Frey was born in Detroit, where he kicked around in local rock bands until he got his first big break playing acoustic guitar and singing backup on Bob Seger’s No. 17 hit “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” in 1968. He and Seger remained lifelong friends and occasional cowriters. Emboldened, Frey moved to Los Angeles the next year and formed a duo, Longbranch Pennywhistle, with songwriter JD Souther.
Frey and Don Henley founded the Eagles in 1971 after they were hired for Linda Ronstadt’s band. Their first gig with the singer also included bassist and vocalist Randy Meisner and multi-instrumentalist Bernie Leadon, who they recruited for the Eagles. Their eponymous debut album was released in 1972 and immediately climbed the charts on the strength of “Take It Easy,” which Frey wrote with his neighbor, Jackson Browne.
Photo by Laurens Van Houten / Frank White Photo Agency
Although the Eagles are often cited as one of the architects of the “California sound,” they initially purveyed a mixture of ’60s-style vocal pop, rock, country, and bluegrass. Their sound grew tougher as the band developed under Frey and Henley’s leadership, reaching an apex with the addition of Joe Walsh on guitar and the release of Hotel California. Frey’s own tonal palette evolved along the way. He incorporated a variety of Gibson, Epiphone, and Rickenbacker electrics into his arsenal, with the Les Paul Junior he appears with on the cover of his debut solo album, 1982’s No Fun Aloud, that he nicknamed “Old Black” foremost among them. Takamine also manufactured a Glenn Frey signature acoustic-electric dreadnought.
As a member of the Eagles, Frey won six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Reflecting on his classic-rock outfit, Frey once said, “The band was like a fake democracy. Henley and I were making the decisions while at the same time trying to pacify, include, and cajole the others. There was always so much turbulence around our band that it made us serious all the time. There was never a day when all five guys felt good. I’d think, ‘Who is gonna blow it today? Who’s gonna want to fire everybody?’”
Despite that dynamic, the Eagles reunited in 2007 for a new album, The Long Road Out of Eden, and the resulting tour was among the highest grossing in history, scoring more than $250 million. A final tour followed the release of the career-spanning documentary, The History of the Eagles, in 2013.
In a statement issued after Frey’s death, Henley said, “The bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved. Glenn was the one who started it all. He was the spark plug, the man with the plan. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and a work ethic that wouldn’t quit. He was funny, bullheaded, mercurial, generous, deeply talented, and driven.”YouTube It
In this classic performance from the historic California Jam festival in 1974, the Eagles tackle their first big hit, “Take It Easy,” with a fresh-faced Glenn Frey at the fore. Frey is playing his favorite electric solidbody, his Les Paul Junior named “Old Black,” as the band glides along on Don Henley’s laid-back beat and their airy harmonies.
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Not that it isn’t a lovely guitar: clean and simple, often equal understated elegance—and there’s something wonderful about letting a guitar speak so gently for itself. Glenn Frey doesn’t have anything to prove to anybody about his chops, or his skill as a songwriter, so why not simply replicate the axe that, to quote Takamine’s Web site, “wrote rock ‘n roll?”
I have to confess to a bit of shock when I opened the case; I was expecting something artsier. But after it slipped into tune and I started to play, I was amazed. This thing sounds rich and full, the bass is warm without being mushy, and the treble is clear but never grating. And it plays like butter.
There’s Gotta be a Story Here
In 2008, Glenn Frey approached Takamine with an unusual request; basically, he wanted them to clone his old Takamine EF360S, which he got in 1994. They had already been considering a Glenn Frey Signature model, so the request was very timely. The only difference between his 1994 guitar and the new model is that the new back is solid rosewood rather than laminated, and there is a graceful little GF logo on the headstock.
The pickup system is what really made Takamine famous. In fact, those proprietary electronics haven’t changed much since Frey got the original. The pickup itself is built into the top, and the onboard preamp, though upgraded, is still basically the same as it was on Frey’s 1994 EF360S.
