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Lou Reed's Tour-Played "Goldie" Danny Gatton Fender Telecaster.

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia / Music - Rock Start Price:10,000.00 USD
Lou Reed's Tour-Played  Goldie  Danny Gatton Fender Telecaster.
All items are sold as is. Contact Van Eaton Galleries for condition reports and shipping information. 21% Buyer's Premium for all lots.
Lou Reed’s tour-played Fender Custom Shop frost gold Danny Gatton Telecaster, nicknamed, ""Goldie."" The guitar features a custom maple neck and vintage Telecaster pickups (the Joe Barden “hot rails” typically found on the Gatton Teles have been swapped out, as Reed frequently tried out new configurations). The top of the neck has embedded CZ studs corresponding to the inlaid dots on the fretboard. The bridge is stamped with the serial number, “DG0036”.

“Lou played this guitar a lot! And loved it! It’s a great guitar,” said Stewart Hurwood, Reed’s guitar tech. With Goldie, Reed had an instrument that perfectly fit his playing style.

Later in life, when Reed was asked for a charitable contribution, Hurwood recalls, “We went through and selected guitars for auction. Lou said, ‘Send these guitars to Edge.’ I was surprised and said, ‘You’re sending Goldie, too?’ He said, ‘Yes, I’m done with it.’ That was typical of Lou Reed. He would be looking for new great things and phase out of old favorites.”

Goldie can be seen in stills and videos of Reed onstage playing his rendition of “Jealous Guy” at Radio City Music Hall for the tribute event Come Together: A Night for John Lennon’s Words & Music. It went on the road for the Ecstasy and NYC Man tours, last making the rounds in 2005-06.

Reed’s fondness for the guitar is evidenced by the patina and wear visible throughout. There is wear and finish loss to virtually every fret on the fret board, scratching to the pick guard and control plate, light oxidation to the head plate, long horizontal scratches and surface wear to the back of the body, light spot finish loss to the neck and head, and finish loss and tarnish to the tuning pegs.

The piece is accompanied by a Fender textured black vinyl over wood hard case marked “5” on the top edge. A piece of gaff tape on the case reads, “Lou Reed Locker #15.” Measuring 15.5”x41.5” and 4.5” deep, the case exhibits surface loss, wear, scuffs, scrapes, and tears to the covering.