Guitars and Gear Belonging to Steely Dan’s Walter Becker to Be Sold at Auction

Julien’s Auctions has announced the Property From the Estate of Walter Becker auction. The two-day event, featuring a collection of guitars and other gear belonging to late Steely Dan co-founder, guitarist and songwriter Walter Becker, is scheduled for October 18 and 19. 

The auction will take place at the Standard Oil Building in Beverly Hills and live online at JuliensAuctions.com.

According to Julien’s, instruments and gear in the auction include: 

— An original signature model #1 Sadowsky guitar, which went into production while Becker played this prototype extensively on stage (estimate: $10,000-$15,000)

— An early example of an Excel model archtop guitar, hand built by luthier John D'Angelico, with a spruce top and maple body with a sunburst finish, fitted with a Grover DeLuxe tailpiece, ebony bridge and fretboard (estimate: $10,000-$15,000)

— A rare Senorita S.6 model guitar manufactured briefly in the mid-Thirties by Bacon Banjo (estimate: $10,000-$15,000)

— A double cutaway Strat-style Hahn guitar that was one of Becker’s favorite stage instruments, with a green sparkle finish and fitted with a solid maple neck above three single coil pickups (estimate: $8,000-$10,000)

— A 1961 Fender Stratocaster electric guitar with a double cutaway alder body (estimate: $10,000-$12,000)

— A 1952 or 1953 Gibson JS-200 Custom jumbo sized flat top acoustic guitar with a sunburst finish (estimate: $8,000-$10,000)

— A 1928 Martin 00 size flat top guitar with a mahogany body and neck, a herringbone-banded spruce top inlaid with an unusual pickguard, an ebony bridge and a fret board with split diamond inlay (estimate: $8,000-$12,000)

— A 1955 Gibson ES-5 archtop electric guitar with a natural finish, and a maple body and spruce top (estimate: $8,000-$10,000)

— A 1958 and 1959 Fender Precision Bass (each estimated: $8,000-$10,000)

— A 1965 Fender Jazz Bass in its original, now yellowed Olympic White finish (estimate: $8,000-$10,000)

— A 1957 Fender Duo-Sonic electric guitar which can be seen with Becker in a photograph used in the liner notes to the 1977 Steely Dan album Aja (estimate: $4,000-$6,000)

— A James Tyler Classic model solid body electric made for, and played often by Becker (estimate: $3,000-$5,000)

— An extensively stage played Ian Anderson Standard electric guitar (estimate: $3,000-$5,000)

— An early Bogner Ecstacy 100B amplifier head which was a favorite of Becker’s, along with its various successors (estimate: $2,000-$3,000)

— A Satellite amplifier head made for and used extensively by Becker (estimate: $1,000-$2,000)

— A custom MESA/Boogie open back 2X12 speaker cabinet which featured prominently as part of Becker's onstage rig (estimate: $500-$700)

For more information on the Property From the Estate of Walter Becker auction, head to Julien’s.