Gretsch 6136 White Falcon

this baby has all the features, bisgby, gold hardware,etc. every time i take it out of the case i get a buzz,. made in japan 2006, the pick ups are amazing.. switched for pick ups and switch for Tone setting, pick ups have individual voulume controls plus a guitar master volume control. came with screw on strap locks which is veryhandy as it is quite a weighty guitar but balanced well so it stays still while you play it. you definaltey look the part with this axe around you neck.
Came with a gretsch case.

That typical Gretsch Sound" some peolple love others not so. i have definately fallen for guitar. covers all the sounds from a nice full tone of the arch top, twangy country or nice tonal blues or rock sound
the pick ups are very bright and responsive i am playing thru a valve amp and the sound is on the money for sure -i play mainly blues and Rock so it fits perfectly ac/dc,zz top,living end etc.
the tone controls take some getting use to as it switch setting control not a variable pot type -

Action was sensational straight out of the case just plug in and play
no marks or rattles or anything. the gold hardware has started to oxides on some spots like on the gold bar attached to the bisgby and where my right hands rest when i play but i play this guitar alot 1-2 hours a day plus jamming/giging on weekends. Everything is adjustable the pick ups, the bridge even the space between the strings. but i have not had to cahnge any thing other than the strings. it takes abit longer to re- string the bigsby but well worth it.

no problems at all with playing live i have a back up guitar as you just cant stand to the side and re- string the bisgsby but so far have not had to use it. - people just stare at and make heaps of comments. it is very solid made guitar pick one of the up and you will know what i mean but it is a hollow body so i would not jump on it or anything. loves the sweat and beer of a good show.

never had to use it - had the guitat for over 12 months

I have been playing for over 15 years and also own 2 maton electric/acoustic guitars 6 and 12 string and a Fender tele, marshall and epiphone and laney amps. I would replace this guitar but first i would hunt down and kill the person who stole it.
each to their own and the choice out there is endless but if you a in the hunt for a gretsch you could do alot worse than buying a falcon.
it is expensive but as soon as you get passed that issue you will appreciate the quality and timless style of this guitar that you will be able to pass on to future generations.

Ebony fingerboard, laminated maple body, 17" by 2 3/4", double humbuckers, two volumes, master volume, three way pickup switch, three way tone switch, 22 frets, Bigsby stretch, roller bridge with no way to set the intonation for the strings individually, Grover imperial tuners. I'd give it a ten for the features but I wish they had put a Schaller roller bridge on it as it has individually adjustable screws for intonation. I don't miss the tone controls as I use the volumes as tone controls on all my guitars. I call this guitar "the Pimp" cause it just has that vibe. Everybody but everybody thinks that it is drop dead gorgeous.

Sounds great. Its never noisy in any setting. I Changed the standard pickups to T.V. Jones classics. That is a must in my opinion, the Japanese build a fabulous guitar but their pickups are just ordinary at best. It has the sweetest rhythmn sound of any guitar that I have ever heard, pull the heart right out of your chest sweet. Switch to the back pickup and it has a huge, huge, huge bottom end for that Duane Eddy sound. This is not a guitar for metal heads, the sound is always well defined and articulate. Great for country, jazz, old rock and roll, and particularly rock-a-billy.

This guitar is well built, period. Everything is great, it looks great, everything works perfectly, the action is great, its just superlative, which it should be as it is one expensive guitar.

I can't say too much for this category other than its been fine for me. I have eight guitars that I play regularly (eleven in all) so it doesn't get played tons. Having said that, I have no issues with it at all, everything seems built to last.

I bought it from ebay, nothing at all has gone wrong with it.

