Brian Setzer’s Epic Stage Mishap: The Day His Gretsch 6120 Met Its Match
Brian Setzer recounts a dramatic moment when he accidentally wrecked his cherished 1959 Gretsch 6120 during a performance in Japan, a guitar that had been his faithful companion as his teenage years.
During a lively concert in Tokyo, Setzer attempted a crowd-favorite stunt that he had executed flawlessly many times before, but this time, things took a turn for the worse.
“I used to toss the guitar high into the air, then catch it with a ‘Wham!’ and dive right back into playing,” he shared in a recent interview on his YouTube channel.
The audience adored the spectacle, and Setzer relished the thrill of it. However, the excitement turned to horror when the stunt went awry.
“I lost sight of it in the stage lights. It vanished, and then suddenly, it came crashing down,” he explained.
In a split-second reaction, he reached out to catch the falling guitar, but it was too late.
“I missed it. The sound it made was horrendous,like it was crying out,’How could you do this to me?!’”
“The neck flew into the crowd,and I was left holding the body,thinking,’Oh no,I’ve ruined my guitar!’”
Fortunately,the incident occurred in japan,where cultural values of respect and politeness prevailed.
“A guy from the audience actually returned the neck to me,” he recalled. “In any other place, it would have likely been taken.”
Setzer’s instinct kicked in as he tried to catch the guitar, but the damage was done.
“The neck went flying, and I was left with just the body, thinking, ‘What have I done?’”
Renowned luthier Tom Jones eventually restored the guitar, but Setzer noted that it never quite felt the same afterward.
“For a couple of years, it just didn’t play right. It lost its magic,” he lamented.
Though,in a surprising twist,the guitar eventually regained its charm.
“Out of nowhere, it started to play beautifully again,” he said, baffled by the change.
interestingly, his guitar technician, Tyler Sweet, offers a different version of the story.In a “Rig Rundown” with Premier Guitar, he mentioned that the Gretsch was damaged during a handoff to Setzer’s previous stage tech, leading to the guitarist tossing the broken neck into the audience, prompting a retrieval mission.
Irrespective of the differing accounts, losing the Gretsch would have been a significant blow, especially considering its long history with Setzer.
“I found it in a local newspaper. I called the seller and asked, ‘Is it like Eddie Cochran’s?’ He replied, ‘Who?’”
“At 17, I discovered it in The Byline Press,” he reminisced in a 2019 interview with guitar player.”It was listed for $100. I called the seller, and after a brief conversation, I went to his house and there it was-the 1959 orange 6120. It was exactly what I had been searching for. He planned to refinish it and make it natural, and all the electronics were in a shoebox. I handed him the cash, took the guitar and the box, and off I went. It felt like fate.”
The 6120 quickly became his go-to guitar as the Stray Cats ignited a rockabilly revival across the globe.
Over time, Setzer personalized the instrument with a sticker featuring a vintage pinup girl perched on a vinyl record and swapped the original knobs for dice from a Monopoly game.
“The stickers and dice became my trademarks,” he noted. “I didn’t think much about it at the time. I found the pinup stickers in an old lawnmower repair shop and used the dice because the guitar didn’t have any knobs. I just grabbed some dice, drilled holes in them, and glued them on.”
Aside from these modifications, the only significant upgrade was the addition of Sperzel locking tuners, while the original Filter’Tron pickups and most hardware remained intact.
Eventually, Setzer decided to retire the guitar. “It had seen its fair share of beer spills and smoke,” he said. Luckily, he had a worthy successor ready to take its place.
“In 1984, I bumped into Steve Miller at a bar in Germany.We chatted about Gretsches and how mine was getting worn out. When I returned to New York, I found a large box waiting for me. To my surprise, it contained a 6120 from Steve Miller-a fantastic one!”
Setzer’s original 6120 later inspired a Gretsch tribute model, but more importantly, it was the guitar that launched his enduring career, especially as the stray Cats embark on their latest tour-marking their first since Setzer’s recovery from an autoimmune disorder and an unintentional dependency issue.
Despite the trials it faced, the original 1959 Gretsch remains a legendary instrument, and over sixty years after Setzer purchased it for just $100, it stands as one of the most iconic guitars in rockabilly history.
