A collection of music gear belonging to Walter Becker, the late co-founder, guitarist and co-songwriter of Steely Dan, will be up for sale via Julien’s Auctions during a two-day event on October 18 and 19. The auction –– featuring guitars, sound equipment, recording gear and more –– will be held at the Standard Oil Building in Beverly Hills, California, and live online at the Julien’s website.
The auction includes Becker’s 1957 Fender Duo-Sonic guitar featured in the liner photographs to Steely Dan’s seminal 1977 album, Aja, along with his Signature Model #1 Sadowsky, Bacon & Day Senorita S.6 Model and 1936 D’Angelico Excel and other guitars and bass guitars estimated between $3,000 and $15,000. In addition to instruments, the auction will also include amplifiers, speaker cabinets and recording gear.
“Julien’s Auctions is thrilled to offer this exceptional collection of musical instruments and gear owned and cherished by Walter Becker,” said Darren Julien, CEO and president of Julien’s Auctions, in a statement. “Walter Becker was legendary for his unique sound, his curiosity, his knowledge, his high audiophile standards and his pleasure in experimenting to find just the right sonic landscape that would best support his creative and musical intentions. This fine and wide-ranging collection reflects all of these characteristics — and more — that helped make Walter Becker one of the most talented and respected all-around musicians and sonic connoisseurs of his generation.”
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan Nick Ut/AP/Shutterstock
Becker died September 3, 2017 of esophageal cancer. Donald Fagen, who has carried forward as Steely Dan’s sole bandleader, wrote in tribute to his late collaborator and bandmate, “Walter Becker was my friend, my writing partner and my bandmate since we met as students at Bard College in 1967. He was smart as a whip, an excellent guitarist and a great songwriter. He was cynical about human nature, including his own, and hysterically funny.”
