Old Black

[timfan]

Something I've been wondering for awhile: What will happen to Glenn's famed guitar "Old Black" now that he's gone? Given it's long history I hope it'd be sent to a museum or the Rock and Roll HOF (my personal preference is the R&R HOF).

That guitar has been such a part of Glenn's career with both the Eagles and as a solo artist.. I think it'd be a shame if it wasn't displayed somewhere in his memory.

[NOLA]

I imagine Glenn's son, Deacon, is now in possession of the famous guitar. He's appeared on stage with his father as a guest guitarist, and the instrument would make a lovely family heirloom.
Just my guess and nothing else.

[UndertheWire]

I thought of "Old Black", too. Maybe Deacon will adopt him/her.

I nearly put "it" but I remember Glenn using "she" when talking about one of his other guitars. To me, OB is a "he" but I'm projecting.

[buffyfan145]

I would think the same about his son keeping it. I know George Harrison's son Dhani has kept a lot of his father's guitars and during vids Dhani's posted with his band you can see George's guitars, especially "Rocky", hanging on the wall in his studio. He's also apparently used them on his albums. Others though are in the Hall of Fame and other museums as well so I could see that happening too.

[shunlvswx]

I had wonder about Old Black too. That guitar has been with Glenn since the beginning and of all the guitars Glenn has played on stage, we always see that guitar in every show. Even when Glenn have new guitars on stage, Old Black was always there at every concert and he played a lot of songs with that guitar.

I hope the guitar goes to Deacon or any of his children. I think he would take good care of his dad's old guitar. Or it might go to the HOF.

[AlreadyGone95]

I hope that Old Black stays in the family or goes to the HOF as well. It's most definitely the guitar that all fans associate with Glenn.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

As a fan, I would love to see Old Black on display in the R&R HOF. But, I think it will and should stay in the family.

I have a late uncle who was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. I don't mean to compare him with Glenn, but I bring this up to kind of share something from a family perspective. He was a fiddle player and had a 'prized' fiddle kinda like Glenn's Old Black. My uncle had a name for 'her' too, but I can't think of it right now. Anyway, when I was in Nashville last fall, my aunt was saying that she and her two children had discussed donating one of his fiddles to the HOF, but they couldn't decided which one. The 'prize' fiddle was definitely off the plate though. They have no intention of parting with that one.

[Brooke]

I'm betting Deacon will have possession of Old Black. Just too much of a keepsake to give up. It would be for me anyways.

[travlnman2]

I'm betting Deacon will have possession of Old Black. Just too much of a keepsake to give up. It would be for me anyways.

Old black is the black les paul right?

[DJ]

Yes I am betting that "she" will belong to Deacon or Otis if he wants to learn to play her. I'd never give that guitar away.

[shunlvswx]

Yes. The black Les Paul Jr. guitar.

[WalshFan88]

I bet it will stay in the family OR go to the RNRHOF. I'm actually hoping it stays in the family and will be used.

It's a great guitar with a lot of history and Jackson Browne owned it previously but couldn't keep it in tune so he sold it to Glenn and Glenn had new tuners put on it (they are silver and metal buttons, the originals on the Juniors were plastic nylon) and had a tuneomatic bridge and stopbar tailpiece (instead of the wraptail it came with) installed for tuning stability and then he could use it live. He also had a neck dogear P-90 pickup added as originally it came with only one dogear P-90 pickup in the bridge for more sonic versatility.

Simply put, it's very iconic and I think it should stay in the family.

[sad-cafe]

I think it should stay in the family IF that is what the family wants.



However if it became part of a museum somewhere it would be appreciated.

In our town they are doing a Guitars of the World exhibit and Joe Walsh has sent one of his special guitars and it has garnered a lot of attention.

I would be cool with either.

[shunlvswx]

I bet it will stay in the family OR go to the RNRHOF. I'm actually hoping it stays in the family and will be used.

