Silver Duke

One of the rarest Gretsch guitars ever produced, the Silver Duke was a tribute to silver-haired innovator C. W. “Duke” Kramer, which was released in 1966. The guitar is built on a model 6135 body, but with a silver metal-flake finish and a pair of HiLo’Tron pickups, plus a horseshoe-shaped B-5 Bigsby. Kramer was with the company from before World War II and stayed through all the ups and downs and right into the 21st Century. What is most notable about the Silver Duke is the unusual (for the time) reverse headstock with four tuners on the bottom and two up top. This has been used on many guitars since then, most notably in the Brian Moore line and on the first Eddie Van Halen-endorsed Music Man EVH (although in this case, the four tuners are up top, with the two additional tuners on the bottom). Although not an expensive model in 1966, the Silver Duke is almost imposssible to find today, and an example in good condition might well bring the lucky owner a hefty profit!