Pete's Numbered Les Paul's

["Stuart Pittman" <stoo@cae.ca>]

    I believe it was Emmee who asked about Pete's numbers.
    Pete had the numbers put on the Les Pauls to identify them onstage during
a show. This practice would facilitate choosing a certain guitar (different
tuning, capo on the 5th fret, etc.) for a certain song/sound.
    He started to use Les Pauls on the European fall '72 tour but the numbers
did not appear until 1975. During some '74 shows he used a Les Paul with the
number "1"  scrawled in black onto a piece of tape. This guitar can also be
seen in the "Pinball Wizard" sequence of "Tommy". Pete normally travelled on
tour with 6 to 8 guitars. I have yet to see any evidence of a number 9.
    In 1980, he had switched over to Telecasters and Shechters exclusively
and, alas, dispensed with the numbers.

Stoo