“I played that on just about every Eagles record”: Don Felder names the most important guitar in his 300-strong collection

Considering Don Felder owns nearly 300 different electric and acoustic guitars, it was always going to take a special six-string to stand out as the pick of the bunch. But one instrument holds its headstock higher than the rest, and the evidence is there to hear.

Speaking in Guitar World magazine, he has reasoned that his collection is justified. Each gets the same amount of love.

“They’ve all been photographed and given a name,” he says. “They’re separated by manufacturer; everything by Gibson is in one rack, everything from Fender is another. If I want to pick up my ’57 Strat from the locker, I can open up my spreadsheet, walk into the vault, pull the guitar off the shelf, and bring it back.”

It’s an insane level of organization that speaks to his care for each instrument. Every purchase isn’t just another one for the pile. But which is his most important?

Felder has previously revealed he parted with $1,200 for his secondhand Les Paul from a man called Tony Dukes in Texas. He’d pass through the state with a pickup truck full of old Telecasters, Stratocasters, and Les Pauls. But Glenn Frey’s “kind of derogatory” remark about the guitar led him to dub it the “cheap Les Paul.”

“I really respect the fact that Gibson did it, and was honored that they asked me to do it,” he says, diplomatically. “I work very closely with them; their Custom Shop makes things for me that are spectacular,” but adds that another signature release is not on the cards.

Elsewhere, Felder’s former Eagles bandmate Don Henley has explained how Bono helped inspire the band’s comeback following Glenn Frey’s passing, while also praising relative newcomer Vince Gill as a valuable asset to the band’s latter-day line-up.

The band will retire after their record-breaking Las Vegas Sphere residency comes to an end this year, but that’s proving enough time for Joe Walsh to debut some new toys on their stages, with a fast-rising electric the latest to make an appearance.

Felder’s full interview features in the latest issue of Guitar World, which can be ordered from Magazines Direct.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He’s also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.