What gear does Steely Dan use?
Donald Fagen has said he plays acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer. Walter Becker played his Sadowsky signature guitar, Larry Carlton has said he cut Kid Charlemagne on his 1969 Gibson ES-335, and Denny Dias played a Coral electric sitar on Do It Again.
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What gear Steely Dan uses: a sourced gear guide
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Donald Fagen: keyboards and vocals
“for the most part I play only tuneable instruments, like acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer and so on.”
“I do have a Triton and a Kurzweil K2500, and use them for special effects”
“I recall that my first synthesizer was an ARP Odyssey, which I used on the early Steely Dan records.”
Walter Becker: guitar and bass
“Sadowskys play and sound great, stay in tune, and are very versatile”
“Those Hahn guitars were played a lot.”
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter: guitar (former)
“For the most part, I’m using a Roland ME-10, which is a multi-effects pedal I helped design.”
“Well, one is the Stratocaster I used on My Old School.”
“I found that guitar when I was dumpster-diving out at Fender.”
Denny Dias: guitar (former)
“It was basically a Danelectro guitar with a special bridge that made it buzz and sound like a sitar.”
Larry Carlton: session guitar
“Walter [Becker] suggested I play a Strat instead of my 335. We tried it for a few takes, and then he said, ‘No, go back to your guitar.’”
“I used my 335 through a Princeton Reverb.”
Jon Herington: touring guitar
“my work-horse guitar, my Gibson CS336, a slightly shrunken 335.”
Keith Carlock: drums
“My usual kit has been out since the first Steely Dan tour in 2003, and its a Yamaha Oak Custom”
“Actually I use the K Constantinople rides with that really old K sound”
About Steely Dan's gear.
What keyboards does Donald Fagen play?
Donald Fagen has said he mostly plays tuneable instruments like acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer, with a Korg Triton and Kurzweil K2500 for special effects. His first synth was an ARP Odyssey on the early Steely Dan records, and he used a Synergy on The Nightfly.
What guitar did Walter Becker play?
His Sadowsky Walter Becker signature model with Lollar P-90s, which he said play and sound great and stay in tune. Premier Guitar's 2011 Rig Rundown showed it with a '70s Marshall 2204, a Suhr Badger 18 and a Bogner Ecstasy, and he also played Hahn Strat- and Tele-style guitars.
What guitar was used on Kid Charlemagne?
Larry Carlton has said Walter Becker had him try a Strat, then told him to go back to his own guitar, his 1969 Gibson ES-335, played through a Fender Princeton Reverb.
What guitar is on Do It Again?
Denny Dias has said the Do It Again solo was played on a rented Coral electric sitar, basically a Danelectro guitar with a special bridge that made it buzz like a sitar.
What drums does Keith Carlock play with Steely Dan?
Keith Carlock has said his usual kit since the first Steely Dan tour in 2003 was a Yamaha Oak Custom, with Zildjian K Constantinople rides, dark K crashes and A Custom crashes. On the 2014 tour he played a six-piece Gretsch kit.
Steely Dan are the band of Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker, behind Aja, Reelin' in the Years and Do It Again, built around elite session players. This guide covers the band's documented gear: Fagen's Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer, Becker's Sadowsky signature guitars, Skunk Baxter's and Denny Dias' guitars, Larry Carlton's Kid Charlemagne ES-335, Jon Herington's touring rig and Keith Carlock's drums.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Steely Dan didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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