I got to talk with Frey between cities on a recent leg of the Eagles’ North American tour. He’s clearly very excited about the guitar, very proud of it, and it’s proving to be as great on stage as his original, which he affectionately calls his Number One. “It’s warm,” he says, “but especially for playing live it’s important to have a guitar with a distinct high end and not too many overtones in the low and mid ranges. That’s a great sound for sitting in your living room, but a live sound engineer has to squash it. For mixing live, it’s better to have a guitar that’s perfect mid-totop, because you can always add lows. That switches the posture from defensive mixing— taking something away from the guitar—to adding to it in order to fill a few things out.”
The process of cloning a guitar is complicated and tedious, but fascinating. Frey said, “Some designers and engineers from Takamine took my Number One for a couple days and made extensive measurements of every part of the guitar, from the thickness of the top and exact placement of the braces, to the thickness of the finish—everything about it.” After making copious notes, they returned to the factory to make two prototypes: one exactly like the original with a laminated back, and one with a solid back. Frey decided he liked the solid back best, so that became the Glenn Frey model.
Regarding the almost Spartan simplicity of the instrument, Frey said it was important to him to keep the guitar affordable as well as extremely functional. The key for him was sound and usefulness. He explained that, “the finish and inlay and bells and whistles don’t have anything to do with that. We took a pretty straightforward approach to it; the only thing it has is the little ‘GF’ on the headstock. I’ve had ten or twelve of these in my hands, and they all sounded great and needed very little set up.”
The Nitty Gritty
Possibly the most amazing thing about Takamine guitars is their incredible consistency. Frey’s description of the EF360GFs he’s played—warm, perfect mid-to-top without a lot of overtones in the lows, sounds and plays great—accurately describe this guitar, too. That’s part of their promise: if you play one EF360GF, you’ve played them all. Takamine guitars are the choice of countless touring bands simply because they offer few surprises—in a really good way. For somebody who lives and dies by the axe, that’s extremely important. That doesn’t mean this guitar isn’t fun to play or lacks personality. The neck is comfortable, much like a Les Paul neck, actually. At 1-11/16” wide and just a little chubby, it’s good for chord strumming or for singer-songwriter- type fingerstyle playing, though after tackling some intricate fingerstyle pieces, I found myself wanting a wider fretboard and string spacing.
One advantage to having a guitar so balanced on the high-to-mid side is how well it fares in an ensemble setting. It can be heard clearly through the mix, making it ideal for Eagles-style rhythm duties, or even Bluegrass-style flatpickin’. Having spent most of my gigging life as a solo guitarist, I found the lack of oomph in the lows a bit disconcerting; with my trio, where bass is somebody else’s responsibility, it was much more satisfying.
The electronics are the other key to Takamine’s success. The built-in pickup and onboard preamp sounded great through any amp or PA I played through; it’s practically soundman-from-hell proof. There’s a 3-band EQ, Volume control and a tuner right under your nose, making it effortless to tweak your sound on the fly. The tuner responds almost fast enough to be more useful than frustrating. Battery changes are convenient and lightning quick.
Recording
I did a little experimental recording with the EF360GF and a Zoom H4 hand-held recorder, using the built in stereo mics (at 24bit 96K). The clarity of the mids and highs was just stunning, and you could hear every detail. The highs sparkled, while the mids offered oomph without any nasal unpleasantness. The lows were warm without being muddy. This guitar really shines when you’re strumming big chords, and it positively glows when dropped into DADGAD. I look forward to hearing Frey’s guitar mixed into future CDs.
The Final Mojo
The EF360GF is a remarkable instrument, and Glenn Frey has every reason to be proud of it. Takamine is now going through the same cloning process with his Number One 12-string, and if this guitar is any indication, that one should be equally remarkable. At a reasonable price point, the playability, onboard electronics and terrific sound make this guitar a fantastic value.
Buy if...
you play a lot of gigs and need a rock-solid, great playing and sounding axe.
Skip if...
most of what you do is intensive and intricate solo fingerstyle playing.
Rating...
MSRP $1999 Street $1399 - Takamine - takamine.com |