I was reading the latest issue of Guitar Player that had an illuminating interview with Joe Walsh himself. And yes he just came out with a new solo album called "Analog Man." But I'm not here to tout that album because I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.
But like always I love gear even though I'm just a lowly online Music Journalist. But I know most players love to talk gear, and want to know how a piece of gear can help them become better players of course. Okay, I'm goin' back, way back fellow axe cats, to 1976 when Joe Walsh and The Eagles came out with "Hotel California."
Actually I going back to when they started cultivating the ideas for the song Hotel California it's self. Probably back in 1975. But what I want to talk about is a few things here. First of all Joe apparently used a Fender Telecaster for the song. I'll bet you thought he used a Strat. Come on, you can't fool old Mark. Hell even I thought he used a Strat. You'd have to be a great listener and player who's used both a Tele and Strat to figure it out. But I digress as they say. What ever the hell that means. As well, the harmony parts were done with dual guitars. The other player was Don Felder from The Eagles.
Do you know what guitar he used? It surely was not a Strat, nor was it a Tele either. He used a Les Paul. But here's where it gets interesting guys. To me this is the Golden Nugget of info in the interview I read that you can use if your band isn't getting the sound it wants from it's dual guitars in a particular song. Now you know what kind of guitars Joe and Don used. Now you may be asking yourself as well is, why did they want to use two different types of guitars?
I would say they wanted a different tone and feel for the parts they were playing. To cap that off a definite different vibrato to dinstingiush between the tonality and feel each part they were given. Basically, if you have two guitars that are the same like both Strats, and you're using the same pickups, there are no tonal variations and tends to come off sounding the same.
Joe did say one other thing though. If you had 2 Les Pauls you couldn't hear either of them. I'm assuming he was referring to the pickups. They didn't talk about what amps were used on the song either, so all I have to go on is the guitars they used. If I knew that it would have helped me figure out what kind of amp setting to the axes they were using.
But this other Golden Nugget is the pickups they actually used and how that plays into your dual guitars in your band. Walsh felt that single coils on both guitars didn't make for a thick enough, more sonic like texture they were looking for. My words.
He actually said they made the sound "too thin". So Joe ended up being the Single-Coil Cat on " Hotel California". To understand it better I implore you to listen to the song on Vinyl, not CD. It didn't say if Don was using Humbuckers, but I assume he was using at least one on his Les Paul. Probably the Bridge position. If you're not getting the right sound with a song you can either use a guitar with certain pickups, or change the pickups in your guitar if it's one you want to use only sparingly for recording and session work.
Having the right pickups is essential, and if Joe says so, I think he knows a thing or two. Just because you buy a new guitar or borrow one because it has the right pickups, doesn't mean you'll get the sound you want. The tonality of a particular guitar may be off a bit and it may not have the right feel. It's best to use your own guitar. I know it sounds kind of other worldly what I'm saying, but if you're a serious player you'll understand what I'm talking about. If you have good friends with a guitar shop or use your own guitar tech, talk to them about the pickups you need and the sound you want.
If they're good at what they do they'll figure it out fast what you need pickup wise and amp wise too. It's one area I wish they talked about to do with the song "Hotel California". It's worth the investment in good pickups for your sound. So go back and listen to "Hotel California". I've included a live version of it from 1976 for your perusal, and to make your dual guitars sound the way you want them to.
Mark Grove
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