Nay, it's surely equally gorgeous. The real archetypal green Dyna (modern) Club - to me, being unable to speak for what came before - would be Joao Erbetta's. (As for vintage green Clubs, there have been numerous magnificent examples, not least brother Curt's Filtertron example, o Club of lovely patina. But I digress.)
Joao ordered his Dyna Club from Joel, and had Joel pre-install a Bigsby (with standard flat handle). It was not so much the appearance which set me off - though it was self-evidently a beauty - as the tone Joao pulled from it on a couple of tracks he once posted, "Besame Mucho" and "Airbag." One listen and I was a gawner.
Mine followed in due time (April '06 - it seems much longer ago), from brother Rocky of Street Sounds. I installed my own Bigsby, with the überclassy movable bent Chet handle. And yea, I found in it my own I-can't-believe-it's-ME-sounding-like-THIS tone. Not the same as brother Joao's, of course - all caveats about tone in the hands, etc - but ineffable, effervescent, evanescent, magical.
(Meanwhile Bro Joao's tone quest has led him away from the Club, and with the results he demonstrates via Jazzmaster on LA Sessions (one of the true must-have guitar albums of the season, if not ALL TIME, and I exaggerate not one widdle whit) – and via Billy Bo during his extraordinary appearance for Gretsch at WinterNAMM – I can't argue with him.
I do believe, though, that time will lead him back to his Club, at least for some material.)
Br. Hobie's Club, with the B11, marks another point in the evolution of the species here on the GDP - and raises the pointed question, why doesn't Gretsch offer the Club with Dynas AND a Bigsby?
I know the answer: because it's a configuration we must come to of our own insight, the more meaningful - and personally expressive - when we implement it ourselves.
Perhaps the ULtimate in self-expressive (perhaps self-flagellating) Clubism was the wenzel triple-Club. You may have missed this guitar, Hobie, and wenzel has moved it along to another - I believe Scandinavian - member. Veritable galleries of documentation once existed here, however, thanks to the wenz's photographic expertise. They're worth looking up.
This guitar began with two Filtertrons, but ended up with a Magnatron, Supertron, and TV Classic (iffen I recall), along with extra switching to control them and a 6-position ToneStyler pot (was it only 6?) with a black chicken-head knob and dial-plate. In addition, the finish was steel-wooled down to an olive drab matte, and red felt discs (like battery-terminal protectors) were installed under the knobs, which themselves had embossed gold military buttons glued to their tops.
This guitar did produce a variety of fetching and even unique tones, and was for a time a veritable grail to its owner. But the ever-chimerical wenzelman did see fit erelong to off it. As I say, it now resides in Scandaland, and I'm quite sure it's the only one on the block.
For those inclined to archivology (and many excessive pictures), I've found much of the history of this lineage.
• 4/3/05: Joao announces and shows his Club
• 5/31/06:
Wenzel joins the Club (Can you believe it? wenzel's very first post.)
• 6/13/06: Country Club Dyna Bigsby All-Purpose Thread (containing the pics to which the Hobester alludes above, and with much CC lore)
• 7/5/06: Just received my CC, wherein another member opts in, we all discuss, and Hobie poses some predictive questions
• 7/6/06: Knobbins, Trim, Carlos, Gal & Bridgewhack. Soft guitarporn photo-essay (packed with pics of this-n-that from various members)
• 7/3/07: Excessive Car & Guitar Porn. Fast-forwarding one year to still more evergreen images of green guitars, yellow Caddies, and more.
A Country Club!! More GAS pain!! Hobie that guitar looks seriously classy!! If things work out, I may have one hopefully on layaway in a day or two.
