# Walter Becker's estate ...gear auction catalogue



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

The late Walter Becker is apparently credited with being the originator of the term G.A.S.

*WARNING*: this online book has 596 pages.
Property From The Estate Of Walter Becker
See pages 48-57 for the collection of Monty guitars.

Reference for G.A.S. origin...
‘Gear Acquisition Syndrome’ – A Survey of Electric Guitar Players


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Holy cow!


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Massive gear head


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

ThTs pretty crazy. Fan of the music or not, 600 pages is pretty crazy


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

This is good for putting things into perspective. "See, a guitar room isn't so weird. A guitar warehouse? That's weird. But a room? Nahhh, totally normal. Nothing to see here. Just move along."


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Was he the guitarist in Steely Dan?


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

Wow. Went through it all. Some nice stuff.


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## SaucyJack (Mar 8, 2017)

Yep that's a lot of gear.


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## SaucyJack (Mar 8, 2017)

1SweetRide said:


> Was he the guitarist in Steely Dan?


Yeah I believe so.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I always thought Steely Dan was one guy like Jethro Tull. Surprised to find out it was a full band, mostly because I would find it hard to convince other guys to join and participate in making such awful music together. Oh well. I least he had great gear


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

vadsy said:


> I always thought Steely Dan was one guy like Jethro Tull. Surprised to find out it was a full band, mostly because I would find it hard to convince other guys to join and participate in making such awful music together. Oh well. I least he had great gear


There were really just two of them. They used session musicians for the records.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

I believe Chevy Chase played drums with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker in a band that became Steeley Dan.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

butterknucket said:


> I believe Chevy Chase played drums with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker in a band that became Steeley Dan.


I'm pretty sure you're thinking about Simon & Garfunkel


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

vadsy said:


> I'm pretty sure you're thinking about Simon & Garfunkel


No he’s correct.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

BSTheTech said:


> No he’s correct.


Maybe, I guess we’ll never know for sure


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

vadsy said:


> I always thought Steely Dan was one guy like Jethro Tull


or Uriah Heep, Max Webster.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

laristotle said:


> or Uriah Heep, Max Webster.


Uriah Heep sounds like an infection you need antibiotics for. Max Webster is now a retired principal who trains homing pigeons


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

vadsy said:


> Maybe, I guess we’ll never know for sure


I've heard that from multiple sources over the years. He is friends with Paul Simon though from his SNL days.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

they probably started the rumors because their songs about nosebleeds and finally hitting puberty didn’t sell


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

vadsy said:


> Uriah Heep sounds like an infection you need antibiotics for.


_*Uriah Heep* is a fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his novel David Copperfield. Heep is one of the main antagonists of the novel. His character is notable for his cloying humility, obsequiousness, and insincerity, making frequent references to his own "'umbleness". His name has become synonymous with sycophancy._


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

If only we had a way to look up useless information.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

probably fake. Did you know I was once able to make edits on Wikipedia, ...before they banned me for doing stuff exactly like this ^^^


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

vadsy said:


> probably fake. Did you know I was once able to make edits on Wikipedia, ...before they banned me for doing stuff exactly like this ^^^


Fake news. You sure your name isn’t Vladsy?


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

BSTheTech said:


> Fake news. You sure your name isn’t Vladsy?





vadsy said:


> Maybe, I guess we’ll never know for sure


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Steely Dan was the name of a shiny dildo in William Burroughs' classic work of unusual beat-generation fiction, _Naked Lunch_.
I had little idea Walter Becker was as acquisitive as he clearly was.
So how much of this collection goes to Joe Bonamassa?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

mhammer said:


> So how much of this collection goes to Joe Bonamassa?


Good one!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Although, Dave, leafing through it now, he seemed to have more of a penchant for higher-end boutique builders than for "the big 5" (Gibson, Fender, Martin, Gretsch, Rickenbacker). I'm also seeing plenty of budget gear: Tokai, Norma/Teisco, Hondo, Guyatone, Danelectro. Plenty of vintage gear from the big 5, but it isn't the focus; at least not as conveyed by the book. Flipping through the book feels like a 20-year compilation of every single _Vintage Guitar _magazine review and builder profile, or maybe every-Tony-Bacon-book-at-Chapters. Definitely worth downloading as a picturebook for folks who simply love to look at guitars.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

mhammer said:


> ...he seemed to have more of a penchant for higher-end boutique


Nice to see all the Monty guitars.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

350+ pages in, and my response is starting to be "Where do you _put_ all that stuff?", rather than "How can someone afford all of that?". The inventory is well in excess of both Gruhn's and Carter's combined. All those guitars presumably have a case, rather than being piled on each other in a closet.

