This is a story about a family and a Gibson
LGO. It starts with a man who, these days, goes
by the name of Grandpa Joe. Joe has always
been interested in music. He took piano lessons
from a very young age and remains not only
a spectacular pianist, but also carries a deep
understanding of music in general.
Back in the early to mid ’60s, he wanted to
play guitar, but couldn’t justify the then high
price of amplification. Fortunately, in 1966
he managed to scrape up enough coinage
to purchase a Stratocaster copy and a small
practice amp while he was working two
jobs, going to college, and starting his family.
Interestingly, one of those jobs was at a
music shop in New Jersey, where he worked
as a clerk and lesson teacher.
As luck would have it, Joe was only able to
enjoy his guitar for a short time, as Christmas
of ’67 brought financial shortcomings. So he
sold the Strat copy and amp for about $180
in order to buy food and gifts for his new
family, and the extended family that would be
sharing the holiday with them. After Grandpa
Joe sold his guitar, he began to miss it
dearly. His wife, now known as Grandma Lori,
secretly put away $10 a week to save for a
new guitar. Once enough money had been
saved, the two of them went down to their
local music store and purchased this Gibson
LGO. Joe was very proud to finally have a
name-brand acoustic—he taught lessons with
it and jammed with his friends at night, writing
songs and playing Beatles covers.
He took good care of his Gibson and played
it occasionally over the course of 42 years. It
represented good times to Joe, reminding
him of some of the best days of his life. He
also knew that the day would come when he
would hand the Gibson down to one of his
grandsons, who could share in his appreciation
and carry on those good times. That time
finally came on a cool, breezy summer day in
July, when a grandson of Joe’s, who had just
gotten his drivers license and graduated from
high school in Minnesota, decided to go on a
road trip to visit his grandfather, now living in
Bozeman, Montana. Once there, and after a
few hours of conversation, Joe presented his
grandson with his 1968 Gibson LGO.
Sean Lanterman
is that grandson
and the happy
young man that
you see in the
picture. Sean
is so excited
to have his
grandpa’s guitar
and his very own
acoustic after
playing electric
guitar for years. He told me that during his visit
to Bozeman, he would play music almost every
day for his grandpa on the Gibson acoustic.
Less than a week after returning to Minnesota,
Sean gave me a call to have us go through
everything and make sure that the Gibson had
a clean bill of health. Most of what I found was
what we normally would see on a well-cared
for and well-played ’60s Gibson LGO—tired
tuning machines and the bridge separating
from the top—but after some minor tweaking
and a setup, it was ready for another 40 years.
The guitar came with its original case, so I
figured I’d peek inside the storage compartment.
To my surprise, there was the original
purchase receipt from ’68, and the Gibson
owner’s manual that came with the guitar at
the time of sale. Here’s a look at the LGO’s
1968 specs:
-
14 1/8" wide mahogany top with
natural finish
-
mahogany back and sides
-
straight ladder bracing
-
rosewood bridge with adjustable saddle
-
screw-on styrene pickguard
-
24 3/4" scale
-
20 frets
-
rosewood fretboard with dot inlays
-
tortoiseshell celluloid binding on top
-
3-on-a-plate tuners and decal logo
Now, to be honest, this Gibson LGO doesn’t
have the monetary value of a ’59 sunburst
Les Paul, but no amount of money could buy
or replace the good times that were had by
Joe, and the good times yet to come for his
grandson Sean.
When Sean first shared this story with me,
I thought that it was a pretty neat tale and
that he was lucky to get the gift of a guitar
handed down to him. But as I worked on this
column, coming closer to completing it with
each line I wrote, I finally and truly understood
the secret ingredient in Sean’s story.
The gift that keeps on giving is not merely
the Gibson LGO guitar as I originally thought,
but rather the guitar as an instrument for
expressing the love of his family.
Are you smiling? Me too!
John Brown
John Brown, of Brown's Guitar Factory, is the inventor of the
Fretted/Less bass. He owns and operates a full guitar manufacturing
and repair/restoration facility, which is staffed by
a team of talented luthiers. He is also the designer of guitarmaking/repair tools and accessories that are used today by
instrument builders throughout the world.
brownsguitarfactory.com
info@brownsguitarfactory.com