Vintage Les Paul Expert Uncle Lou Gatanas Interview

[Alex]

Uncle Lou Gatanas from NYC, a vintage Les Paul expert who has a deep appreciation for vintage guitars, shares his knowledge and advice on what to look out for when buying a vintage Gibson Les Paul in our interview. https://www.geartalk.com/uncle-lou-gatanas/

 

[simon connor]

Thank you for posting that, Alex.

 

[LtDave32]

Informative read..

 

[Duane_the_tub]

Very cool! I had no idea Lou produced the Jerky Boys record.

 

[Deftone]

Great read....I loved that Jerky Boys record. Uncle Lou's bursts "Alpha & Omega" are amazing. And that '57 GT from Kirk Hammett.....WOW.

 

[VictorB]

AWESOME interview!

 

[Silverfox]

Wow Thank you !!!

 

[shrigg]

Thanks for sharing, great read. I still have some Uncle Lou’s tuner tips in a drawer somewhere. See how I didn’t mention that?

 

[DelawareGold]

There is only one "Uncle Lou". Fantastic job on the interview.
Very interesting information.

 

[LPTDMSV]

"The majority of my customers are doctors, lawyers, and Wall Street types; boomers who couldn’t afford these amazing guitars during the ‘50s & ‘60s, when they were new. And now that these folks are financially secure at this point of their lives, they want closure; they want the guitars of their youth that they were denied, the very same guitars their heroes played and used to record the music they still love today."

That's the quote - "closure" is right.

 

[dbruno]

Thanks for sharing, great read. I still have some Uncle Lou’s tuner tips in a drawer somewhere. See how I didn’t mention that?

Ha! Still have em on both Les Pauls.

 

[Brazilnut]

Great read! Thanks so much!

 

[captdan61]

Uncle Lou Gatanas from NYC, a vintage Les Paul expert who has a deep appreciation for vintage guitars, shares his knowledge and advice on what to look out for when buying a vintage Gibson Les Paul in our interview. https://www.geartalk.com/uncle-lou-gatanas/

Great read! As a player( poor meaning fiscally challenged ) it is a darn shame that even players grade les Paul juniors are now thousands of dollars. And not just beat up old guitars a player and have set up and gig the shit out of.

 

[AJK1]

There’s nothing on his website except a $14,000 ‘59 pickguard

 

[judson]

....I’d begin with a brown Lifton case and a checklist, then slowly put in all the required parts to complete a set. Every screw, every piece of metal, plastic, and wire. It was basically a Burst after a colony of termites got through with it. And every time I finished a set, I’d open another brown case and start another set......

I had 17 complete sets of Burst parts in brown cases, but that wasn’t good enough. I sold off all the 4-latch cases and replaced them with proper 5-latch Liftons.

the above is totally crazy......17 sets!!!!

then swapping out to double white PAFs...i dont have patience like that,,,great interview.

 

[LPPlayer86]

Great read! As a player( poor meaning fiscally challenged ) it is a darn shame that even players grade les Paul juniors are now thousands of dollars. And not just beat up old guitars a player and have set up and gig the shit out of.

It does make you wonder whether this market will collapse over the next few decades. As he says in this interview, his customers are wealthy individuals who want to own the guitars from their favourite music. That nostalgia isn’t there for today’s younger generation.

 

[Great R8]

The most interesting part for me was the issue of ledgers. It just so happens that the ledgers before and after the burst periods exist but not during and why? His suspicion is understandable.

 

[DelawareGold]

It does make you wonder whether this market will collapse over the next few decades. As he says in this interview, his customers are wealthy individuals who want to own the guitars from their favourite music. That nostalgia isn’t there for today’s younger generation.

The "Market" will move on to the next generation of guitar players. There are countless
examples of markets progressing from generation to generation. Art, Cars,
Baseball Cards (1910), Comic Books (1930). It isn't a nostalgia driven market.

The most interesting part for me was the issue of ledgers. It just so happens that the ledgers before and after the burst periods exist but not during and why? His suspicion is understandable.

If you follow the Burst Market closely, you will see anomaly's that are nearly impossible
to explain, unless someone has the missing Ledgers,
(or at least what they believe are the missing Ledgers)
As I refer to it, if you know who to ask, they will check with the "Magic Eight Ball"
and give you the answer you desire.

 

[LPPlayer86]

The "Market" will move on to the next generation of guitar players. There are countless
examples of markets progressing from generation to generation. Art, Cars,
Baseball Cards (1910), Comic Books (1930). It isn't a nostalgia driven market.

Yeah, I wouldn't bet my house on the market collapsing or anything, I just wonder. The high price of Bursts feels like a momentary thing, but I'll admit I don't really understand the comic book market. At least with art and baseball cards they're not making them anymore, but Gibson is still very much in business and making the same models.

 

[DelawareGold]

Great R8 said:
The most interesting part for me was the issue of ledgers. It just so happens that the
ledgers before and after the burst periods exist but not during and why? His suspicion is understandable.

Lets look at one anecdote, I read an article where two guitars were being discussed.
The first guitar had a serial number (lets say) 8 XXXR, and the second guitars had
a serial number 8 XXXZ, and the discussion was that these were consecutive
guitars, because serial numbers 8 XXXX and 8 XXXY, were not this style guitar.
How would someone know this? Unless someone had access to the ledgers, how
would they know which serial numbers are which?
I saw a Youtube video where a guitar was being compared to a similar model,
that had been authenticated. Although the two guitars appeared to be the same,
in nearly every way, the issue was the authenticated guitar's serial number was
known, and the guitar that was being authenticated had a serial number that was
unknown. Known, and unknown to who? How would the serial numbers be know
without some reference to check?