It's a great guitar with a lot of history and Jackson Browne owned it previously but couldn't keep it in tune so he sold it to Glenn and Glenn had new tuners put on it (they are silver and metal buttons, the originals on the Juniors were plastic nylon) and had a tuneomatic bridge and stopbar tailpiece (instead of the wraptail it came with) installed for tuning stability and then he could use it live. He also had a neck dogear P-90 pickup added as originally it came with only one dogear P-90 pickup in the bridge for more sonic versatility.

Simply put, it's very iconic and I think it should stay in the family.

SO bascially Glenn got the guitar remade to his ability and probably nobody else in the world has this guitar, but Glenn.

I had asked if this is the same guitar he had since the 70s or he got a replicate later in life like musicians do. I guess when the company wants to have a custom guitar name after them like Joe having his old guitar name after him and special things as part of that guitar.

[Brooke]

I bet it will stay in the family OR go to the RNRHOF. I'm actually hoping it stays in the family and will be used.

It's a great guitar with a lot of history and Jackson Browne owned it previously but couldn't keep it in tune so he sold it to Glenn and Glenn had new tuners put on it (they are silver and metal buttons, the originals on the Juniors were plastic nylon) and had a tuneomatic bridge and stopbar tailpiece (instead of the wraptail it came with) installed for tuning stability and then he could use it live. He also had a neck dogear P-90 pickup added as originally it came with only one dogear P-90 pickup in the bridge for more sonic versatility.

Simply put, it's very iconic and I think it should stay in the family.

I didn't know Jackson had owned it before Glenn! Thanks for the info, Austin!

I agree, it should stay in the family.

[shunlvswx]

Yeah. I heard the story about Jackson Browne giving it to Glenn. Makes me think of when Joe gave Jimmy Paige one of his guitars which became his signature guitar like Glenn has. Old Black is his signature guitar.

[UndertheWire]

Shun, Glenn asked Takamine to make a guitar based on his favourite 20 year old acoustic and they made that his signature guitar. You should be able to read about it on their website. Rickenbacker also did a GF signature guitar and bass.

[shunlvswx]

I knew about the Takamine guitar. I wonder if they still sell those. I think I saw in a picture(I think Glenn had one of the guitars) had Glenn's name inside of the guitar.

[shunlvswx]

I was watching HOTE this afternoon and I notice Glenn was playing Old Black in the clip where he and Don are playing in Linda's band. So he either got that guitar from Jackson between 1970 or 1971.

[WalshFan88]

Yeah. I heard the story about Jackson Browne giving it to Glenn. Makes me think of when Joe gave Jimmy Paige one of his guitars which became his signature guitar like Glenn has. Old Black is his signature guitar.

Yes we can thank Joe for that lovely guitar sound on Zep IV. The first record and some of the 2nd were mostly done with his "Dragon" Telecaster or other instruments. But stuff like Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop, etc and forward that's the LP he got from Joe.

[UndertheWire]

I looked up an old interview (from 1982) where Glenn talked about "Old Black" (who he refers to as "her").

GF: My standard guitar in the one that happened on the front of the album. It's a black Les Paul Junior. It's middle to late '50s. Jackson Browne gave it to me in Echo Park for free, because it wouldn't play n tune for him. He got himself a Telecaster and he like it, so he gave me that guitar. I've always joked that I got into Rock 'n' Roll for $125. That's how much it cost me to get my pre-CBS Deluxe with one 12" Vox speaker in it. I still play through that amplifier. It's the best Deluxe I've ever had. And I still play the guitar I got for free.

IM&RW: What is that you like about particular guitar?

GF: I think it has single-sound pickups as opposed to double-wound for some reason, they're just hotter. It's hotter than any Sunburst Les Paul I've every bought. I need guitars that have clubby necks. I play it hard. I'm not an artful player, so I need something I can grab onto. It seems like Les Paul Juniors have that quality about them. Every time I see a singe pickup or double pickup Junior, I usually buy it. They don't cost that much. Les Paul Junior IV models just aren't that expensive. You can still get them for 5-600 bucks. So I've been trying to buy backup guitars of Old Black all my life.

IM&RW: Old Black?

GF: Yeah, her name is Old Black. I've yet to find one that's as good.
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