For years, car makers have slapped an unusual paint scheme and/or stripes on whatever wouldn’t sell, added a badge that read “GT” or “Rally” and waited for the lowly Escorts and Sunbirds to start rolling off the lots.

It’s tough to figure out if that’s what Gretsch was trying with the Rally model, but as the Magic 8 Ball is prone to saying, “All indications point to Yes.”

At any rate, the 6104 and 6105 Rally models rolled out in 1967, adding another guitar equipped with dual HiLoTron pickups to a product line-up already heavy with similarly-equipped guitars.

The Rally’s big claim to fame — aside from the sporty stripes on the pickguard and truss rod cover — was the colors. Combinations that hadn’t been seen since the early ‘50s like Bamboo Yellow and Copper Mist turned up on Rallys.

Even the colors were a bit off, though. Instead of using the gorgeous Cadillac Green used on Country Clubs and other Gretsch guitars, Gretsch introduced Rally Green, which was more of a stain, with the wood showing through and is generally much more drab than Cadillac Green.

Another odd choice was the onboard active treble booster switch. Since HiLoTrons already tend to be trebly, it wasn’t a particularly useful feature.

In the Rally’s favor, it was inexpensive. Retailing for $395 when new, it sat squarely at the lower end of Gretsch’s hollowbody line.

The rarely seen Songbird model was reportedly sold through Sam Goody stores. It was essentially identical to other Rally models except for the unusual “G” soundholes and no rally stripe.

The Rally was discontinued in 1970.

Three different models and 13 examples are in the Gretsch-GEAR database, including Rally and Songbird -- AKA "Sam Goody" models.

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Milestones

1967

Short run of 6106 Songbirds with distinctive “G-holes” made for Sam Goody retail chain.

1970

Rally models discontinued.