Lou Reed Electric XII

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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stevemac100
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Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by stevemac100 » Sat Jun 25, 2022 2:08 pm

Went to the new Lou Reed exhibition of his archive at the Lincoln Centre. The first guitar shown is an Electric XII which apparently he played at the reunion shows in 1993, although I don't remember seeing this at the Edinburgh show. His other guitars are not good looking.

The exhibition is awesome and I'd thoroughly recommend it if you're in NYC.

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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by offabit » Sat Jun 25, 2022 2:30 pm

Is that an aluminum neck on the tele and aluminum body on the weird one?

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stevemac100
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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by stevemac100 » Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:10 pm

I can't remember if there was much detail about the other guitars although it did mention some custom makers. I would have preferred to see the Gretsch from the first 2 albums but that's maybe been lost in time.

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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by CROSS_guitars » Sat Jun 25, 2022 7:11 pm

He had pretty bad taste in guitars for the most part.
At least these ones have headstocks, unlike those Steinberger things.

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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by bluemonday » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:05 pm

offabit wrote:
Sat Jun 25, 2022 2:30 pm
Is that an aluminum neck on the tele and aluminum body on the weird one?
I recognize the tele in natural with the humbuckers as a Rick Kelly. He ran Carmine Street Guitars in NYC and made a lot of tele style guitars out of old reclaimed lumber from a Bowery warehouse.

Lou actually had a lot of nice high quality instruments in his career.

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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by Flurko » Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:25 am

Lou Reed always had interesting instruments throughout, I always like to see someone who played cool guitars in the sixties but continued to buy and try new stuff along the years, with no attachment to so called "golden years".

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sal paradise
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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by sal paradise » Sun Jun 26, 2022 2:03 am

Flurko wrote:
Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:25 am
with no attachment to so called "golden years".
Aka, “sold for heroin”
I have nothing to offer anybody, except my own confusion?

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Marc
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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by Marc » Sun Jun 26, 2022 10:25 pm

sal paradise wrote:
Sun Jun 26, 2022 2:03 am
Flurko wrote:
Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:25 am
with no attachment to so called "golden years".
Aka, “sold for heroin”
Quite possible !

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Steadyriot.
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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by Steadyriot. » Sun Jun 26, 2022 11:55 pm

bluemonday wrote:
Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:05 pm
offabit wrote:
Sat Jun 25, 2022 2:30 pm
Is that an aluminum neck on the tele and aluminum body on the weird one?
I recognize the tele in natural with the humbuckers as a Rick Kelly. He ran Carmine Street Guitars in NYC and made a lot of tele style guitars out of old reclaimed lumber from a Bowery warehouse.

Lou actually had a lot of nice high quality instruments in his career.
Runs actually! They're still active, still making guitars from those piles of reclaimed wood.
"If someone duetted with a Bald Eagle, they could rule the Country charts from here to eternity." ~shadowplay

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garyfanclub
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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by garyfanclub » Mon Jun 27, 2022 5:53 am

Damn, had no idea this was happening! I need to go check this out.

That XII is cool, the other stuff does nothing for me - I want to see his old Gretsch and Riviera!

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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by dc » Mon Jun 27, 2022 6:50 am

stevemac100 wrote:
Sat Jun 25, 2022 2:08 pm
The first guitar shown is an Electric XII
apparently he and Sterling each got Fender XII's for the recording of the third album in 1968. it's cool to think that guitar may have been used somewhere in those sessions 8)
in the coldest night / huddled 'round the dying embers

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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by rank » Mon Jun 27, 2022 4:20 pm

CROSS_guitars wrote:
Sat Jun 25, 2022 7:11 pm
He had pretty bad taste in guitars for the most part.
He really did. For someone who's music I hold in such high regard, his taste was suspect.
We are merely moving shadows.

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stevemac100
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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by stevemac100 » Mon Jun 27, 2022 4:29 pm

Yeah, the headstock in the guitar with the handy grip hole looks awful, almost that it hasn't been finished.

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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by Mechanical Birds » Tue Jun 28, 2022 2:21 pm

Lol @ “his other guitars are not good looking” just spot on

Didn’t he play old Gretsch and VOX guitars in VU? I wanna see those because yeah Lou Reed’s guitars kinda suck

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Re: Lou Reed Electric XII

Post by stevemac100 » Tue Jun 28, 2022 4:47 pm

There is a reference to Lou's Country Gent here (https://www.guitarlobby.com/lou-reed-guitars-and-gear/). I remember reading in Uptight how modded that guitar had been - sounds like it is long gone.

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