Gretsch Duo Jet
The Telecaster and the Les Paul had thrown the gauntlet; solid bodies had arrived.
It would have been fairly easy to dismiss the Telecaster at first. It was an unconventional instrument made in California and not the product of an established instrument maker. The Les Paul lent legitimacy to the solid body and everyone else in the business was paying attention.
Gretsch
came out with the first Duo Jet not too long after the Les Paul hit the
market. Visually it had a lot of similarities, the overall size
and shape of the body as well as the arched top. Gretsch used an
archtop style bridge from the beginning and, as with many Gretsch
models, a Bigsby tailpiece was available. When first released they
were equipped with DeArmond-built single coil pickups that Gretsch
preferred to call Dynasonics. Later on the humbucking Filtertron
pickup was used.
The biggest difference between it and a Les Paul came to light as soon as you picked it up, it weighs much less than a Les Paul. Both the Les Paul and the Duo Jet are made of Mahogany with an arched Maple cap. The body of the Duo Jet was mostly hollow by virtue of having been aggressively routed to reduce weight. This also has the effect of making the guitar more resonant acoustically.
For my money the Duo Jet is the way to go. The sound of a Dynasonic equipped Duo Jet splits the difference between the Telecaster and the Les Paul. It has plenty of clean highs and yet it is capable of delivering a big, bold sound. The best part is that you don't experience the fatigue that a Les Paul can induce after four hours of play while standing.
The marketplace saw it differently however and the Duo Jet never rivaled the Les Paul's sales figures. It is interesting to note however that these days one can buy a Custom Shop Les Paul that is routed similarly to a Duo Jet. It is even rumored that the Les Paul model Mary Ford played had been custom built with a hollowed out body to reduce weight.
Leo Fender was not resting on his laurels though all of this development. He and his staff were preparing to build perhaps the most successful electric guitar in history.
