“This example is a ‘transition’ model, likely produced near the end of 1957. “I had been looking for a ’57 Duo Jet for a while, and I found this one at Willie’s American Guitars in St. Harrison once called his ’57 Duo Jet his “first good guitar,” and he played it on early Beatles singles, during the Please Please Me sessions and at gigs of the period.
But the guitar itself is in really good shape.” 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet I never figured out the significance of that number. There’s the official serial number on the top of the headstock, which dates it to 1963, but then on the back, in what looks like white marker, there’s another number. I actually found this one in the vintage section of a Guitar Center in California.” Sgro’s Tennessean “is an interesting guitar, because it has two serial numbers. I got the Tennessean first, because it is a more accessible guitar. “And if you look at his guitars, the first three that people were aware of were the ‘57 Duo Jet, the ‘62 Country Gentleman and the ‘63 Tennessean. “When I first started pursuing Beatles guitars, my focus was on George’s instruments,” Sgro says. George Harrison used his ’63 model both live and in the studio, and it can also be seen in the movie Help!
By 1962, it had been altered to feature a slimmer body, two single-coil Hilo’Tron pickups and painted-on f-holes. The Gretsch Tennessean debuted in 1958 as a single-cutaway, single-pickup offering.
