“I was in Ocean Way studios recording ‘The Capsules’ with The Cult and I really wanted the White Falcon sound on a track. The problem was I needed access higher up the neck for a particular song which I couldn’t get to on my Falcons with the single cutaway. So I got hold of a guy at Gretsch called Mike Schulz who popped over to the studio with this Double Cutaway one. So anyway he said “we (Gretsch) really love what you do and if there’s anything we can do to help let me know”. We got talking and he said “why don’t we do a Billy Duffy signature model” which was the point where my Signature Model was born.
My first ever White Falcon was actually a 1970s double cutaway but it was a stereo one which wasn’t really to my taste once I started using it. Over the years a few makers have done stereo guitars and they have got different applications but they can be quite difficult to use. Truth is, back then it was the only White Falcon I could get my hands on and I even had to specially order it from the guitar store. Eventually I had to get rid of it partly as I couldn’t live the stereo thing and although I could have got someone to do the wiring thing differently to get rid of the stereo, I’d always wanted a single cutaway Falcon as I preferred the way it looked… bit more like the shape of a Les Paul, more rock and roll.
This one I’ve got now is actually different from the stereo one I had in Theatre of Hate as the neck is different with different markers on the fretboard. Essentially though, it’s the same guitar.”
Billy Duffy – Jan 2013