The 1950s and 60s were decades of innovation and rapid technical development at Gretsch – spearheaded by guitarist, demonstrator and designer Jimmie Webster – that resulted in the design aesthetic and sonic character that continue to define the brand…
GUITAR COURTESY OF ATB GUITARS
If the record-buying public had warmed to Jimmie Webster’s ‘Touch System’ two-handed tapping technique, then the Gretsch brand that we know today might never have existed. Webster was an accomplished guitarist who played for Woody Herman and Count Basie during the 1930s, and who also tuned pianos when he wasn’t travelling the US and appearing on TV to demonstrate Gretsch guitars. His role at Gretsch had similarities with Ted McCarthy’s at Gibson and Leo Fender’s at his namesake brand. He was pivotal in establishing the post-war Gretsch aesthetic and was a driving force behind Gretsch’s most iconic models. He also developed hardware, pickups and wiring harnesses.
Like his contemporaries, Webster observed trends in the automobile industry and the way car manufacturers maintained demand for older models by introducing new features and colours every year. With Fender revolutionising guitar design and rock ’n’ roll driving the market, Webster 2 probably understood that Gretsch guitars were still essentially prewar archtops and radical thinking was needed to stay in the game.
The 1950s and 60s were decades of change and innovation at Gretsch. Webster’s contributions range from the iconic and wildly successful to borderline bonkers, and we’ll be discussing them all throughout this feature as we take a deep dive into the technical development of Gretsch Guitars throughout the vintage era.
Electric Experiments
The first Gretsch Electromatic appeared back in 1939 and it featured a non-cutaway body with multi-coloured binding, a single ‘neck’ pickup and two Bakelite control knobs. These Electromatics were actually manufactured for Gretsch by Kay, and the quality doesn’t look that good.
Gretsch production was put on hold when the US joined World War II, and Gretsch players who wanted to go electric were more likely to retrofit aftermarket ‘floating’ pickups. The famous photo of Django Reinhart Meanwhile, out in Ohio, a company called the Fox Sound Equipment Corporation had started making pickups for guitars. An accomplished local guitarist called Harry DeArmond had been taken on as a design consultant during the 1930s and the comp
