Sweet Baby Duane
My inspiration
for making a copy of Duane Allman's vintage '59 Les Paul, also know as
"Hot 'Lanta", was the wood itself. I purchased some wood for the maple
cap, and upon inspecting it, I quickly recognized that if cut and positioned
(book matched) the right way, the flame pattern would be a dead ringer
for the Duane burst.
The construction of Baby Duane was no different from that of other Less Tall models, except that some of the hardware…especially the tuners…was different. He had Grover tuning machines on his guitar, rather than the stock Kluson style tuners, which was something I of course wanted to replicate. I stopped short of the full Duane treatment, because I just didn't have the heart to do that to my new little creation, namely the aging of the guitar, and hammering "Duane" into the back of the body with fret wire.
Baby Duane, along with Less Tall #2, took approximately six months to make (plus finishing time). Below are photos of Sweet Baby Duane:
