bigtim Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Back in 1992 I went to a music store in Houston Texas called Rockin Robin. It was an old house originally and the main room was set up for electrics and amps. The bass and acoustics were down a hall in different rooms.I was there with a friend and he was buying an amp. It was kind of busy in the main part of the store so everyone including the staff was in that part. I decided to go into the other part and check out the bass gear and all. I got done with that and there was a small room to the left as I was walking back into the main electric guitar section. Inside of this room was a Fender strat inside of the case and the case was wide open on top of a table. I just walked in and looked at the guitar. I did not know much about them back then. Although I knew it was different. Anyways, I pick it up and got down on one knee and mess around with it. Playing it, looking at it and all. It just looked different from the other strats I was familiar with. It was an old sunburst with a pretty worn maple neck. I probably messed around with it for 20 minutes or so. Long story short, when I placed it back into the case I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. It was a tile floor and I thought I would pick it up and place the paper on the table thinking to myself, someone could slip on that and fall down. Upon picking the piece of paper up, I noticed some writing on it that was face down. This is what it said "Duane Allman's 1954 Fender Stratocaster DO NOT TOUCH" I thought to myself "Uh Oh, I am in trouble now!" But no one was around and no one saw me. I did not open the door, the door was open and the table was right there and the light was on in the room. I got back with my buddy who bought an amp and we left. No one chased me down or chewed my a$$ out! Anyways I looked it up not long ago and this is it. It is hanging in the Hard Rock Cafe in London. I googled it and saved the picture. I think back and laugh about it every now and then. Just thought I would share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Great story, thanks for sharing that! Hard to believe that Duane Allman was so young when he died in that motorcycle crash in 1971. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Great story, cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 Cool story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 I wonder why they used a pic of him playing a completely different looking Strat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted November 29, 2018 Author Share Posted November 29, 2018 What I read by researching the same question was Duane only used that strat with a maple fretboard in the studio and there are no pics if him playing it. But it was his by the serial number identification. I wonder why they used a pic of him playing a completely different looking Strat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelT Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 I love that kind of story. I'm a big Duane Allman fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 Nice story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FemmeParallell Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 omg haha, i can only imagine what you felt when you read it was his and "DO NOT PLAY" haha, wow such an honor to have played his guitar at least for a bit, i love Duane, his my fave of all time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted November 29, 2018 Author Share Posted November 29, 2018 Yeah it was a BIG shock to me. I stood there looking at that paper for about 15 seconds taking it all in before I realized I needed to get the heck out of there immediately! But all in all it really was a once in a lifetime thing you know. omg haha, i can only imagine what you felt when you read it was his and "DO NOT PLAY" haha, wow such an honor to have played his guitar at least for a bit, i love Duane, his my fave of all time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 I'm sorry folks, bigtim in particular, but this isn't the first rodeo for this guitar, so here goes. Dickey did not know Duane to use anything but the 66 Rosewood for studio stuff, even after the Allmans formed he still used that with other groups and recordings. It was not at Layla, the strats there were all ECs and Tom Dowds. The only Strat his daughter had was the 66. I don't know how anyone would know that #019 Strat was Duane Allmans. If he did use that one, he bought it used and probably in a pawn shop. Duane was not good with money at all and is only known for SGs because Dickey gave him his when Duane was getting tired of...335 or 345, not sure which. There are quite a few maybe lots of photo and super 8 of Duane in the studio, only with the 66. Hard Rock has that guitar on display for short times only, and doesn't show anyone the provenance because there isn't any. When the old aol had a "bulletin board" and Butch and sometimes one of Dickeys roadies would post there, there was much discussion of "...the Duane 54...". Butch and that roadie guy who's name escapes me died in a plane crash both could not come up with anything at all ever. That guitar can't be insured as a Duane Allman guitar and it can't be auctioned as a Duane Allman guitar because it has zero provenance, and I really hadn't expected to hear anything more about this guitar all this time later. Hopefully something has come up to actually verify that it was his. Cripes even a receipt for one. I'm sorry, but guitar history matters, and it bugs me when some of it may, I said MAY, be sorta "might"-ed up so someone could score some moullah off the Hard Rock buyers. It would not at all be the first time, we had a Pelham Blue NR Firebird in the local Hard Rock that Townsend never touched, but boy they had several pictures of him with a variety of Firebirds and they called it a Townsend Firebird. They did eventually take it out. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted November 30, 2018 Author Share Posted November 30, 2018 Well it fooled me anyways if it is not true. I'm sorry folks, bigtim in particular, but this isn't the first rodeo for this guitar, so here goes. Dickey did not know Duane to use anything but the 66 Rosewood for studio stuff, even after the Allmans formed he still used that with other groups and recordings. It was not at Layla, the strats there were all ECs and Tom Dowds. The only Strat his daughter had was the 66. I don't know how anyone would know that #019 Strat was Duane Allmans. If he did use that one, he bought it used and probably in a pawn shop. Duane was not good with money at all and is only known for SGs because Dickey gave him his when Duane was getting tired of...335 or 345, not sure which. There are quite a few maybe lots of photo and super 8 of Duane in the studio, only with the 66. Hard Rock has that guitar on display for short times only, and doesn't show anyone the provenance because there isn't any. When the old aol had a "bulletin board" and Butch and sometimes one of Dickeys roadies would post there, there was much discussion of "...the Duane 54...". Butch and that roadie guy who's name escapes me died in a plane crash both could not come up with anything at all ever. That guitar can't be insured as a Duane Allman guitar and it can't be auctioned as a Duane Allman guitar because it has zero provenance, and I really hadn't expected to hear anything more about this guitar all this time later. Hopefully something has come up to actually verify that it was his. Cripes even a receipt for one. I'm sorry, but guitar history matters, and it bugs me when some of it may, I said MAY, be sorta "might"-ed up so someone could score some moullah off the Hard Rock buyers. It would not at all be the first time, we had a Pelham Blue NR Firebird in the local Hard Rock that Townsend never touched, but boy they had several pictures of him with a variety of Firebirds and they called it a Townsend Firebird. They did eventually take it out. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 Well it fooled me anyways if it is not true. No, you weren't fooled. First, you played a 54 strat. It was probably a great experience even though some of them weren't all that great, feeling that kind of wear on the neck is special. So it had a tag on it that said Duane, and there happens to be one around for a long time now that nobody can authenticate. It's a great story, even if the twiddly old Betts fan boys like me poop on it, it's still a good story. You didn't buy it. That's what matters. You and everyone else in guitar land hasn't bought it, so you and everyone else hasn't been fooled at all. Hard Rock, they got fooled! rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted November 30, 2018 Author Share Posted November 30, 2018 Well that's a good point! No, you weren't fooled. First, you played a 54 strat. It was probably a great experience even though some of them weren't all that great, feeling that kind of wear on the neck is special. So it had a tag on it that said Duane, and there happens to be one around for a long time now that nobody can authenticate. It's a great story, even if the twiddly old Betts fan boys like me poop on it, it's still a good story. You didn't buy it. That's what matters. You and everyone else in guitar land hasn't bought it, so you and everyone else hasn't been fooled at all. Hard Rock, they got fooled! rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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