With a multitude of projects over the years headlined by a nearly two-decade stint with rock powerhouse Guns N’ Roses, Richard Fortus is one of the most respected guitarists in the world.
Throughout his storied career, the St. Louis native has been known to play Gretsch guitars, Falcons in particular, which allowed him the chance to formulate his own opinions on what a signature model might resemble.
Just like the Vintage white model, this Black Falcon starts with a resonant 1.75”-deep, 17”-wide double-cutaway maple body with a lightweight chambered spruce center block. The feature that sets these Falcon’s apart are the custom wound Filtertron’s, which is a hybrid between a vintage PAF and a classic Filter’Tron sound, giving more midrange to achieve a fuller tone while retaining that pure rock ‘n roll sound. Together with it’s short 24.6″ scale, V-stoptail and its illustrious black finish, this is definitely the ‘rock’ guitar of the bunch, whilst staying incredibly versatile.
Other features include the old-skool tortoise accents, effective control layout and reliable Grover machines.