• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

Duane Allman "HOT LANTA" Story

GastonG

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 25, 2001
Messages
1,397
HotLanta...

Thanks Mr. Beano for this great info on Duane's Les Paul.
The Les Paul Forum is truly a HotLand... post like this one shows that this place here, rocks like nowhere else.

Gaston
 

Les45

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2001
Messages
954
Great story MrBeano. Thanks for sharing with the Forum, and the many Duane fans here. I hope Kurt will write that book...or maybe you could ghost-write it for him.
 

fender69

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2003
Messages
998
MrBeano,
I'm not trying to cast asparagus on anyone's character or stir up any bad blood. This is just what I heard, and you know the story better than anyone else, except perhaps for Mr. Linhoff. This quote is from the Oct 81 GP "Duane" issue in the interview with the Rev. (I think that is what is meant by "that rag".

"Later on I happened to run into [guitar dealers] Tony Dukes and Kurt Linhoff, who knew we were traveling with the Allman Brothers. I said "Duane is reall interested in a vintage Les Paul - why don't you ring him up?" Tony & Kurt called him up and said they had a '58 tobacco sunburst - it was absolutely gorgeous, with wide fingery stripes. It came from San Antonio and, believe it or not, belonged to Chris Cross, who recorded 'Ride Like the Wind'."

That's it, word for word, and now I'll probably get sued for copyright infringement. Anyway, who knows...perhaps this is where the quest all began. Hopefully Kurt/you will publish a book setting out the unvarnished truth. You can sign me up for the first copy. No offense intended as I am a mere ant on the face of the world known as Les Pauldom.

Sorry if I offended,
Yours truly - the ant.
 

Stumbler

Active member
Joined
Jul 29, 2002
Messages
2,947
What a great post - thanks Mr. Beano

You had some great insight on a Clapton thread a while back, and now this.

I might try switching the neck and bridge pickups in my '69 LPC and see how it goes.

If you have any other stories - post on!

Stumbler
 

MrBeano

New member
Joined
Dec 11, 2002
Messages
311
To fender69 -
fender69-
I am not offended - Just trying to keep peace among the players.
I am only the messenger. I don't want to get caught in the crossfire.
Those guys carry some big guns.
I cant even imagine how many guitar deals went down between Billy, Tony, and Kurt.
That is a very scary thought... some heavy horse tradin' ! ! ! ! ! !

When I asked Kurt if Tony Dukes had anything to do with the deal?
Kurt said," Interesting... (pause) I haven't heard that. Definitely not, I didn't meet Dukes until
around 1975 in Houston."

Tony probably has found and sold more Burst than anybody on the planet? ? ? ? ?
I know that is debatable. But he definitely doesn't need the claim for his reputation.
I can't speak on his behalf.

1981 was prime Burst dealin days - When they still cost less than a house or a Mercedes.
More than likely it was Billy just giving Dukes a good business plug in an interview.
Or Billy just trying to recollect off the top of his head at the moment. I don't know.
I don't want to go there. ...... D U C K ! ....damn that was close.... whewwwww.
 

Phil Sottile

New member
Joined
Feb 4, 2003
Messages
348
Mr Beano-

Great post! This is why I read the forum every day.

By the way, I just bought a '58 Tweed Bassman from Kurt a couple months ago-he's a really cool guy & great to deal with.

:dude
 

53Goldtop

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2002
Messages
739
Professor Linhoff

Kurt called me Wednesday afternoon to ask me to see a band that Kenny Cordray was playing in that very night. During the conversation I said "you gotta post on the LPF and set this Duane thing right" as I had asked him about Duane's 'Burst sometime ago. He said someone had just called him about that very thing. Then I read this thread before I met Kurt downtown (last night) to see the band that Kenny was playing in. Sidenote- let me tell you, they did some Allman Bros. and it was great! Anyway, I told Kurt about the thread and he was pleased and said maybe I (he) should post. I'll do some arm twisting and see if I can get him to. I'll see him on Sunday when the band finishes their tour here in Denver. Kurt has some great stories and some GREAT (and I mean really great) pics. And, he is the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet.

Regards,

53
 

MrBeano

New member
Joined
Dec 11, 2002
Messages
311
53Goldtop-
You just made my day. Thanks!
Your post made my effort worth while.
 

davware

New member
Joined
Nov 29, 2002
Messages
110
MrBeano, you mentioned photos of both of Duane's guitar side by side. Your post reads " Duane with both the CherryBurst and the TobaccoBurst. Other photos hung in his mid 70s shop on W Gray and Montrose"

Do you happen to know if Duane had already set the guitar up when the photo was taken? I am curious because I notice the bridge adjustments are different than the CherryBurst. I am just trying to figure out what his settings on the Darkburst were..

