Joe played this guitar in his first band called The Measles circa 1966, as can be seen in the photos posted here – Joe Walsh’s Measles on the Kent State Commons Back in 1966.

Based on the looks, the guitar was a Guild Starfire V model finished in red, featuring a Bigsby tremolo and block inlays.

It’s unfortunately unknown where exactly this guitar originated from, and what happened to it. Basically, the only information that we can conclude from this guitar is that in 1966 Joe did not yet own his Gibson Les Paul Standard. Otherwise, we would probably see him use it in those photos, instead of the Guild.

Joe acquired this guitar sometime in the late sixties, probably around 1968 when Joe joined the James Gang. This was the first of the two vintage Les Pauls that Joe had around the time, the second one being the one he would eventually sell/give to Jimmy Page in 1969.

According to Joe, he found this first Les Paul in a basement of a music store in Athens, Ohio.

And I happen to have two. I found one in the basement of a family-owned music store, I think in Athens, OH, where Ohio University is. It was just in the basement. I just walked in another garage, and it was all boxes – and I said, ‘What do you got downstairs?’ And there was a Les Paul!

And I found another one through a friend, I traded him some stuff for one. So, one I really liked and one I just was saving for a rainy day, so I gave Jimmy that one

Joe Walsh – Wong Notes Podcast

Joe acquired this guitar sometime in the late 60s. He traded it with a friend, and then shortly after that, in April of 1969, he sold the guitar to Jimmy Page. That same guitar would become Jimmy Page’s number one instrument, the one he would use on a majority of Led Zeppelin studio releases and live concerts.

He said, “This Telecaster ain’t cutting it for Led Zeppelin. And I don’t know what to do.” Now, Les Pauls virtually didn’t exist in England at the time. They didn’t hit popularity yet, and they were pretty easy to find because they hadn’t been discovered – and they didn’t cost very much.

And I happen to have two. I found one in the basement of a family-owned music store, I think in Athens, OH, where Ohio University is. It was just in the basement. I just walked in another garage, and it was all boxes – and I said, ‘What do you got downstairs?’ And there was a Les Paul!

And I found another one through a friend, I traded him some stuff for one. So, one I really liked and one I just was saving for a rainy day, so I gave Jimmy that one.

Joe Walsh – Wong Notes Podcast

There are some discrepancies in Joe’s story regarding whether he borrowed the guitar to Jimmy or whether he sold it to him, so it’s unclear what exactly happened. Based on what he said on the Wong Notes Podcast, it sounds like Joe gave the guitar to Jimmy to see whether he would like it, and Jimmy sort of just kept it, and eventually paid Joe for the instrument.

Joe was seen playing this guitar in a couple of photos, all of which seem to date back to 1970 when he was playing with James Gang.

Based on the photos, the guitar was a Gibson SG Junior with dot inlays, and a stop-tail bridge. But, aside from this, nothing is really known about this guitar. If you happen to know anything about, its original story or where it ended up, be sure to post a comment below.

Joe started using this guitar as his main around 1971, as can be seen in numerous recorded performances from that year. The guitar is a tricky one to figure out because it seems to be modified, but we’ll try our best.

Based on one key detail on the instrument, this guitar is a modified Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. This detail is the volute or the protrusion on the rear of the neck-headstock join, which is basically supposed to make that joint a bit less prone to breaking.

This was Joe’s guitar before he gave it away to Pete Townshend sometime before April 1971. Pete then went on to use the guitar to record the entirety of Who’s Next album.

I never really got into old guitars until Joe Walsh (James Gang) rang me up one night and said, “I’ve got something for you,” because we buy one another presents. He buys me old concert amps and I buy him synthesizers and we have become very good friends. Anyway, he said, “I’ve got something for you,” and I said “What?” and he said, “A 1957 Gretsch.”

I used that guitar on every track on Who’s Next, it’s the best guitar I’ve ever had. It’s the finest guitar I’ve ever owned, it’s the loudest guitar I’ve ever owned. It is so loud, man, it whips any pickup that I’ve ever come across. It’s maybe six or seven times louder than anything I’ve come across. If I plugged it in my amp tonight, normally I’d be working on volume 6 or 7, but I would work this guitar on 1.

Pete Townshen, MAY/JUNE 1972 GUITAR PLAYER

Joe was seen playing this guitar in 1972, during ABC In Concert with Barnstorm to play the song “Rocky Mountain Way”. From the looks of it, the guitar was a mahogany model and the only thing that was not stock on it is the fact that it didn’t have a pickguard.

