What is this written on the inside of my control plate?

[Central Scrutinizer]

Yup.... my name is Dave Johnson......(it's really not Mudface).

I also sign my cavity plates..... i bet this can confuse the shit out of someone down the road....

View attachment 513396
I guess i should add:

"No I'm not the Dave Johnson that builds replicas and age Gibsons"..... "or the Baseball player or Football player or whatever"

Weren’t you in Blazing Saddles?

 

[Ton of Tone]

"No I'm not the Dave Johnson that builds replicas and age Gibsons"..... "or the Baseball player or Football player or whatever"

Have you been recording and touring with Elton John for the past 50 years?

 

[mudface]

Have you been recording and touring with Elton John for the past 50 years?

Why yes I have,... I just don’t remember any of it.

 

[BKS]

Devious plan to mess with future generations as I use paint markers to write interesting names and phrases under all of my covers and pickguards.......

Hey, anybody want an SG with one of Ozzy's dog's hairs in it?


but seriously... That very well could be the case.
We did a lot of oddball stuff in the 70s, and kids do all kinds of oddball stuff.
Cool to think this could have some connection to Joe, but it could also have belonged to someone who really liked him and was inspired by him... as many of us were.

Only if it is from Zero.... Oh wait that was Randy's dog

 

[keys88]

It would be really cool if the guitar ended up belonging to the Joe we all know and love, but there's also the possibility that it belonged to some guy named Joe Walsh, who was in a band called Lucky 13. There are quite a few bands called Lucky 13 right now and I bet there were plenty of them before the internet existed. Also, Joe and Walsh are very common names. Your journey may end up completely dead ended. I hope not, but if it does, this may be the only reasonable explanation. Good luck and keep us updated.

Devious plan to mess with future generations as I use paint markers to write interesting names and phrases under all of my covers and pickguards.......

Hey, anybody want an SG with one of Ozzy's dog's hairs in it?


but seriously... That very well could be the case.
We did a lot of oddball stuff in the 70s, and kids do all kinds of oddball stuff.
Cool to think this could have some connection to Joe, but it could also have belonged to someone who really liked him and was inspired by him... as many of us were.

Oh yeah, both of these are definitely possible. Could just be any old dude named Joe. Which is why I'm trying not to get my hopes up until I know more about it. It's like trying to guess your Christmas present and then finding out it's just socks haha. But either way, I'll still be able to tell people I have Joe Walsh's guitar. I just won't say WHICH Joe Walsh

 

[keys88]

Hey everybody, happy Friday! It’s been a few days so I figured I’d post an update.

I had almost written off social media completely because it’s hard to cut through the white noise, and lots of celebrities don’t manage their own accounts. But I just discovered that I can send Joe a note directly through Instagram (he has messaging blocked on other platforms). So I sent him a message. We’ll see if he responds. At this point I’ll be happy to get any answer, one way or the other!

On other fronts, I was able to get in touch with the guitarist from the band Lucky 13 that Dan Shinn mentioned. He confirmed that Joe never played in their band, nor did anyone else by that name, and none of their guitarists ever owned a 1974 Les Paul. I also reached out to Fred Kowalo and the guy that owned Boogie Street guitars to see if they can shed any light on the history of the guitar. No response from them yet. And Gruhn Guitars said they were reaching out to Joe’s management for me but I haven’t heard anything back from them either.

So, keep your fingers crossed. If Joe sees my instagram message that could be the quickest way to an answer…

 

[Scott79]

No responses yet?

 

[keys88]

No, and it's driving me nuts lol. I've emailed Joe's management company twice with no response. And Gruhn's Guitars said they were emailing on my behalf, also no response there either. I mentioned Joe in a tweet but he didn't bite. And I messaged him directly through Instagram, but again no answer. The program director at Joe's radio station didn't respond to my email. Vic DePra wasn't able to help. I had a good chat with Dan Shinn at Lay's Guitar Shop but he wasn't able to help either. I got in contact with Eric McKenna who used to run Boogie Street Guitars. He forwarded a note to Fred Kowalo, who I was told worked on the guitar. But I haven't heard back from him yet.

I think there were a couple other ideas tossed around that I might try. I can attempt to reach out to the webmaster for joe's website. And someone mentioned that Joe was recently on an episode of Axis TV, so I might try some digging there too.

