Stereo White Falcons are rare and complex Gretches, and very different from all other guitars. The best way to explain a stereo White Falcon is to consider it to be two 3-string guitars in one body. One guitar for the low strings (EAD ) and another for the high strings (GBE). Neil has two of these guitars. Both have Bigsby vibratos. His main one is a single cutaway (1961).
The other is a double cutaway (1962).
The electronics on both are the same. Each Filtertron stereo ”Project-O-Sonic” pickup is split down the middle, into two separate 3-string Humbuckings. One for the low 3 strings and the other for the high strings. (Humbucking consists of two coils.) The switch configuration on the guitars can be confusing. Viewing the diagram will help.
On Neil’s, the top switch on right, controls which pickup the low strings use (neck, bridge or both). The other top switch determines pickup configuration (neck, bridge or both) for the high strings. The two lower switches, control tone. On the tone switches, up is pass through, the other 2 positions cut highs—a little or a lot. (Neil keeps them in the up position). This is different from all other Gretch models, which have the middle position as the pass through. Also different from all other models are the 2 volume knobs on the lower bout. Normally the right one controls the neck pickup, and the left one controls the bridge pickup. On the stereo model, the right one controls the bass strings. The left one controls the treble strings. They both had a master volume knob by the cutaway, but I deleted them in 1975.
These are examples of the model GA79RVT Gibson stereo amps Neil uses.
I remember Neil recording with these models early on—mostly the tweed. He is presently using it on stage with his 2025 world tour. He has also recorded using two Tweed Deluxes. In the Old Black article, the photo of the two Les Pauls shows his amp configuration for the last CSNY tour. The treble side of the White Falcon went to the Tweed Tremolux—on top of the Magnatone. It has a very slow tremolo which made it perfect for the harmonic notes in the beginning of “For What It’s Worth.” The bass strings went to his regular rig (tweed Deluxe etc) Sometimes, we would use a stereo-to-mono cord, into whichever amp he was using at the time, making it a mono guitar.
In this photo of Neil, with Danny Whitten playing the single cutaway White Falcon, you can see that Old Black still has the DeArmond pickup in the bridge position, that I talk about in the Old Black article.
Neil also has a 1957 mono White Falcon that has DeArmond Fidelatone (Dynasonic) pickups and has no Bigsby vibrato.