Joe was seen playing this guitar occasionally in the 70s and the 80s. As is the case with most of Joe’s guitars, not much is known about the back story of this double-neck SG.

From the looks of it, the guitar was either a custom order from Gibson, or Joe had somebody modify it because the lower horn was a lot shorter than on the standard model. This allowed Joe to reach the high frets much more easily.

In the late 80s, Joe removed six of the twelve tuners on the bottom portion of the guitar and used both necks as standard six-strings. Around the same time, he also removed the metal pickup covers.

Joe bought this guitar around 1975. This is according to Willie’s Guitars shop, through which the guitar went in 2022 before it was sold to Joe Walsh once again. You can read all about this here – 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard “THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY BURST” by Willie’s Guitars.

As far as when and where Joe used this guitar, in the July 2022 issue of the Vintage Guitar magazine, Joe noted that he thinks that he used it on his live solo album You Can’t Argue with a Sick Mind. This album was recorded before Joe joined the Eagles, which would obviously mean that he had this guitar when he was playing with the Eagles.

Joe had a few Les Paul Standards in the 70s and the 80s, and due to the lack of high-res photos, and the fact that the guitar now faded in color, it’s hard to match it to anything from those years with certainty. However, based on the Vintage Guitar story published in the July 2022 issue, the line of ownership is pretty well established.

This is one of Joe’s most recognizable guitars because he appeared to have used it as his main around the release of the Hotel California album in the mid-70s. Among others, Joe played this guitar on the 1977 video release Eagles: Live at the Capital Centre, and most likely on the studio recording of the song “Hotel California”.

Unfortunately, not a lot is known about this guitar. From the looks of it, it appears to be a 70s Telecaster, based on the Fender logo design and double string tree on the headstock.

Joe Walsh was spotted using this particular guitar on a few occasions during the 1980s. One instance where he was seen using it was at the US Festival held at Glen Helen Park in Devore, California in 1983. Another instance was during the Eagles’ performance at the Beacon Theatre on September 2, 1987.

As far as specs and history, this guitar is a complete mystery. It’s obviously a Les Paul Goldtop with a Bigsby tremolo, and with the metal pickup cover removed,

Joe appeared with this guitar in a video and in some photos that he did as a promotion with Carvin guitars sometime in the early 2000s. According to Joe, he worked directly with Carvin Custom Shop in designing this guitar and he choose all the woods and all the hardware himself.

I decided to get a custom guitar. I looked through the catalog, picked out woods, picked out pickups, and everything. And I got this gutiar and I absolutely love it

The weight is light, the wood, the feel, it has got great sustain.

Joe Walsh – Carvin

Joe received a few of these guitars and occasionally used them liv the early 2000s, as can be seen in Farewell 1 Tour: Live from Melbourne DVD released by the Eagles (see photo below). The guitars had a quilted maple carved top on a mahogany body, double skunk striped mahogany neck with matching quilted maple headstock, likely an ebony fretboard.

Joe used this guitar with the Eagles in the early 2000s and at 2004 The Strat Pack concert. Based on the statement from Joe’s guitar tech Alan Rogan, the guitar was an Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster, with a custom-made rosewood neck fitted on it.

Joe likes the sound that rosewood gives… It’s very different from the usual maple. It’s really hard, so I had it refretted with Joe’s preferred frets, which are higher than normal so he can get under the string.

At first we had the neck on a ’54 reissue body, but now he’s put it on an Eric Clapton body and it’ll probably stay there, because it’s really working out. It’s from the Fender custom shop, and the pickups are noiseless.

Alan Rogan, Guitar and Bass Classics magazine

Joe probably got this guitar from Glenn Frey, since this was Frey’s own signature model produced by Rickenbacker. He used it occasionally since the early 2000s, most notably at the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival.

As far as specs, this guitar is a little bit different from the publically available version. Most notably, it doesn’t have any of the branding on the pickups, and there’s no Glenn Frey signature on the pickguard. Maybe this was one of the prototypes, or maybe Joe simply changed the pickups and removed the signature – who knows.

In any case, this Rickenbacker model was produced as a limited run in 1992. The company planned to make 1000 units total, but due to low demand, the production was cut at 239. It’s interesting to point out that Glenn was never really seen playing this guitar on stage – he only made a few promo shots with it. Most people seem to know about this guitar through Joe Walsh.

Joe Walsh was seen playing this guitar during the Eagles’ farewell tour in 2006. He can be seen using the guitar on the song “Already Gone” on the DVD release “Farewell 1 Tour: Live from Melbourne“.

