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Steely Dan Studio Gear Headed to Auction

By Clive Young. Recording equipment, guitars and more belonging to the late Walter Becker of Steely Dan will soon go up for auction.

Beverly Hills, CA (July 16, 2019)—Musical gear owned by the late Walter Becker of Steely Dan will go up for auction in October, including a broad range of the artist’s studio recording gear.

Held by Julien’s Auctions, the event will take place October 18-19 at the Standard Oil Building in Beverly Hills, CA and online at the auctioneer’s website.

Darren Julien, president/CEO of Julien’s Auctions, exclusively told Pro Sound News that the auction will include “a marvelous selection of high-end studio gear owned and used by Walter Becker, compromising of compressors, EQs, preamps, mixers, interfaces and more.

“Fans of Steely Dan and recording history in general will be particularly interested in the 3M Digital Audio Mastering system, a very early digital recording system released in 1978,” added Julien. “Steely Dan were notoriously early adopters of the digital recording technology.”

Retro PSN: Steely Dan’s Mood Swings On The Move

Steely Dan was legendary for its meticulously recorded albums—the results of perfectionist tendencies the duo shared with legendary engineer Roger Nichols and producer Gary Katz. Indeed, Nichols won eight Grammys over the course of his career—six of them for his work with Steely Dan, and of those, four were “Best Engineer Non-Classical.”

“In addition to over 800 effects units, there will be a selection of high-end stereo equipment and hundreds of amplifiers used both on stage and in the studio,” said Julien. “All gear is a premium assortment of modern, vintage and boutique.”

Unsurprisingly, the auction will focus largely on guitars, effect pedals, amplifiers and the like, as befits the background of Becker, the guitarist of the duo. Of particular interest for fans and guitarists will be the 1957 Fender Duo Sonic photographed with Becker in the liner notes of Steely Dan’s 1977 album, Aja.

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Other items hitting the auction block will include a 1961 Fender Stratocaster electric guitar; an Excel model archtop guitar built by John D’Angelico; a 1928 Martin 00-size flat top guitar; an original signature model #1 Sadowsky guitar, which went into production while Becker played the prototype extensively on stage; and a custom MESA/Boogie open back 2X12 speaker cabinet which featured prominently as part of Becker’s on-stage rig.

Julien’s Auctions • www.juliensauctions.com

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