Gibson Custom Shop Don Felder "Hotel California" '59 Les Paul Standard 2010

Welcome to the "Hotel California." This tribute to the Les Paul that Don Felder used to record the famous outro to Eagles classic "Hotel California" is adorned with a special "Felder Burst" sunburst nitrocellulose finish mahogany body. The Slim 59 mahogany neck is topped with the traditional rosewood fretboard. The ABR-1 bridge and Kluson-style tuners add just the right touch of vintage vibe.

Like all VOS (Vintage Original Spec) Series instruments, the Don Felder "Hotel California" Les Paul VOS is handcrafted for comfort and playability in the Gibson Custom Shop. The construction, neck profile, hardware, and electronics are period accurate, and a special nitrocellulose finish treatment gives it the patina of a gently aged vintage guitar. Includes Gibson Custom Shop case and a certificate of authenticity.

The 1976 mega-hit single "Hotel California" is named on virtually every reputable list of "greatest guitar solos" that has ever been published. The whole truth is, though, that the entire Hotel California album is rife with scorching guitar work from both newcomer Joe Walsh and Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder “ and Felder played all of his solos on one outstanding instrument: a 1959 Les Paul Standard.

Hired by the Eagles in 1974 to help the band make the transition from country-rock to a heavier, rock-based sound, Felder brought it on in spades, and the tone he selected to do the job is unmistakably Les Paul “ fat, creamy and singing. In order to bring that sound, feel and look to a select group of players and collectors today.

Made with period-correct specs and components, it includes a pair of Gibson's most accurate reproduction PAF pickups, and finished in a uniquely tinted and faded "Felder Burst" finish, formulated exclusively for this guitar. As rare and desirable as all 'Bursts are, this limited run recreates one of the greatest, and a big slice of tone history.

Body and Finish
Made from the classic tonewood combination of carved maple top and one-piece mahogany back, and dressed in a faded nitrocellulose "Felder Burst" finish atop a figured maple cap, the Don Felder "Hotel California" 1959 Les Paul embodies the original '59 Les Paul on which Felder recorded all of his leads for the groundbreaking Hotel California album.

Neck, Headstock and Fingerboard
A neck made from one piece of solid mahogany is carved to an accurate, chunky, rounded '59 profile and is glued into the guitar's body with a deep-set long neck tenon, a joint known to aid strength and resonance. The neck is capped with a rosewood fingerboard with aged acrylic pearloid trapazoid inlays and 22 medium-jumbo frets, and its headstock is back-angled to the traditional 17 degrees.


Pickups and Electronics
The Don Felder "Hotel California" 1959 Les Paul is equipped with a pair of Gibson's popular BurstBucker humbucking pickups, a BurstBucker 2 in the neck position and a BurstBucker 1 in the bridge. Gibson's BurstBuckers are widely regarded as the most accurate reproductions of original PAF humbuckers available today, and even go so far as to reproduce some of the inconsistencies that are credited with contributing a certain magic to original Gibson humbuckers from 1957-'62.

BurstBuckers are made with unpolished Alnico II magnets and coils that are wound to slightly different numbers of turns, like the originals. Using two slightly mismatched coils gives these pickups a little more edge “ a sound that you could even say comes a little closer to single-coil bite “ than can be achieved with perfectly balanced coils. Furthermore, BurstBuckers in the Don Felder "Hotel California" 1959 Les Paul are wax potted to combat microphonic squeal at high volume levels.

Hardware
Like most classic late-'50s Les Pauls, the Don Felder "Hotel California" 1959 Les Paul carries the legendary complement of Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, accompanied by a set of vintage Kluson-style tuners with green "keystone" buttons and stamped-steel covers plated in nickel. Its strap is secured by Gibson's traditional aluminum buttons.