This guitar is not for everyone. It has great versatility but it does that distinctive Gretsch sound. You are not going to get it to sound like anything else which is why I still play my tele, strat, Les, L'Arrivee, Riviera, etc. I've been playing for 17 years, started when I was 40 and don't have any interest in shredding or whatever you call that souless junk. When I want that great Gretsch sound I just pick it up and its simply a joy to play. I wrecked my hands from years of hard work and this guitar is so easy to play. I have a Fender "The Twin", a Traynor YCV 20 and an ancient Fender Bassman. They are all tube amps. I think it sounds best through the Twin, that bottom end is just incredible.

2005 model, bigsby. Dream guitar.

Ultimate gretsch sound, which for me is ultimate guitar.

it's obviously a love/hate thing. I know people who don't get the whole Gretsch vibe - but that is their loss! Most striking guitar ever made. A cadillac in a world of fiat puntos!

As tough as any other guitar under normal use.

have les paul strat danelectro ibanez but gretsch by far the best.wish it came with white cowboy case though!

2004 model...bigsby... 2 filtertrons...other features are standard..

this is one beautiful guitar....like a cadillac or a nice mercedes...beautiful action..the pickups truly deliver the 'great gretsch sound'.so alive..so sparkley..so fat..so 'in your face' gorgeous tone..no mush to the sound...its totally alive sounding...i play jazz and rock and roll too..it does it all....gorgeous gretsch sound..nothing on earth like it...i like everything about it...no dislikes

set up from factory was nice..low action with plenty of room on the brdige to move it further down or up..i have my action very very low nd i have had no fret buzz or problems...nothing bad...no surprises..the only surprise is how great it feels..its like a beautiful woman in your arms...every song i play on it, is like making love...comes strung with 10's...i changed to a new set of 10's..no real tuning issues with 10's..i like the way 10's sound..very nice...a lot of the newer gretsch guitars have design flaws and not so great neck set angles...not this one...i would say that...if you were thinking of spending 1800 or 2100 dollars for some other model gretsch, save your money and go for the falcon..i had a 2003 6120 model that had a really bad neck angle and was just not a great guitar at all...if you can find a falcon for 2500 or less , you wont regret it...life is short, my friends, go first class..it may cost a lot, but its worth every dime..

i hope the guitar lasts a long time..i see no reason for it not to...its a jewel..i never use a backup guitar..the finish is nice looking and seems very durable..nice tuners...no problems with knobs or pots so far...seems very well made..

dont know..

i have had about every old gretsch guitar in the book...i can honestly say that this new falcon is far far superior to any vintage gretsch...the neck is especially easier to play..it has nicer and bigger frets , a great neckset ..a nicer profile...and is just all around very solid and trouble free...i wouldnt even dream of buying an old gretsch after having this new one..never...the sound is amazing..and god it looks so good onstage..people cant quit looking at you when you play it..so . be prepared...this guitar is not for you 'shrinking violets'..i bought my falcon off of ebay ..and when it came, i was so blown away by the quality..i got mine with a return policy if needed, so i wasnt too worried about not liking it..no need to worry abou that....they (gretsch/fender) have really got it right on this model...two thumbs way up..

Refer to the Gretsch.com specs page. I have the 6136T (with gold Bigsby) 2005 model made in Japan.

Basically, standard filtertrons, grover heads, ebony board, bigsby, roller bridge. Came with a case and truss rod adjuster tool.

I am using it through a Fender Bassman (66) with a Fender tube reverb unit. It sounds big and beefy on the neck pickup and twangy (not as twangy as my Setzer) on the bridge pick up. I am still experimenting with the various sounds it can produce by mixing pickup volumes, mucking around with the tone switch. I am waiting for my taoe echo unit which I elieve will add some nice tone and slap. It is louder than my Setzer.

The guitar was set up beautifully out of the box. I changed the strings from 11's to 10-52's. I also screwed the brindge foot to the top. There is nothing worse than floating bridges which float all over the shop when you bend. The frets are well installed unlike the 90's Gretsches (my Setzer E string gets caught under frets 2 & 3 regularly). The only thing I may change is the bridge. It has the roller bridge which Gretsch developed as the "Space Control" bridge. I prefer the individual adjustable saddles of the Tun-o-matic.