 

[Scott79]

Well, best of luck.. hopefully you get some answers

 

[mgenet]

Great thread...thanks for sharing the journey...

 

[efstop]

I think it's a unicorn hunt, but stranger things have turned out to be true.

 

[jk60LPTH]

I've been meaning to post about this, but keep getting sidetracked by other things. I ran across a blog on the Creamtone website that you might be interested in (sorry about the delay):

Joe Walsh, Jimmy Page, Lay's, and Number One • Part One

CreamTone presents an absolutely amazing guitar. Arguably, one of the best replicas of an original '59 Burst ever: Jimmy Page's Number One as she was when Led Zeppelin IV was recorded! Now, hold on... It's not fair to call a Burst original when irreversible mods have been made to the guitar: its...

www.creamtone.com

"CreamTone presents an absolutely amazing guitar. Arguably, one of the best replicas of an original '59 Burst ever: Jimmy Page's Number One as she was when Led Zeppelin IV was recorded!

Now, hold on... It's not fair to call a Burst original when irreversible mods have been made to the guitar: its original bridge pickup was destroyed and replaced; its neck was shaved and refinished which resulted the in loss of the serial number on the back of the headstock. Doesn't that kill its value? Not if the time was the late 60s and early 70s, and the guys making the mods were Joe Walsh, Jimmy Page, and Virgil Lay.

A young luthier named Dan Shinn started working for Mr. Lay in 1979. No one thought much about Jimmy's Number One back then. Van Halen II had just been released and rock music was diving head first into the 80s—a decade of hot-rod Strats, Floyd Rose, and spandex. But Mr. Lay kept notes about Number One, and every now and then he would tell young Dan the story of how he shaved the neck for Joe Walsh; and how that guitar went on to record the most iconic rock music the world has ever heard.

Fast forward to today. Mr. Lay went on to his reward in 2009, and Dan Shinn now owns Lay's. Let me be the first to salute that kind of dedication. Really! I didn't have a clue where I was headed in 1979. Dan is a rare breed and I'm honored to call him my partner and friend. God bless him."


"When I first reached out to Lay's about this project, I didn't expect much. After all, here is this legendary shop that does work for superstars—why would they give me the time of day? But Dan Shinn called me the very same night he got my email. Turns out he was a fan of CreamTone and had been using our parts in the Lay's shop for a while. I was thrilled!

So I packed up the guitar and shipped it off to Ohio a couple of months ago. Dan shaved and refinished the neck using the same technique that Virgil Lay used for Joe Walsh in the late 60’s. It is an exact recreation of the original.

It landed on my doorstep yesterday, and it's so stinking incredible, I can't even look at it. I feel like Mike Myers in Wayne's World: "I'm not worthy!" "

*****

Shows the connection between Joe Walsh, Virgil Lay and Dan Shinn, and the kind of work that was done on Walsh's guitars by Virgil, and that Dan Shinn knows the details of that work, and that it was documented.

Maybe Lonnie Gilbert at Creamtone could help you get your foot in the door with Dan Shinn.

 

[keys88]

Unicorn hunt or not, it's been interesting trying to get to the bottom of it. I'm gonna keep digging and I'll definitely post back with any updates!

 

[jk60LPTH]

This thread would make a good podcast series.... hell, if it got traction, it might even get back to Joe...

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Send a message to Darryl Hall.
I think he still has his show on TV.
Just another avenue to pursue.

 

[jk60LPTH]

Send a message to Darryl Hall.
I think he still has his show on TV.
Just another avenue to pursue.

That's a GREAT idea!!! I wish I'd thought of that!!! ...oh, wait, I did... a few pages earlier. (Great minds think alike!!!)... and yes, his show is still on the air, it's on AXS tv.

 

[keys88]

This thread would make a good podcast series.... hell, if it got traction, it might even get back to Joe...

If only I knew anything about starting a podcast, haha. Sometimes I'm too old-fashioned-analog for my own good...

Send a message to Darryl Hall.
I think he still has his show on TV.
Just another avenue to pursue.

That's a GREAT idea!!! I wish I'd thought of that!!! ...oh, wait, I did... a few pages earlier. (Great minds think alike!!!)... and yes, his show is still on the air, it's on AXS tv.

Thanks for echoing that idea! I'm going to try that avenue next. I was trying to space these out a bit just so the floodgates didn't open all at once and I came off as a lunatic stalker, lol. But definitely a good idea!