~2011 Frye Model 1 Black

Frye guitars are hand built by Ben Frye out of Chicago. There are a few others listed on Reverb but they are a fair amount less money than this one. So, why spend an extra $900 or so for this one? Well, it's in better condition but that's not really why it's priced where it is. One of the listings makes the very good point that "some serious players play them." And he goes on to say that Walter Becker of Steely Dan was one of them. This is one of a few Fryes that Walter Becker himself owned. He played this one on stage and it was sold to me through his estate auction. It has been one of my main players for the past year or so. It has a single humbucker and a solid spruce body which is a very resonant chunk of wood. That's why they make the tops for acoustics out of spruce. It is essentially a copy of a late 50's Epiphone Coronet and it's a monster player. No other single pickup guitar I've ever played can match it (and I love Esquires). It weighs around 7 and a half pounds. Comes in a nice gig bag and includes the hard cover catalog from the auction and the auction tag you see in the photos. Is it worth a premium to own a piece of Steely Dan history? I thought so.