The finish is superb. I have inspected it closely over the past 3 months and am unable to find a manufacturing fault.

I have not gigged with it however, it looks and feels as though it will stand the test. I added strap locks as the last thing you need is a two piece falcon. The gold hardward has already started to wear. I guess that is inevitable and adds to the character of the guitar.

Warranty is 12 months. I have not had to repair it so can't comment.

The guitar is fanstastic. I have always wanted a single cut Falcon. The most dissappointing aspect is the poxy Canadian case that came with it. Whilst is is a sturdy hard shell unit, the guitar has to be jammed into it and the purple lining looks like shit against the white and gold of the guitar. I would have thought Gretsch would had done something special for such a great model.

If it was nicked, I would certainly buy another.

Compared to my 1994 Setzer 6120, the Falcon is of superior build quality. The Setzer has crappy pots, the gold hardware went green, the frets are wearing at an abnormally fast pace, the case was also crappy. It has a different sound however. It is bigger and more mellow. The Setzer stills sounds great despite the quality issues.

This one is actually a 1994 6136SL (or silver falcon) Black in color, silver binding and hardware. Single cutaway with two filtertron pickups seperate volume controls for each, one tone control and one selector switch. No bigsby. (which I don't miss) Stunning looks!!

Sounds simply amazing. I've been playing for thirty years and have been searching for this sound! I play a variety of musical styles and I have yet to find one this wont cover. (Although I'm not a metal hack I don't think this is a metal players guitar) I am amazed at the versitility of this guitar! I play mostly thru a Fender Concert 112 combo. Not many effects needed with this babe. I play mostly clean, but this guitar grunges up nicely. I can overdrive it without feedback problems. A little delay and this thing's off the chart!!

I bought it used, and it was set up nicely and played well. The thing I like about this particular guitar is the fact that it will make an honest player out of you!. No sloppy stuff is rewarded with the falcon. Your technique needs to be fairly good.

It also has a floating bridge on it which I hate so I took it to a luthier and had the bridge glued down. Now it doesn't slide and go out of tune when I bend strings. He also set it up for me and now it plays like a dream!

This thing is a tank. It gets hammered on quite often and takes it well. It's my favorite guitar to play, hands down. No backup needed for this baby, it stands on it's own. It gets pampered so I expect this will last until they plant me 6 feet under.

never had to deal with Gretsch so I can't comment.

I cannot praise this guitar enough!! I've seen quite a few guitars in my 30 years of playing and this one tops them all!! This is the rythm guitar players dream! It's my absolute favorite, and my wife and kids favorite also. I'd get shot if I decided to sell it. (not that I would) If it were lost or stolen I'd be on the hunt the next day for another one! Great looks and great tone in one great guitar, who could ask for more?

I have a pre FMIC Gretsch 6136 White Falcon made in may 1999 in japan. It has a pickup selector, master volume, tone knob and volume for each pickup. These knobs are the Gretsch jewell knobs. Pickups in it are the standard Gretsch Filtertrons which I will eventually put a TV Jones Classic Plus in the bridge basically cos they are a better pickup. Body is huge.. I dont know the the size off by heart (its something around 2 3/4" deep!). It has the Gretsch branded tuners and not the Grovers like the Fender-Gretsch's these days. This came with standard strap holders AND strap locks so thats cool.
It's got all the features a guitar needs and more.

It suits my music perfectly. If you want jazz and clean blues at any volume or overdriven twangy Chuck Burry or have a marshall plexi on 10 to whip out pure ACDC! I havent found a guitar that is more vesitile. Metal? maybe not but there is no guitar out there that can do what this baby can do... (okay maybe for some other gretsch's but all gretsch's are the best!) The sound is huge. Its alot more rock sounding than I ever imagined which is great! I play ususally either brian setzer cleans w/slap echo or malcolm young driving rock and the falcon does it all no worries.

