That Was The Year... 1969 Wayfarers, Rebels And Outworlders
AFTER A SIX-YEAR PRODUCTION RUN
Guild pulls the plug on its Duane Eddy 400 model. This single-cutaway archtop is loaded with two covered humbuckers with individual volume and tone controls, a mix control and a three-way selector switch. It has an adjustable metal bridge, a Guild style Bigsby vibrato and a black stepped scratchplate with the Duane Eddy signature and Guild Star logo. Predominantly maple, the guitar has a mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard and peal block inlays.
THE BEATLES PERFORM ON THE ROOFTOP
of Apple Records in London, their last ever public performance. New bands emerging include Yes, King Crimson and Led Zeppelin. Cream break up and release their final album, Goodbye, a mixture of live recordings and three new studio tracks. Jimi Hendrix is the headline act at the Woodstock Festival in the USA.
THE MCA CORPORATION ANNOUNCES THE
end of Danelectro guitars production after purchasing the company in 1967. It’s a severe blow to the lovers of the distinctive styling of these instruments and budget prices, but as catalogue sales have fallen (where most of their guitars are sold) it’s no longer seen as a viable concern. It marks the end of a remarkable era that started in 1954.
GRETSCH INTRODUCES THE WAYFARER
Jumbo 6008 acoustic guitar. In spite of the name it has dreadnought styling with a spruce top, red maple for the back, sides and neck and a rosewood fretboard The round soundhole is bound with three stripes and the lucite scratchplate has a row of sailboats engraved into the surface. The headstock is black faced and features a logo inlay and Grover tuners. The guitar is available as natural finish only.
THE PORSCHE 917 RACING CAR
is produced; the Boeing 747 and Concorde have maiden flights; the Harrier jump-jet takes to the air; the Queen opens the new Victoria Line of the London Underground; Apollo 11 lands on the moon; the Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner starts her maiden voyage; and BBC1 and ITV begin broadcasting in colour.
STUDENTS PROTEST AGAINST THE
closure of the London School of Economics; Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman and John Lennon marries Yoko Ono. The Kray twins are sentenced to life imprisonment; Sikh busmen in Wolverhampton win the right to wear turbans on duty and Swansea is given city status.
IT’S THE ERA OF HARMONY’S
Rebel guitars, the single pickup H81 and the H82 with twin DeArmond pickups. It’s a classy dual cutaway archtop with a Rickenbacker like outline to the bound body that features a stylised f-hole. The pickup(s) are supported by slider controls and switches mounted on the scratchplate. There is an adjustable bridge and a top-loaded vibrato unit. The headstock has a six-in-a-row tuner configuration and the rosewood board has white dot inlays.