I guess we know why it could take some time between albums. Walter was shopping.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Finally finished flipping through. It seems like he had a standing order with several larger gear stores carrying every brand of pedal to simply send him anything new that came in and bill it to his account. Literally hundreds and hundreds of pedals, many of which probably only came out within a few months of his passing. I don't know how anyone could find the time to try all of that stuff. Kind of reminds me of Chevy Chase's response to the Grand Canyon.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

laristotle said:


> or Uriah Heep, Max Webster.


I believe Max Webster was a full band. I seen a full band called Max Webster at Hamilton Place about 1979. Kim Mitchell fronted it. Originated in Sarnia me thinks. Kim went on to solo under his own name.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Distortion said:


> I believe Max Webster was a full band.


Correct


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Distortion said:


> I believe Max Webster was a full band. I seen a full band called Max Webster at Hamilton Place about 1979. Kim Mitchell fronted it. Originated in Sarnia me thinks. Kim went on to solo under his own name.


never heard of em


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

vadsy said:


> never heard of em


Here they are grass hopper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_pOeOTdSHk


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Distortion said:


> Here they are grass hopper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_pOeOTdSHk


link doesn’t work


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## SaucyJack (Mar 8, 2017)

Works for me.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

vadsy said:


> never heard of em


70's band known for dressing weird and not too well known outside of Ontario.
Unlike their contemporaries at the time; Rush.










They wrote/recorded a song together.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

LOL You can't make that statement without providing the proof. Rush were exemplary fashion icons.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

laristotle said:


> 70's band known for dressing weird and not too well known outside of Ontario.
> Unlike their contemporaries at the time; Rush.
> 
> View attachment 272150
> ...


I’m just messing around. I have their stuff on vinyl


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

vadsy said:


> I’m just messing around


Sorta figured that, but how often does a guy get to post about the Max machine?


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

Well you need some of this then.


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## reckless toboggan (Mar 9, 2019)

laristotle said:


> or Uriah Heep, Max Webster.


Or that Led Zeppelin guy.

I hear he got in a fight with that guy Aero Smith.

But that guy Jethro Tull broke it up.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

There's some stuff I wouldn't mind having.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

reckless toboggan said:


> Or that Led Zeppelin guy.
> 
> I hear he got in a fight with that guy Aero Smith.
> 
> But that guy Jethro Tull broke it up.


They were fighting over Greta VanFleet, who was with Mungo Jerry at the time.

Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

laristotle said:


> They were fighting over Greta VanFleet, who was with Mungo Jerry at the time.
> 
> Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?


They're all Pink, when you saw 'em in half. 


Uhhhh, I don't know this from experience, just telling for a friend. Really.


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

greco said:


> Nice to see all the Monty guitars.


I followed the auction closely and bid on a variety of items.
VERY nice to see the prices that Brian's guitars fetched.

For landed price in Canada, don't forget:
- add 25% house fee
- add 3% online bidding fee
- add 3.5% credit card conversion fee
- add shipping cost
- convert the result to Canadian dollars
- add 13% HST unless you are a clever boy

For landed price in the US, don't forget:
- add 25% house fee
- add 3% online bidding fee
- add shipping cost
- add state sales tax (typically 6%) unless you are a clever boy

All of the Monty guitars went for more that they would cost new from him, except for the red Bluesqueen, which cost USD 3,200 before sales tax, shipping, or conversion to CAD.
This makes me happy for Brian because it supports his well-deserved reputation as a stellar builder. But it makes me sad because I got outbid on all of them, including one very specific one I was hoping to buy. (*&^%$#!!

A boy can dream....
At least I can console myself with a couple of hard copies of the catalogue that Julien's was kind enough to send to me. Along with the too-many Monty guitars I already own. :^)


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

[QUOTE="Hammertone, post: 2549326, member: 66"

ABut it makes me sad because I got outbid on all of them,* including one very specific one I was hoping to buy.* (*&^%$#!!

[/QUOTE]
I got it. Sorry.


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

Hammertone said:


> But it makes me sad because I got outbid on all of them,* including one very specific one I *was hoping to buy (*&^%$#!!





player99 said:


> I got it. Sorry.


But you massively overpaid


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Hammertone said:


> But you massively overpaid


How much over and what was the guitar? I forget.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Interesting collection and a good reference for pricing simlar items.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

KapnKrunch said:


> Interesting collection and a good reference for pricing simlar items.


What?!? It’s a terrible reference for pricing. It’s a famous dead musicians collection, I’m guessing that’s gonna weigh a little bit on pricing.


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

player99 said:


> How much over and what was the guitar? I forget.


You know - the one with the guy. Over there.


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