This is the only downfall on the pre fender gretsch's. The frets are on pretty bad. Every so often my high E gets caught under the 1st fret. And one of the strap hole pins was too large for the strap holder so I had to get that fixed. Every now and then the bridge pickup dosnt work unless I have the pickup selector a move!

Its big and looks weak but its as hard as hell. Withstands live playing for sure and this guitar will last! Chris from living end uses one of these (same year) and he's been using the same falcon as his number one for years now (yeah he does have a couple but he ususally just uses the one) and he's a guy that plays many many many many many shows a year so if it works for him everyday im confident in mine! THe only thing i cant depend on is that bridge pickup to roar 100% of the time (see above)

Fantastic.... I only play gretschs. I have quite a few. The only guitar around thats better in my oppinion is the gretsch duojet. I have one of those too and they are just amazing. Sounds the same but just plays better as its a solid body.
Buying this off ebay and me living in australia, the deal was great as prices for new gretsch's are crazy here. Im just glad i didnt get it new with that fret and pickup problems because noone in australia should pay $7000 for those problems in a guitar.

I got myself a '99 6136 White Falcon off ebay and boy it was a great deal. I got it from Florida and I went through alot of crap to get it to sydney but my time came after 2 months.
It is your classic standard 6136 : Laminated rock mapel neck, 24k gold hardware, Cadillac G tailpiece (ive also got a silver G cut tail which I will eventually put on), nickle silver frets, multilayer white deco finish which looks stunning, vertical logo headstock, 17" wide 2 3/4" body so it is one beast of a guitar! The stock pickups are very good but the TV Classics are better so I will take the pair out of my Gretch Tennessean and put em into my falcon eventually. As i said its a huge guitar with a very big neck, the neck is very les paul like I think too. Also got the falcon case which is beautiful with marone fur inside. I got the check list car, gold strap locks, alan key and case key also. For the low price (compared to new ones in Aust) the features all up cannot be under 10

I play two types of music really... Rockabilly (setzer to presley) and real classic rock stuff (ACDC, The Cult, Living End... all of whom are associated with the 6136 White Falcon!). I play jazz and blues time to time but when it comes to bands its usually rock n roll!! The guitar aint noisey at all. It sounds better the louder it gets. Some people make think its a bad thing that you never lose the falcon sound... you will always have a clean twangy sound which I love! its a very very very clean sounding guitar. With my amps on their clean channels and me being on the front pickup the sound is so amazingly huge it goes right through you. I like the front pickup more than the back tho (which is bad cos Im always on the back pickup in bands) so I will only give it a 9 cos the bridge pickup isnt as good as a TV Classic like I mentioned.

Had to do a bit of work when it arrived. Got the intonation done and setup done. Stays in tune very well about a day or 2 after putting on new strings. Its very solid and the action fit and finish is very trustworthy!

I can belt the living crap out of this and it will be fine! Like any guitar as long as I keep it clean always the hardware will last. I absolutly can depend on this guitar. I would love to play without a back up but things do go wrong with anything... you might break a G string for instance.. I have a Gretsch Tennessean or a 69 Gibson SG at gigs also. BUt the falcon is my number 1. Only flaw is be careful not to belt the floating bridge!

Well its 2nd hand and 5 years old so nope to warrenty but I got great friends that know their shi* so my help is out there if anything does go wrong.

Ive played so many guitars!! Gretsch' Gibson, Fender, Maton, PRS, Epiphone, Guild, G&L, ESP, ect and my falcon IS the best guitar I have ever had my hand on. so its gotta be 10 oudda 10 cos ive never played anything better. I love the sound and I love the look!!!

At the end of the day its a rock guitar or a rockabilly strat cat axe. It definatly has its limitations but thats apart of its character. Its not the tightest guitar in the world but if I wanted tight I'd play my tele at gigs but at the moment it just fits in my hallway in its case.

