1955 Gibson Les Paul Junior previously owned by Red Devils guitarist David Lee Bartel

lp56tv · Mar 7, 2018

I had an interesting thing happen to me today in regards to my 1955 Les Paul Junior. I bought the guitar back in the mid 80s in Alentown Pa where i still live and throughout the last 30 plus years i often wondered about the history of the guitar before i owned it. Even by the time i bought it it was over 30 years old. Hard to believe it is a 63 year old guitar. I've taken the back cavity plate off the guitar throughout the years to check on different things. Today i took it off to check on a issue i was having with the volume pot and for the first time in that 30 years i noticed an inscription on the inside cover of the plate. It read David Lee Bartel November 3 1973 California Hunt Bch. After all these years it was cool to finally uncover some history on the guitar. I immediately started searching for who this person was which led me to this band The Red Devils from CA. Ive never heard of them. Apparently they were pretty popular in the early 90s. David played guitar in the band along with his brother Jack on bass. I have no idea if he's even around anymore. I hope he is. I sent an email to them through their website. Hopefully i can connect with Dave and maybe get some more history on the guitar, the significance of Nov 3rd and maybe how it made its way across the country. It would be cool to find out more. Ive included some pisc of the guitar. Hope you enjoy....
Mike

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corpse · Mar 7, 2018

I love the back stories.

lp56tv · Mar 7, 2018

corpse said:
I love the back stories.

Me too. It gave the guitar a whole new vibe after i discovered the inscription. There is some serious buckle rash on that thing. Id love to know if he was reponsible for that. Its seen its day in many bars im sure!!

tonyj · Mar 8, 2018

That's a neat find, and especially so after you had owned the junior since the eighties - assuming that I am reading this correctly. How could you miss something so clearly marked?

Still, these things do happen and better late than never. Great guitar by the way and one that could no doubt tell us a thousand stories - repeatable and otherwise. She's been round block more than once it would seem.

Please keep us informed on your quest to uncover the story behind this guitar. Intriguing at least.

Hope you found and fixed the problem you were having. How does she sound and play?

lp56tv · Mar 8, 2018

tonyj said:
That's a neat find, and especially so after you had owned the junior since the eighties - assuming that I am reading this correctly. How could you miss something so clearly marked?

Still, these things do happen and better late than never. Great guitar by the way and one that could no doubt tell us a thousand stories - repeatable and otherwise. She's been round block more than once it would seem.

Please keep us informed on your quest to uncover the story behind this guitar. Intriguing at least.

Hope you found and fixed the problem you were having. How does she sound and play?

I contacted his brother Jack Bartel through his fb who still play bass in the band. I also emailed the band through their website. So at least i tried. Maybe he passed away. Who knows. Its adds an extra layer of mystery to the guitar.
As for why i never noticed it. For one thing its was etched on the inside of the cavity plate. You would think i would have turned it around but i guess i didnt. Its not too often over the years that i even removed the cover. Glad i saw it though

1955 Gibson Les Paul Junior previously owned by Red Devils guitarist David Lee Bartel

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