Gretsch AstroJet Body 1960's unfinished

Raw, unsanded, unfinished original stock Gretsch Astro Jet body only. ONE PIECE Solid mah0gany. Fully routed for neck, electronics, jack. Needs finish sanding. Some water marks.

This body is mid-60s. Probably circa 1963-4. This body is part of the NOS body discovery in Nashville in 2010. You can get a bit of the backstory on this thing by googling "Astro Jet body discovery Nashville."

Excellent piece of history and for a project guitar.

 No returns. As is.

Product Specs

Condition:
Brand New (New) UNSANDED
Brand:
Gretsch
Model:
Astro Jet
Finish:
Natural one piece Mah0gany
Categories:
Guitar Bodies
Year:
Mid 60s
Made In:
United States

History:

Gretsch decided to go space-age. As often before, the company turned to stalwart spokesman Jimmie Webster for input. According to Duke Kramer, Webster’s charge was to create a guitar with that “Gretsch sound,” but one that didn’t look like a Gretsch. The result was the 1964 6126 Astro-Jet shown here. At least in terms of the objective, this guitar was a success. The sound is Gretsch and it sure doesn’t look much like one!

From a design standpoint, the Astro-Jet was a kind of Corvette on acid. The upper horn was thicker, and the four-and-two head was given a… well, you describe it! Typical of most Gretsch electrics, Astro-Jets were finished two-tone, with red fronts and a black back. For all the weirdness, these were actually pretty high-end guitars. The bodies were solid mah0gany with set mah0gany necks and bound eb0ny fingerboards with the “thumbprint” neo-classical design introduced in the late ’50s. They sported a pair of DeArmond Super ‘Tron twin-blade humbuckers controlled by individual volume knobs plus a master volume, three-way pickup select, three-way tone select (mid-bass, treble, heavy bass), and a three-way standby toggle (don’t ask me!). The vibrato was by Burns.