The guitar is most likely a Special Edition FMT HH (flame maple top, humbucker-humbucker) Custom Telecaster, although Joe’s guitar could possibly have different pickups than the standard model since his ones have the metal covers.

According to Joe himself, his first guitar was a Silvertone acoustic that he bought from a Sears catalog. This was in 1957, and Joe notes that he paid around $30 for it, so this was possibly a guitar from Silvertone’s 600 series. However, since Joe did not specify the model, this is all just guessing.

It was a Silvertone acoustic that we ordered when I was 10 years old from the catalog of the mail-order company Sears Roebuck. It cost about $30. Let me tell you, when that thing finally arrived in the mail, after waiting for it for three weeks, I was on top of the world. And though I couldn’t yet play anything, it was the coolest thing.

Inquirer: Joe Walsh, Guitar World (page now offline)

Joe used this guitar to play the acoustic version of “Hotel California”, recorded live at Warner Bros Studios in April 1994, as part of an MTV event that marked the Eagles’ reunion.

Based on the information posted on Takamine’s website, all three of the Eagles’ guitarists played Takamine guitars that night. Joe and Don both used the TC132SC model, while Glenn Frey used a 12-string EF381SC.

Years before this concert, in an interview with Guitar Player in 1988, Joe said that Takamine is his favorite brand of acoustic guitars.

According to Joe, he used a Fender blackface Champ amp on “Funk #49”. The amp is a small single 8 each speaker combo amp with 5W of total power.

I like small amps, not big ones. I love Fender Champs, too. An old blackface Champ is actually what I did ‘Funk #49’ on. A blackface Champ and a Tele, straight in.

Joe Walsh Carries On, Guitar Player, 1988

According to a 1988 Guitar Player interview, Joe used this amp to record the solo on “Rocky Mountain Way”.

My slide work on the studio version of “Rocky Mountain Way”–I did that in one take. I was sitting on an old tweed Fender Champ amp at Criteria Studios, just warming up. I didn’t even know that they were recording. I figured that they were getting headphone mix.

At the end of the song, I said, “Okay, let’s try one.” Joe Vitale and (engineers) Ronnie and Howie Albert said, “Hey man, you’re done.” I said, “Come on, man, don’t mess around. I want to really get this.” And they said, “Honest to God, you’re done.” That’s an example of a spontaneous solo. now that doesn’t happen all the time, but when the magic is there–and when it is, it is, and when it ain’t–that’s beautiful, beautiful stuff.

Joe Walsh Carries On Guitar Player, 1988

There’s also some talk online that Joe Walsh used a Fender Tweed Champ on most of his early recordings, including “Hotel California”, but there doesn’t seem to be any direct quotes from Joe on this.

Joe Walsh used this amp to record the slide part on “The Long Run” (1979), and he used it recently to power his talk box which he uses on “Rocky Mountain Way”.

That’s driving the talk box [used on “Rocky Mountain Way”]. The speaker isn’t hooked up; it’s driving the talk box. It’s an old 60-watt CUBE — an orange one that’s been painted black.

Those CUBE amps are so great. I used to play with four of those in the early Eagles when Hotel California came out. In fact I used a CUBE to play slide on “The Long Run.” I liked to stack ’em too. That’s what I did in the old days. I even made a stand so I had two and two stacked. The top ones drove the bottom ones. I’d like to try out the new CUBE-60.

JOE WALSH, The Everlasting Eagle

Joe was seen using this amp at the 1983 Us Festival. It was far from the only amp present at that rig, so we don’t know for which specific purpose Joe used it.

Yeah. I used to play a pair of those. I used those when I played the second Us Festival [1983]. That was during the So What [solo] album. There’s film footage of that out there.

Joe used a pair of Fender Super Reverbs as his main live amps in the 80s.

Based on what Joe said, it sounds like he used one of the amps as a cabinet, and he would run all 8 speakers through a single amp.

A vintage Les Paul. I’m partial to a ’59 or a ’60; it depends. ’58s are fun. I’d run that into a wah-wah pedal and then into an original tube-model Echoplex. That would go into a pair of Fender Super Reverbs with four 10s, except only one top.

I would put them on metal folding chairs that are about knee-high. Standing about eight to ten feet in front of those, you can actually move around and find different areas to sustain any note that you want. It’s also incredible because eight 10s pull the impedance of the amp down to like 4 ohms, and that’s where you really get your sweet sound–when the amp is screaming before it blows up.

Joe Walsh Carries On, Guitar Player, 1988

Joe liked using Vox AC-30 amps together with his Fender guitars back in the 80s. When playing Les Paul, Joe preferred using a pair of Fender Super Reverbs instead.