Very interesting post and thanks for sharing.

Dave
 

sgtJoe

Active member
Joined
Oct 25, 2003
Messages
2,242
Thanks for the story.

Back in 1976 I was in Kurt's shop, Specialty Guitar on W. Gray in Houston. It was in November and ZZ TOP was scheduled to do several shows at the Summit. While I was there talking about guitars to Kurt, who was extremely congenial to an 18 year old stranger who was full of questions about guitars, he showed me a beat up Futura and told me the story behind it. While we were inspecting it Billy Gibbons walked in and we conversed about the guitar for a few minutes. This is the guitar in Tom Wheelers book, but the photo shows it as it was restored.

I talked to Tony Dukes at Parker Music numerous times and have seen him at shows. Great guys. Hope Kurt does get around to writing a book soon.

To you Kurt, thanks again for making an 18 year old guitar freak real happy. Hope all is well with you and I'd love to talk sometime. Email me anytime.

Joe Tammaro
 

plaintop

Active member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
9,591
Kurt Linhof says this, nobody said a word. I said it based on my findings...its considered bunk. :roll Must be a who you are thing. :toobad

"As the Les Paul was designed originally as a solid body jazz guitar.
The higher wound PickUp was put by Gibson in the neck position to have an
even warmer tone. The other slightly lower wound PickUp produced a brighter tone.
As the style of music changed to Blues or Rock through bigger amps
the guitars were more balanced by switching the PickUp positions.
"Hot Lanta" PickUps - Bridge 8.7k and Neck 8.3k.
Kurt said he has only come across one PAF that was hotter than "Hot Lanta's"
That PAF was 8.99k. And Kurt has bought and sold lots of guitars."
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
MrBeano said:
.......... The Rhythm PickUp was switched to the Bridge position. And the Bridge to Rhythm.
This was common practice among the early Burst connoisseurs.
As the Les Paul was designed originally as a solid body jazz guitar.
The higher wound PickUp was put by Gibson in the neck position to have an
even warmer tone. The other slightly lower wound PickUp produced a brighter tone.

Cool story. I don't doubt it, except for the above quote. In my experience that was not common practice by Gibson, and of all the many original untouched Bursts and Goldtops I've checked, there was no clear pattern of such a thing existing at all. The same for ANY humbucking Gibson from 57-60, there is no overabundance of guitars with hotter neck PUPs. Some are, some ain't, but not by design, but by happenstance.

Of course as we all learned more, and if it was noticable we would switch a weaker pickup with a stronger one as described, but to say it was a common practice by Gibson to place pickups by resistance readings, I dissagree with.

I picked alot of brains in Kalamazoo when I was there with Seymor Duncan and I asked about this very thing. I got a look of disbelief followed by laughter, "Hell no, Al! We measured each coil when it was wound, that's how we knew it was done, and put 'em together and slapped them into the guitars."

I also think there is alot of evidence that the Les Paul was not designed as a Jazz Guitar, but to compete with Fender as a bright solidbody guitar.
 

plaintop

Active member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
9,591
Thanks lpnv59 (In the corner crying:()....but doesn't anyone think it's odd that more guitars have a "hotter" and "weaker" pickup combination? If there weren't any order to the configuration.... We'd see more guitars with the same reading pickups. Who can explain that one away?
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
plaintop59 said:
Thanks lpnv59 (In the corner crying:()....but doesn't anyone think it's odd that more guitars have a "hotter" and "weaker" pickup combination? If there weren't any order to the configuration.... We'd see more guitars with the same reading pickups. Who can explain that one away?


Why would you say that????????

If they were randomly chosen, as well as assembled,(remember the only reason the coils are so often missmatched is this very randomness), then it is reasonable to expect random results. How could there be more "Equal" resistance pickups used if there wasn't a majority of pickups with equal readings.

Also given this quirk, what makes you believe that equal readings of resistance make an equal pickup??? One may have balanced coils, more or less, of 4K and the other could be missmatched, more likely, with unbalanced coils of 3k and 5K?

Gibson certainly didn't sort them. They were pickups, they worked, they were slapped in to whatever position they were needed to fill and the leads trimmed accordingly.

There is no evidence to back your claim. The very "odd" thing that you describe is what disproves your theroy. It is only odd because it dosen't match your theroy.


If you think about it, you'll see.
 
Top