Eagles, others give guitar collectors 'feast for the eyes'

When mega-rockers the Eagles went on the road for the "Hell Freezes Over" tour in 1994, they brought something like 48 guitars with them, an all-star lineup of wood, fiberglass and steel that included 10 Les Pauls, six Stratocasters, a double-necked Gibson and a smattering of Rickenbackers.

This for a band with only three guitar players, plus a drummer who played a little acoustic here and there.

Every song on the set list meant another gorgeous vintage instrument would come onstage. This parade of Gibsons and Fenders has been waggishly described as "guitar porn," especially for the guitar players and collectors in the audience, most of whom could only smack their chops and dream.

On May 14, when the Eagles come to Alpharetta for four sold-out nights at the brand-new Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, 48 guitars is not enough.

Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey will have 50 between them. Throw in guitars for drummer Don Henley, bassist Timothy B. Schmit and the new guy, guitarist Steuart Smith, and the fellows will have a total of 80 axes at their disposal.

Does this take it past the limit?

"Some would say they're excessive, but I like them; I think they're neat," said Victor Rodriguez, the guitar tech for Frey. Besides, Rodriguez adds, "It's job security! Bring them all out!"

It's enough, in fact, to keep the band's four guitar techs busy — changing strings, tuning, setting up action, tweaking necks and re-fretting.

And, for at least some audience members, it's a big part of the show.

"The initial reaction is 'Oh my God!'" musician-turned-software writer Leon Chalnick said of the sheer number, variety and quality of guitars that the band members play onstage. "It's the jaw-dropping wow factor."

A guitar collector and a regular contributor to the guitar-and-gear discussion Web site called the Gear Page, Chalnick has 13 guitars on the walls of the music room at his house, and he's not that unusual among the 28,000 members of the site.

Most suffer from what they jokingly call GAS: Guitar Acquisition Syndrome.

When Kerry Marchman opened a guitar shop in Tucker, he used his collection as a seed inventory. He called the place Too Many Guitars.

The phrase was a regular complaint he heard from his wife, as in, "Don't you think you have too many guitars?"

For women, it's shoes; for men, it's guitars, said Bryan Lilje of Clarkston, musician, luthier and admitted GAS sufferer.

Many rock stars have severe problems with GAS, and that includes acoustic stars like Atlanta's Indigo Girls, who at one time toured with 30 guitars on hand.

But the parade of flat-tops isn't just an excuse to play with their toys, said their guitar tech, Lisa "Sulli" Sullivan.

Like most bands, the Indigos play in a variety of tunings — drop-D, open G, open D — and they keep guitars dedicated to those tunings so they don't have to retune between songs. Also, Amy Ray, the dark-haired Indigo, is an enthusiastic banger and breaks strings with abandon.

"It's a nightmare for the guitar tech," Sullivan said, "but the crowd gets off on it."

Electric guitars add another layer of complexity to the equation, offering different tones for every make and model, from Telecaster twang to Gretsch jangle.

And a certain part of the audience just wants to see those beautiful instruments.

"Part of the reason I go to any concert is see what kind of guitars they're going to play," said Jason Durham, Marchman's partner. He remembers catching the Eagles in the 1990s: "It was a feast for the eyes."

Some players carry the fashion show to extremes. Take Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, who has owned and played a ridiculous assortment of 2,000 instruments, including a five-neck monstrosity built by Hamer.

There are also some guitars that are closely associated with some songs. Phil Collen of Def Leppard plays a black-and-white, crackle-finish Jackson instrument on "Pour Some Sugar on Me" in concert, as he did in the video, just because "people like to see those guitars again," said Collen's tech, Scott Appleton. In the same vein, Joe Walsh brings out his 1959 Les Paul for "Life in the Fast Lane," not just because of the crunchy tone, but because it's the one he's known for playing on that song.

But art direction plays a role as well.

Derek Brooks of guitar manufacturer Ernie Ball/Music Man said his outfit is busy building Eagles guitarist Steuart Smith a new double-necked electric to play in "Hotel California," even though the blond double-neck they made him several years ago is still fine.

"They've changed set cosmetics around, and they asked for black instruments," Brooks said.

STRING THEORIES: Guitar techs talk

Changing strings on 80 guitars means a lot of finger pokes from the sharp ends of those wires. But some players want them changed more than others.

Glenn Frey? "He never changes the strings," said Eagles tech Victor Rodriguez. "He doesn't sweat much."

Joe Walsh? "Every day."

Are there guitars that the bosses own that the techs like to play?

"It's bad form to beat away on the rock star's guitar any more than you have to," said Eagles tech Bobby Carlos. "I actually carry my own [a '61 Gibson SG], just for fun."