nmiller
Member
Up for sale or trade is a 1973 Gretsch Roc Jet. It's a very well-built, great-sounding guitar that gets the classic Gretsch combination of chime, twang and grit. Unfortunately, after playing it nearly every day for the month that I've owned it, I'm forced to conclude that the feel of the guitar just doesn't work for me. The fast, 18-fret neck feels totally alien compared to the old-fashioned, chunky, 14-fret necks on my other electrics; this plays like a '70s rock and roll guitar, but I'm used to '50s jazz boxes and ungainly solidbodies, and I just haven't been able to make the transition.
This is a 1973 model 7613 Roc Jet that sat under the original owner's bed for at least 30 years. For the uninitiated, the Roc Jet is essentially a fully-solid successor to the Duo Jet with LP-like construction: a mahogany body with a maple cap and a set mahogany neck. Unlike the Duo Jet, though, the neck meets the body at the 18th fret. The neck is thin and moderately wide (11/16" nut), so combined with the short 24.5" scale you can do lots of string bending and fast runs.
I've been looking hard to find flaws that support the Baldwin era's reputation for poor quality control, but the only negative I can come up with is the guitar's weight; even that's not bad compared to my '58 National 1104. It has great sustain, excellent factory fretwork and all the little binding and finish details are well-executed. The ebony fretboard has a neat swirling pattern down the middle. This walnut-stained top is pretty rare; it seems like 90% of Roc Jets are black and the rest are red. The Super-tron II pickups are loud and clear.
There is a little light fret wear and some minor wear on the back and around the back edges. There's one photo of the back edge that shows the worst of it. Otherwise, it's very clean. It comes with its original form-fit case which is slightly less clean but still in excellent condition.
I'm asking $1800 shipped. I'd also be interested in trading (partial or whole) for a variety of instruments, preferably vintage and/or obscure. These include acoustic and electric guitars, steels (especially old square-neck acoustics), mandolins, tenor banjos (no 5-strings and no friction tuners) and amplifiers. A '60s or '70s Guild M-75 would be very welcome, either hollow or solid, and I'm always on the lookout for a 50-J or 66-J amp. I may be able to throw in a little cash as well (emphacizing a little).
The best way to reach me is by PM; weird as it may sound, I can check PMs at work but not email.
Click to enlarge:
This is a 1973 model 7613 Roc Jet that sat under the original owner's bed for at least 30 years. For the uninitiated, the Roc Jet is essentially a fully-solid successor to the Duo Jet with LP-like construction: a mahogany body with a maple cap and a set mahogany neck. Unlike the Duo Jet, though, the neck meets the body at the 18th fret. The neck is thin and moderately wide (11/16" nut), so combined with the short 24.5" scale you can do lots of string bending and fast runs.
I've been looking hard to find flaws that support the Baldwin era's reputation for poor quality control, but the only negative I can come up with is the guitar's weight; even that's not bad compared to my '58 National 1104. It has great sustain, excellent factory fretwork and all the little binding and finish details are well-executed. The ebony fretboard has a neat swirling pattern down the middle. This walnut-stained top is pretty rare; it seems like 90% of Roc Jets are black and the rest are red. The Super-tron II pickups are loud and clear.
There is a little light fret wear and some minor wear on the back and around the back edges. There's one photo of the back edge that shows the worst of it. Otherwise, it's very clean. It comes with its original form-fit case which is slightly less clean but still in excellent condition.
I'm asking $1800 shipped. I'd also be interested in trading (partial or whole) for a variety of instruments, preferably vintage and/or obscure. These include acoustic and electric guitars, steels (especially old square-neck acoustics), mandolins, tenor banjos (no 5-strings and no friction tuners) and amplifiers. A '60s or '70s Guild M-75 would be very welcome, either hollow or solid, and I'm always on the lookout for a 50-J or 66-J amp. I may be able to throw in a little cash as well (emphacizing a little).
The best way to reach me is by PM; weird as it may sound, I can check PMs at work but not email.
Click to enlarge:
