Dick’s (or rather, Jacqui’s!) early model 1959 Gretsch Jet Firebird. "Not all eBay purchases work out as well as this one did. This guitar came from a lovely guy called Larry Jacobson who lives in Alaska with mountains in his back yard.  He bought the guitar new when he was still in college and played it for a while in a band he had with some friends.  Then it seems it spent the rest of its life in a comfy retirement – it’s in such great condition it could have almost come straight off the shelf.  There are just a few minor marks on the back and a little crazing on the finish on the front, which is always nice anyway.  It is simply gorgeous and has a beautiful, bell-like tone. The pickups are "patent applied for" Filtertrons and there’s no zero fret which makes it a very early version of this particular model.  In fact, Larry tells me he ordered it in late ’58 but it arrived on 30^th April 1959 - my thirteenth birthday!  As some of you anoraks may be aware, there is some conjecture being bandied about as to whether Hank Marvin used a Gretsch Country Gent with Filtertrons to record "Back Home".  I’m not going to enter into the argument here – I’ll leave it up to you to listen to the sound of this little Gretsch and come to your own conclusions!"