The Gear Behind the Magic: Joe Walsh and Don Felder’s Iconic Sound in ‘Hotel California’
Producer Bill szymczyk recalls, ”Whenever Joe Walsh and Don Felder arrived for a recording session, they woudl bring along at least 30 guitars and five or six amplifiers each. It was all about experimentation: ‘Let’s see how this sounds with that.’ However, what stood out the most during the production of Hotel California was the prominent use of Gibson Les Pauls alongside Fender Telecasters.”
Felder’s Legendary 1959 Les paul Burst
While the exact number and types of Les Pauls featured on hotel California remain a mystery, one standout is Felder’s renowned 1959 Burst, which Gibson meticulously recreated in 2011. Felder shared with Guitarist that he acquired this prized instrument from a traveling dealer known for his impressive collection of vintage guitars.
“His name was Tony Dukes,” Felder reminisced. “Every time we passed through Texas, he would appear. A true horse trader, he always had something in his vehicle that caught your eye. His station wagon or truck was filled with Les Pauls, Telecasters, and Strats, and over the years, I purchased around 20 guitars from him.”
Felder continued, ”It was around 1974, shortly after our first major hit, One of These Nights, when I began to earn some money. he came around, and I ended up buying three or four guitars from him – including the Les Paul, a tele, a Strat, and a few others.” He also mentioned that he plugged his Les Paul into a Fender Tweed Deluxe, simply cranking it up with just the guitar connected to the amp.
Crafting the Iconic Intro
Felder revealed that the acoustic guitar intro of Hotel California was played on a Takamine 12-string equipped with a DeArmond pickup. “We mic’d the acoustic guitar and placed it at the center of the mix. The pickup’s output was then processed through a [Maestro] Echoplex and a Leslie speaker, creating a stereo effect that gave it a swirling, ethereal quality,” he explained.
producer Szymczyk added, “For the acoustic recordings, I typically used a Neumann KM84 microphone. Don had a pickup on his guitar connected to a pair of small Orange amplifiers, which we mic’d in stereo. The opening guitar intro features an acoustic guitar in the center, flanked by amps on either side, with a chorus effect that flows between them.”
Walsh’s Signature Sound
Walsh noted in a 2012 interview with Total Guitar, “Felder and I discovered that using either single-coil or double-coil guitars resulted in a lack of contrast, making the songs sound flat. It turned into a wall of sound.” This is why he opted for a Telecaster on Hotel California, which complemented Felder’s Les Paul beautifully.
“I played a Telecaster, likely through the Roland Cube, which was one of my go-to amps at the time,” Walsh recalled.This was probably the same Roland Cube he used with his Stratocaster on Life in the Fast Lane.
Amplifying the Experience
During the Hotel california tour, Walsh also utilized a Fender Black Panel Deluxe Reverb, a Fender Tweed Deluxe, and a Mesa/Boogie Mark I amplifier, further enhancing the rich sound that defined the Eagles’ legendary performances.
