Historic Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Prince, Tom Petty, Johnny Winter Guitars Up for Auction December 2

www.guitarworld.com
Historic Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Prince, Tom Petty, Johnny Winter Guitars Up for Auction December 2
Guernsey's will auction off a massive stable of historic guitars at the Boehmian National Hall in New York City on December 2.
GUITAR WORLD STAFF
November 15 2017



Guernsey's auction house will offer up a remarkable group of historic guitars on December 2 at the Boehmian National Hall in New York City.


The group includes two guitars owned by Jimi Hendrix—a sticker-covered Guild that he played at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival and a 1963 Stratocaster that was one of the first Hendrix owned—a gold 1953 Gibson Les Paul once owned by Paul McCartney, a custom gold"Love Symbol" guitar used by Prince and a 1989 Gibson L4 Custom that David Bowie played while on tour and in recording sessions from the late Eighties to the early Nineties. And that's just the start.

The group also includes an acoustic Takamine EF-360 S once owned by Tom Petty—this particular guitar even includes a letter from Petty himself certifying that the guitar has "a lovely sound"—a Fender Stratocaster signed by Petty and all of the Heartbreakers, a 12-string Gibson Firebird once owned by Johnny Winter and a 1963 Fender Precision bass that Bruce Springsteen played on his first album.

We've included a healthy sampling of the gear on offer in the gallery below, but you can examine the lot in its entirety at guernseys.com.


Jimi Hendrix's 1963 Fender Stratocaster


Jimi Hendrix's 1967 Electric Guild Starfire V


Paul McCartney's 1953 Gold Gibson Les Paul


Prince's Love Symbol Guitar 


Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Signed Fender Stratocaster 


Tom Petty's Signed Takamine EF-360 S


Johnny Winter's 12-string Gibson Firebird


Bruce Springsteen's 1963 Fender Precision Bass





www.guernseys.com
Legendary Guitars & Musical Treasures

Auction Details
Auction: 
December 2, 1PM

Preview: 
December 1, 1PM - 9PM
December 2, 10AM - 1PM

Location: 
Bohemian National Hall
321 East 73rd Street
New York, NY

Online Bidding: 
www.liveauctioneers.com
www.invaluable.com

Absentee Bidding: 
By e-mail, mail and telephone




Paul McCartney 1953 Gold Gibson Les Paul



$ 10,000

A rare 1953 gold Gibson Les Paul. This kind of guitar is often referred to as a "Goldtop." Paul McCartney played this guitar during his recording sessions at Air Studios / Lyndhurst Hall, London, in 2012, while he was working on his album "NEW," produced by Mark Ronson, Ethan Johns, Paul Epworth and Giles Martin. Mark Ronson also used this guitar in his studio sessions in 2015. Paul McCartney needs no introduction. Mark Ronson is one of the most successful British musicians working today, and has won multiple Grammy's, particularly for his production work. He has also had two albums that peaked at #1 and #3 in the British charts.

McCartney and Ronson are not the only famous artists who prefer to play Goldtops. Bono, Duane Allman, and Keith Richards have all played this type of guitar as well. Distinctive for their sound, Goldtops are also of course showstoppers with their glamorous shimmering gold color.

The Goldtop is described by Gibson as the "Les Paul that started it all." In 1952, Gibson teamed with popular 1950s musician and music technology innovator Les Paul to design and produce a line of solid body electric guitars. This 1953 Gibson Les Paul Standard Gold guitar, with modifications from 1957, is an example of the first generation of GibsonÂ’s Les Paul models. 

Until 1958, all Gibson Les Paul guitars had a gold finish, and were often referred to as “Goldtops.” This model started out in 1952 with a trapeze tailpiece derived from a jazz guitar, whose horizontal metal cross piece doubled as the bridge and the saddle, but at some point during 1953 Gibson realized that louder forms of music (and players who needed to adjust for action differences) would need something a little different, and so a combination bridge-tailpiece replaced the original trapeze design. 

However, this particular 1953 Les Paul has the stopbar tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge introduced to the guitar in 1957. It also has Seth Lover-designed "Patent Applied For," or PAF, humbuckers, which were also introduced to Goldtops in 1957. By connecting two pickup coils in series and out-of-phase, Lover and Gibson sought to combat the common 60-cycle hum of conventional pickups. This also gives the guitar a more powerful, beefy tone that has been embraced and utilized by rock stars throughout the following decades. No small surprise that Paul McCartney chose to play this fantastic guitar in studio.

There are several small nicks and dings on the body of the guitar, but it is otherwise in very good condition.

Previous to being included in this auction, this guitar was on display at the Grammy Museum, in Los Angeles, in their "Rare Guitars" exhibition, May 2015-June 2016.

STARTING BID

$10,000.00

BUYER'S PREMIUM

25%