in the X dressing room, you know? Of course, he sounded unbelievable, as usual.

[paologregorio]

I met Billy Zoom the other night! He handed me his guitar to check out- it was one of the new reproductions, not his original one, which I think he said he wouldn't be taking out anymore. He said he rejected several prototypes but considers the thing they're making now to be all right. I got the impression that he felt that the "relic" aspects were a bit silly. I suppose in the instrument business this concept has been proven to be a winner, but yeah, if I were buying one of these I wouldn't feel like I needed all the scratches replicated. Oh, and the guitar seemed good, but I was kind of freaked out to be in the X dressing room, you know? Of course, he sounded unbelievable, as usual.

Cool! Where was the show? Are you friends with anyone in X?

If I were Billy, I probably wouldn't take the original guitar out a whole lot either, given the options he now has. He has his own forum on the Gretsch pages and I asked him about that as well. Evidently, Gretsch had started talking to him about doing a regular Signature model about ten years ago, which he would have, and would still, like to have, but this is what Gretsch decided to come out with first. With respect to a regular Signature model, he seemed to express a hopeful "we'll see" comment.

[blue330]

Hi Paul-
The show was in Chapel Hill, NC, at the venerable Cat's Cradle, which is a large-ish club, not a fancy place, but it's one of the two or three places in NC where you go to see cool bands. I don't know anybody in X but Mr. Zoom and I have a friend in common, and this other guy has mentioned interesting details about Billy's amp and guitar over the years. It was one of those nights where a lot of people sort of wound up in the dressing room- usually i feel like an idiot barging in there, and I'm not quite sure how this occurred... Anyway it was a memorable evening! This was only the second time I'd seen these guys, the 1st being just a couple of years ago. Do you know them?

[paologregorio]

Hi Mitch,

Sounds like a great evening.

I've seen every different incarnation of X that has taken the stage(The original lineup is superior by far, of course ), but I don't know anyone in the band. I did bump into Billy Zoom at his friend Steve Soest's guitar repair shop in Orange/Anaheim, CA about ten years ago. I'd gone to the shop to have a broken coil on my Gretsch Tennessean repaired, driving there in my black `48 Chevrolet Fleetline. Billy walked into the shop, noticing the Fleetline parked outside on his way in, and asked, "Hey Soest, is that your Fleetline"? When Steve answered in the negative, BZ commented, "I thought you were a Ford guy". I recognized Mr. Zoom, but I didn't use his comment as an icebreaker to introduce myself. I figured he was just in there to get some guitar work done, and I wouldn't have had anything to say to him other than thanks for playing what he did, so I just kept quiet, waiting to take care of business with the other patrons in the shop.

[wittyair]

I have a Gretsch Billy Zoom for sale if anyone is interested!!