The Most Beautiful Guitar In The World
“The most beautiful guitar in the world.” That is what the sales literature from Gretsch called their Model 6136 White Falcon. Angelic in form and celestial in sound, the White Falcon is one of the most highly treasured and most expensive guitars ever made. Appearing at the same time as huge fins on automobiles, the White Falcon embodies everything that is the 1950s. Strangely enough, the White Falcon was never intended as a production model for Gretsch – it was more of a concept guitar. But, after its first trade show appearance in 1954, the White Falcon was instantly in demand and orders for White Falcon began to pour into the Gretsch factory.
The story of the White Falcon begins with a Gretsch salesman who played an all white Harmony guitar during World War II. Pictures of Jimmy Webster playing his Harmony appeared in an Armed Forces newsletter called “The White Falcon.” After the war, Mr. Webster began to cobble together what would become the Model 6136 White Falcon. He took his inspiration from anything and everything at the Gretsch factory. What happened was the “most beautiful guitar in the world.” Adorned with gleaming white paint, 24-karat gold plated parts, gold sparkled trim, ebony, and authentic mother-of-pearl the White Falcon made its debut in 1954 to the delight of players everywhere.
Everything on the White Falcon was first-rate and it is a big guitar. The White Falcon measures 17 inches wide and it is 3 inches deep. It has a three-layer white, gold and black binding with bird-themed engravings on the neck markers. It also had a special winged headstock and a “Cadillac G” tailpiece which derived its name from a resemblance to the Cadillac logo. The White Falcon embodied the excess of 1950s and its designers kept that aesthetic well into the 1960s. The White Falcon became the recipient of lots of switches and knobs which made it look complicated and removed from its intended pure design.
During the 1970s the White Falcon trimmed down a bit and returned to its uncluttered angelic look. In 1974, a single cut-away version of the White Falcon was produced which in effect ended the classic 6136 as we know it. But, just as rock ‘n’ roll will never die, the Gretsch 6136 White Falcon continues its storied history as “the most beautiful guitar in the world.” Rock on!