1993 Double cutaway thin version. Bigsby tremelo. 2 Filtertron pickups. Ebony board. Gold sparkle binding.

This guitar has a rockabilly/early Beatles sound which is really in contrast to its tuxedo/wedding band looks. It's big appeal is the look. It has got to be one of the prettiest guitars ever made. Just leave it on a guitar stand in your living room I guarantee you guests will stare at it when they walk in the room. But we are talking about SOUND here. Ok. It doesn't sustain well. Gretches never do because the huge filtertron pickup magnets pull on the strings.(When you loosen the strings to change them they stick to the pickups.....)
Gretches have a barking sound like you hear on early Beatles recordings. They really bite when playing lead (think Brian Setzer here and have a thick tone in that setting) The roller bridge rattles a bit when the strings vibrate on some strings and that can be another soak to sustain but it doesn't efect tone amplified.But it does have that Gretsch tone. Think of the opening guitar lead intro to "Stray Cat Strut" and you you get the picture. Using reverb and vibrato and you get a sound like Chris Issac's "Wicked Game" I have to say it doesn't sound much different than other Gretsch archtops I've played. This is a guitar that you can play ACOUSTICALLY with a vibrato arm. That's pretty rare.

It was well set up when I bought it but the roller bridge rattle bothered me for a guitar in this price range. I trried one replacing the bridge with an ebony archtop bridge but the treble disappeared and it got muddy sounding. I'm sure I could have found a better bridge but just put up with the rattle and you only heard it when playing acoustically. The finish seemed a bit thick to me but pretty.
Action was easily adjustable at the bridge.

After about 5 years the bridge pickup failed and a repairman said he had to replace it which cost 200 bucks. Everything else was fine for the ten years until I sold it on ebay for the exact same price I paid for it new. 2400 dollars. Tuners are very smooth. Count on the gold plating wearing off in strategic places over time and maybe a litle rust forming on the metal sparkle bits of binding that are exposed over time.

never called them

This guitar is FANTASTIC to look at and has an original distinctive sound but it's also cumbersome and expensive and probably not worth 2400 bucks. Maybe more like 1500 but since Gretch makes so few and they are way cheaper than the $16,000 originals I guess this is a way of satisfying demand. Probably a good guitar for rock and high energy music but far removed from the jazz roots it comes from. I can't see it as a jazz solo guitar in some smoky nightclub. It's a 57 t bird sound and not the rolls royce it aspires to be. It's so NOT a Gibson ES335 in sound. Buy it for flash and fun but probably not the practical serious jazz instrument its price range demands it to be.A nice guitar but my rating comes down a bit based on price.

I feel that gretsch workmanship has greatly improved. All seams, neck joints, electronics are excellent. The tuners could be of better quality but are good. A lot of people complain about Bigsby Tremelos not staying intune, but if the guitar is set up properly you should have no problem at all. Playing my gretsch at high volume is not an issue. I use a 50 watt Marshall and a 50 watt Bassman with a 4x12 and 2x12 cabs respectively.

I've found that the filter-tron pick up have good balance between thin single coils and dark humbuckers. Of coarse your choice will always depend on your style and the style of music. (dont expect to use a gretcsh to play Limp Bisquit covers!). The sound is close to a P-90 Pick up.

The cost of this guitar may be high, but the quality reflects what is expected from this company. By the time most guitars leave the factory and reach the store, weather effects the instruments. I'm a guitar tech so I set-up all instrument as soon as I get them.

This guitar is very durable. I'v dropped it, spilled beers on it. played many a gigs with it, no problem yet.

I've found The Gretsch Co. to be very helpful in answering any question i had. Duke Kramer (At D & F Products) has taught me plenty on old and new guitars.

I've been playing nearly 26 years. I own alot of vintage fenders, Gibson, and Martins.