My other favorite thing is a pair of Vox AC-30s. That is tremendous for Fender guitars. The Super Reverbs are tremendous for humbucking configurations, like on the Les Paul. A Strat or a Tele through two Vox AC-30s is just the best.

Joe Walsh Carries On, Guitar Player, 1988

Joe was seen using this amp on Live at Daryl’s House in 2013. The amp choice was a surprise to many because this is a cheap “made in Korea” amp that sells for a couple of hundred dollars. But, it just goes to show that you don’t need vintage equipment to sound good.

There was also another small blonde head lodged sideways next to the 212 DSP, so it’s possible that Joe was not using the DSP exclusively.

Bob Heil developed this talk box for Joe Walsh after the two inspected an earlier version of the talk box originally made by Bill West. Joe first used this talk box on “Rocky Mountain Way” and on the Barnstorm tour around 1973/74.

I was friends with Dottie West, the country singer (…) and Dottie’s husband was Bill West, a great pedal-steel player but also an inventor. He had invented the talk box by placing a speaker driver, the back part of a speaker, in a cardboard box and connecting a piece of surgical tubing to it. So the sound came up the surgical tubing.

A guy named Pete Drake used it once in the Fifties for a song called ‘Forever,’ and then it went back in Bill West’s garage for 20 years. Bill came out of the garage and gave this thing to me.

Of course, I had to see how it was built, so I took it apart. And I was hanging out with Bob Heil at the time, and so we had a look at this thing, and Bob decided he had a good way to make ’em, so he put out his version of it. But the real one I still have — except the tube smells so horrible that nobody can use it.

Joe Walsh Discusses His Career, Gear and New Album, ‘Analog Man’ – Guitar World

According to Joe, he used an Echoplex together with a wah pedal as his only two effects, at least in the early days. Joe said that the used the “original tube-model Echoplex”, which would indicate that he’s referring to the EP-1 model if we understand “original” as first.

I’d run (a guitar) into a wah-wah pedal and then into an original tube-model Echoplex. That would go into a pair of Fender Super Reverbs with four 10s, except only one top.

Joe Walsh Carries On, Guitar Player, 1988

Joe has been using this pedal in the recent Eagles tour. He mentioned the pedal in what appeared to be a promotional interview with Boss, and noted that he liked using the DD-3 for live playing, and the DD-6 for studio work.

The delay [DD-3] is a favorite, the overdrive [OS-2], and more and more the pitch shifter [PS-5]. I prefer the DD-3 onstage, but for recording, I use the DD-6.

JOE WALSH The Everlasting Eagle

According to an interview that Joe gave to Boss, he’s been using this pedal recently, and he has been utilizing it more and more. The pedal is a pitch shifter, harmonizer, detuner, and tremolo all in one.

The pitch shifter [PS-5] … I’ve found three or four settings in that I change between songs. There’s a lot of stuff in that pedal; it allows me to have just one pedal instead of four. It’s a great pedal. I have to manually change it between songs, but I’ve got it down now.

JOE WALSH, The Everlasting Eagle

This pedal was seen on Joe’s pedalboard circa 2006, while he was on tour with the Eagles. Joe mentioned the pedal briefly in an interview with Boss but did not specify which songs he used it on.

The delay [DD-3] is a favorite, the overdrive [OS-2], and more and more the pitch shifter [PS-5].

JOE WALSH, The Everlasting Eagle

This pedal was seen on Joe’s pedalboard around 2006 when he was on tour with the Eagles. He did an interview with Boss around that time, but he did not specify anything about his use of the flanger.

The only thing that we can conclude from the photo below is that this was the BF-3 Flanger, since it has black top knobs.

In an interview with Boss around 2006, Joe said that he liked using the DD-6 delay pedal in the studio, while he preferred using the DD-3 for live playing. He, unfortunately, did not go into specifics as to why he prefers one over the other under a certain scenario.

The delay [DD-3] is a favorite, the overdrive [OS-2], and more and more the pitch shifter [PS-5]. I prefer the DD-3 onstage, but for recording I use the DD-6.

JOE WALSH, The Everlasting Eagle

This is a wah pedal model that Joe Walsh developed together with Real McCoy Custom. The pedal features a sealed, long-life potentiometer, true bypass circuitry, and a custom blue sparkle finish with flame graphics on the sides.

It was first introduced in 2007, and it has been Joe’s main wah pedal ever since.

As of most recently, Joe has been doing a lot of promotional stuff for Earnie Ball, so it’s safe to assume he’s been using their strings as well. Based on what he is usually photographed with, he’s been using the Ernie Ball Regular Slinky set.