GRETSCH Shot Jackson 1970s - Black. Prototype build by Gretsch for Shot Jackson who sold Sho-Bud to Gretsch

GRETSCH-BUILT “SHOT JACKSON” PROTOTYPE

The “SJ” Standup-Playing Guitar  ·  c. 1970s

Double-Cutaway Thinline Semi-Hollow  ·Bigsby  ·  Jet Black

International Guitar Museum  ·  Home of the Richard Davis Collection

This guitar is offered by the International Guitar Museum of Durham, North Carolina, which now houses the Richard Davis Collection — one of the world’s largest and most deeply curated private assemblages of vintage and custom guitars. It is among the rarest pieces in the entire collection: a hand-built electric tied by provenance to the legendary steel guitarist and instrument maker Shot Jackson. It is accompanied by full IMIR provenance documentation and a Certificate of Authenticity.

Museum founder and curator Rich Davis describes the instrument in his own words:

“This is one of the most unusual and rarest guitars in my collection. As its history was given to me by the previous owner, it was built by Gretsch as a custom prototype — a one-off ‘SJ’ Shot Jackson guitar — to fulfill a promise that Gretsch personnel made personally to Shot Jackson for a standup-playing guitar bearing his initials. Set it next to a standard Gretsch electric of the same period and the small differences give it away: the spacing between the pickups, the placement of the control knobs, and other details simply are not where a production Gretsch would put them. This one was built by hand, for one man or possibly in hope of starting a separate ‘Shot Jackson’ ES style electric guitar division.”

Why This Guitar Matters — The Shot Jackson Story

Harold “Shot” Jackson (1920–1991) was one of the premier steel and Dobro players of the postwar era and one of its most important instrument makers. In 1955 he co-founded Sho-Bud — the company that essentially productionized the pedal steel guitar and helped define the Nashville sound — and he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1986. His name carries enormous weight among players and collectors who understand where the modern country and Americana sound came from.

By the 1970s, Sho-Bud had expanded beyond pedal steels into flat-top acoustics, the Gretsch-made Sho-Bro resonators, banjos, amplifiers — and a very small number of electric guitars. These electrics are the rarest corner of the entire Shot Jackson story; only a handful are known to exist, and they surface almost never.

The provenance of this particular instrument, as recorded from the previous owner, goes a step further: it was built by Gretsch as a custom, one-off prototype — an “SJ” Shot Jackson guitar — made to honor a commitment Gretsch personnel had given Shot Jackson directly for a guitar of his own, bearing his initials, that he could play standing up. The instrument itself supports that account. Its construction departs from standard Gretsch production in small but telling ways — the spacing between the pickups, the placement of the control knobs, and other details that a hand-built one-off would show and a catalog model would not. At the same time, its Gretsch DNA is unmistakable: twin Gretsch pickups, a genuine gold Bigsby vibrato (Patent D.169120), a Gretsch roller bridge, and gold hardware throughout.

In candor, and as a matter of record: these guitars carry no known factory paperwork, and the few public examples have been catalogued variously as “Shot Jackson” and “Shot Jackson (Sho-Bud).” The Gretsch-prototype origin of this example therefore rests on provenance from the previous owner together with the physical evidence of the instrument itself — not on a surviving factory record. Presented honestly on those terms, it remains an exceptional rarity: a Shot Jackson–identified, Gretsch-built electric, of which only a tiny number exist in any form.

About This Guitar

A Gretsch-style double-cutaway thinline semi-hollow in jet black with cream binding, two bound f-holes, and gold hardware throughout. It is strikingly light and well balanced — comparable known examples weigh only about four and a half pounds — and voices in the warm, creamy, articulate register of a fine semi-hollow: full and pleasant rather than bright or harsh. The appointments are pure custom-grade Gretsch of the era: two Gretsch pickups (Filter’Tron-style), a gold fixed-arm Bigsby vibrato over a Gretsch roller bridge, a champagne/gold pickguard carrying the “SJ” Shot Jackson script monogram, a bound rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlays, and a three-on-a-side headstock with gold tuners, a pearl inlay, and the matching Shot Jackson script. The control layout — multiple gold knobs plus switching — follows Gretsch practice, but with the small placement variances noted above.

