Duane Allman’s 1950s Fender Telecaster

Duane acquired this Telecaster while playing with the Allman Joys around 1966, and it remained his main guitar with the Hour Glass until 1967.

The most interesting part about this guitar is that it had a maple Stratocaster neck installed on it, most likely dating somewhere between 1954 and 1958 – at least based on the small headstock shape. It also originally featured a black pickguard but it was replaced with a white one at some point by Duane. 

Another custom thing on this guitar was a fuzz/distortion box which was connected to two broom holders, which were screwed onto the body. The exact model of this box was most likely a Vox V8161 or V816.

Please note that the image used of the guitar here is not representing the actual instrument, and if you happen to come across any images that show the guitar in detail, especially the whole setup with the booster, please do post them in the comments.

The Guitar’s Fate

According to Gregg Allman, this guitar was traded for a Gibson J-45 acoustic that Duane gave to Gregg, but according to Paul Hornsby, the Tele/Strat was stolen during the short mid-west “Power of Love” tour in early 1968.

He [Duane] traded his main road-ax – a ’56 Telecaster body with a ’53 hogback Stratocaster neck, with some kind of crazy booster on the side – for a Gibson J-45. I couldn’t believe he did that for me because he loved that guitar, but he had seen legitimate signs of a successful songwriter in me, and he knew I needed a boost.

Gregg Allman: Organic Acoustic, Guitar World Acoustic, p.84; Alan Paul, One Way Out, p. 78