Ah, the Seventies. The dark age of guitar building... The excellent instruments from this period are few and far between, but this Gretsch Super Axe counts among them. Invented by Gretsch as a high end model to turn the tide of all-pervading crappiness, it's name was meant to be taken seriously. And I think they did an excellent job. The Super Axe is a semi-hollow, looks and feels fantastic, has a great neck and excellent sounding DiMarzio Super Distortion humbuckers. It came from the factory with a BadAss bridge and sustains like no one's business. The workmanship is top notch.

Gretsch weren't happy with just a regular 'ol great guitar though: the truly exciting bits on the Super Axe are the built in phaser and compressor. Individually switchable and with a good range of control, these are extremely useful. The compressor is very squishy and adds quite a bit of volume - perfect for anthemy leads, feedback at low volume and ambient sounds. The phaser sounds extremely classy and will go from subtle, slow swirl to leslie-type organ sounds. It feels right at home in a funky setting or playing Radiohead songs and it is a dream guitar for krautrock - turn the effects on and you sound like Neu.

So, a great looking guitar and super in it's raw state, taken to creative new levels with the on-board effects. I think it works especially well for more out-there styles and deserves a spot on today's stages. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I might even end up keeping it and will be pretty sad if it goes...

Condition: excellent, near mint if not for the light buckle rash on the back.

Modifications: none

Repairs: none

Includes: Original hard shell case