Specifications

Maker / Origin

Built by Gretsch as a custom prototype (per provenance); United States

Identity

“SJ” / Shot Jackson — monogram on pickguard and headstock

Era

c. 1970s (Baldwin-era Gretsch components)

Body

Gretsch-style double-cutaway thinline semi-hollow; two bound f-holes

Finish

Jet black; cream body binding

Neck

Set neck; bound rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlays

Headstock

Three-on-a-side; pearl inlay; Shot Jackson script logo; gold tuners

Pickups

Two Gretsch pickups (Filter’Tron-style), adjustable pole pieces

Controls

Multiple volume/tone knobs plus pickup switching (gold)

Vibrato / Bridge

Gold fixed-arm Bigsby vibrato (Patent D.169120) over Gretsch roller bridge

Hardware

Gold-plated throughout

Weight

Light — comparable examples approx. 4 lbs 8 oz

Case

Original hard shell case (OHSC)

Construction note

Pickup spacing, knob placement, and other details vary from standard Gretsch production, consistent with a hand-built one-off

Condition

Presents in very good vintage condition, complete and original, with honest play wear consistent with age. The Bigsby functions correctly. Maintained in climate-controlled, museum-grade conditions. [Curator to confirm specific wear notes and weight prior to issuance.]

Provenance Statement

This specimen is offered directly from the exhibit collection of the International Guitar Museum, Durham, North Carolina.

From the Richard Davis Collection. This instrument comes from the Richard Davis Collection — one of the world’s largest and most deeply curated private assemblages of vintage and custom instruments: more than 900 guitars and 200 amplifiers spanning 225+ brands from 12 countries, assembled over 27 years of purposeful, scholarly collecting. It is among the rarest single pieces in the collection.

Attribution and chain of custody. The instrument was acquired from a private owner who recorded its origin as a one-off custom prototype built by Gretsch for Shot Jackson — an “SJ” standup-playing guitar fulfilling a personal commitment made to him by Gretsch personnel. This origin is presented as provenance by repute, supported by the instrument’s non-standard, hand-built construction and its period Gretsch componentry. It is not accompanied by surviving factory documentation, and is offered transparently on that basis.

Why provenance matters now. The market has spoken decisively on what documented provenance and a great story are worth. At Christie’s landmark Jim Irsay sale in March 2026, instruments with documented collection history realized $94.5 million — 136% above estimate. For a one-of-a-kind instrument tied to a Hall of Fame maker, the narrative and the chain of custody are inseparable from the value.

Institutional-grade documentation. This instrument is accompanied by a formal Certificate of Authenticity and a transferable Title of Ownership registered with the International Musical Instrument Registry (IMIR), Luxembourg — providing clear chain of custody from the Richard Davis Collection forward.

When you acquire from the Richard Davis Collection, you acquire the provenance with the instrument. That value transfers with the title — and it does not expire.

Available exclusively from the professionally curated, internationally renowned Richard Davis Collection — accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity and Title of Ownership issued by the International Musical Instrument Registry (IMIR).

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY

Rare Vintage Guitar Authentication

Authentication No. IGM-SJ-PROTO-001

Gretsch-Built “Shot Jackson” (SJ) Prototype

Double-Cutaway Thinline Semi-Hollow Electric  ·  Jet Black·  c. 1970s

This certifies that the instrument described above is an authentic, hand-built thinline semi-hollow electric guitar bearing the “SJ” / Shot Jackson identity on its pickguard and headstock. It is constructed using Gretsch components of the period — twin Gretsch pickups, a genuine Bigsby vibrato (Patent D.169120), and a Gretsch roller bridge — and exhibits construction variances from standard Gretsch production (including pickup spacing and control placement) consistent with a one-off custom build rather than a catalog instrument.

Provenance: according to the account of the previous owner, the instrument was built by Gretsch as a custom prototype fulfilling a personal commitment by Gretsch personnel to the late Shot Jackson for an “SJ” standup-playing guitar. This origin is recorded as provenance by repute, supported by the instrument’s non-standard construction; it is not accompanied by surviving factory documentation.

This instrument has been examined and documented by the International Guitar Museum and is accompanied by a transferable Title of Ownership registered with the International Musical Instrument Registry (IMIR), Luxembourg. It has been maintained in climate-controlled, museum-grade conditions and presents in very good original condition consistent with its age.

Certified this 13th day of June, 2026.

James Richard Davis

Founder & Curator, International Guitar Museum

— OFFICIAL SEAL —

International Musical Instrument Registry