This is probably one of the ugliest guitars ever made, but I love it for its awkward looks and, more importantly, how it plays... which is terrific, in case you were wondering. 

If it looks familiar, this is the low-end re-issue of a simplified version of the Gretsch Roc Jet, which Malcolm Young of AC/DC plays pretty much exclusively (albeit with only one pickup and virtually no other electronics).  A few years back Gretsch released a couple of Malcolm Young signature models in this mould (one with a single pickup, the other like this except for a few cosmetic differences).

As of this writing, I haven't modified it yet, although I have a few things in mind.  I'm just weird like that.

The controls on Gretsch guitars probably confuse a lot of players the first time they encounter them.  Here's a quick overview of how this one works.

• Master volume -  This is the foremost knob on the lower bout (the most oddly placed of the bunch).  It sets the overall output level.

• Neck pickup volume -  Self-explanatory.

• Bridge pickup volume -  Self-explanatory.

• Pickup selector switch -  A standard three-way switch like that found on Les Paul and similar guitars.

• Tone switch -  In lieu of a tone knob, this three-way switch selects between two capacitors that approximate the treble cut of a tone knob or bypasses them in the middle position.  More about that on this page.

I would have preferred to use the push-pull pot mentioned above for coil taps, but the cheap pickups this guitar came with only have two leads.  However, like those in my Les Paul, I'm inclined to hang onto them because I happen to like the smooth sound, both clean and dirty.

Control: Push-pull pot

Function: Throws the bridge pickup electrically "out of phase" with the neck pickup when the two are combined.

Control: Push-pull

Function: New, 4-conductor pickups will allow me to tap the humbuckers and get single-coil sounds, which would be very nice, given all the other options I've crammed into this axe.

The low-quality tuners that came stock with this model weren't worth their weight in aluminum, so I swapped them out for a set of chrome Imperials.