“In 2016 I decided to ‘retire’ my original 1975 White Falcon which had long been known as the ‘Sanctuary’ Falcon due to it being my weapon of choice from way back in the 1980s for both recording and playing live with The Cult. After many years of faithful service the ‘old girl’ had developed a beautiful patina with the white lacquer creamed with age and the gold plating on the metalwork worn away to reveal the silver coloured metal below but the value of this guitar (both monetary and sentimental ) meant I wasn’t comfortable touring with it anymore. By… Read the full article.

The ‘Evil Twin’ to Billy’s Gretsch Signature White Falcon this colourway was launched as a limited edition model in December 2015. The spec is identical to it’s twin which in turn was based on his 1970’s ‘Sanctuary’ White Falcon with the only difference being this model has a luxurious black gloss lacquer finish instead of a white one. You can read more about this guitar here… The Evil Twin… Billy’s Black Falcon

The highlight of Billy’s guitar collection is his signature model White Falcon from Gretsch. Based on his classic 1970’s version this guitar has been a labour of love as it has been created to Billy’s exact specs by the team at Gretsch. Billy explains “It’s not a forensic recreation or a replica of my original 70’s guitar because my guitars have many war wounds and scars, but it’s based on that guitar. Gretsch was made by Baldwin in the ’70s and they just built them in a different way. I don’t know if it’s better or worse than the ones they are… Read the full article.

Billy’s second Gretsch White Falcon is the one that he affectionately christened his ‘Sanctuary’ guitar and is indeed the one that has become synonymous with both him and The Cult. After buying his first Double Cutaway in 1982 he soon realised that the single cutaway style was the one he really desired. With the advance from the record company after forming Death Cult with Ian in 1983 Billy finally was able to see his dream come true. As a centre piece in the stunning live performances and all recordings by band the White Falcon became an iconic totem. But Billy’s… Read the full article.

“Going out on tour I needed a back up to my trusty ‘Sanctuary’ White Falcon and a very good friend of mine ‘Fat Rick’ Zsigmond of New Kings Road Vintage Guitar Emporium had one in his shop.  As they don’t show up very often we did a deal on it and I used it extensively until I picked up the new touring ones in the 2000s. This guitar came very much like the ‘Sanctuary’ one as it’s from a very similar era so it had all the same stuff. I just changed the pick up to a more modern ‘TV Jones’… Read the full article.

“Back in 2007 we were finishing recording ‘Born Into This’ with Youth in London. We were on a very limited time schedule as we’d slotted in the session just before we did some dates in Europe. The ridiculousness of touring sometimes is that because of international shipping constraints all the gear has to go together in one big container. To have pulled individual guitars out two weeks before the tour to go to the recording in London was a big problem so I ended up borrowing stuff. It turned out that a good friend of mine owned a White Falcon… Read the full article.

“Like the ‘2003 White Falcon’ this is one of my two ‘touring Falcons’. Over time I’ve sort of ‘retired’ the 1970s Falcons for live and use the more modern ones, it’s kind of like getting a new car to me, they look the same but are more reliable. I don’t have a preference between the two when I’m gigging so if you’ve seen me on tour over the last few years it will have been playing these two.” Billy Duffy – January 2013 BUY Gretsch Guitars G6136t White Falcon With Bigsby White ONLINE IN THE U.S. NOW

“In 2008 The Cult were approached to provide a display of memorabilia for the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas and we felt as a band that it needed a White Falcon as that was my iconic guitar. This was one of my touring Falcons I was using at the time but as I had three I sacrificed it for the cause and you can see it in the display now.” Billy Duffy – January 2013

“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… Read the full article.

“Around 1984 I decided that I wanted to get another single cutaway White Falcon like the ‘Sanctuary one as I loved the way it felt. Unfortunately at that time I couldn’t find one let alone afford one and I came across a Country Club that had the same feel. So, I traded the Double Cutaway Stereo Falcon for it. Originally it was a natural wood finish so I got it painted in London by a guy called Roger Giffin who was a guitar customizer under Kew Bridge. Instead of white I decided to get it painted black because I wanted… Read the full article.