tbonesullivan Posted March 13 Posted March 13 Apparently the record for "Most Expensive Guitar Ever Sold" had to be changed several times in the past few days, as late massively rich guitar collector and businessman Jim Irsay's collection has been up for auction at Christies. Currently FIVE of the top ten most expensive guitars are guitars from the auction, including the entire top three. Those sold at the current auction are those in bold. David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster – $14,550,000 Jerry Garcia’s “Tiger” guitar – $11,560,000 Kurt Cobain’s Smells Like Teen Spirit Fender Mustang – $6,907,000 Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Martin D-18E – $6,010,000 Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged Martin 000-42 – $4,101,000 Eddie Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher Kramer – $3,932,000 Eric Clapton’s “The Fool” 1964 Gibson SG Standard – $3,003,000 John Lennon’s Framus Hootenanny 12-string – $2,857,000 Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer – $2,734,000 “Reach Out to Asia” Fender Stratocaster – $2,700,000 I should mention that the Gilmour Strat sold at just under 4 million in 2019, so that's definitely a good investment, I guess. There are still some further auctions that might be affordable for the "minor aristocracy", or even, dare I say, "regular" people. But you have to be looking for a lap steel guitar. https://www.christies.com/events/the-jim-irsay-collection/about 1 Quote
velorush Posted March 13 Posted March 13 27 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said: David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster – $14,550,000 And to think how put out we get when we see a vintage Hamer that's been 'de-Kahlered.' 🤣 2 6 Quote
HamerHokie Posted March 13 Posted March 13 This is just insane. Who is willing to pay that much for a guitar? Think of what Page's doubleneck must be worth! Also - after the boomers are gone, who would pay this much for a guitar? 6 Quote
Disturber Posted March 13 Posted March 13 All strats sound the same. Someone should have told the buyer. 6 Quote
tbonesullivan Posted March 13 Author Posted March 13 1 hour ago, HamerHokie said: This is just insane. Who is willing to pay that much for a guitar? Think of what Page's doubleneck must be worth! Also - after the boomers are gone, who would pay this much for a guitar? No idea... I'm sure whoever gets it is either gonna talk all about how they got it, or it'll remain hidden until they pass away. I don't see any companies having interest at that price point. Fender doesn't need it to copy to make a Gilmour strat. Still, must be plenty of rich Pink Floyd fans out there, as both Gilmour guitars went for well over the estimate. 1 Quote
hamerhead Posted March 13 Posted March 13 Looks like a list of people with more money than brains. 2 Quote
Steve Haynie Posted March 13 Posted March 13 3 hours ago, HamerHokie said: Also - after the boomers are gone, who would pay this much for a guitar? Are there that many van Gogh fans today? Prices for his paintings are still high. The art world has been trained to believe that some objects are worth more than others. The guitar collectors of the future will need to have something of the same way of thinking to uphold the values paid in this recent auction. Irsay's rock star owned guitars will always be promoted as iconic. They have to in order to justify the price. Are there people buying Bing Crosby or Ella Fitzgerald music today? Yes. They just do not have the appeal, and sales, they once did. They were incredibly important in their day, so they will always be heralded as "icons." How many people are collecting Crosby and Fitzgerald memorabilia? The Hollywood collectors are still paying six figure amounts for dresses worn by famous actresses like Audrey Hepburn even though fewer and fewer people recognize her. Just enough people with money still do. Gilmour's Strat might as well be a non-fungible token now. There will always be someone viewing Pink Floyd on a legendary level. 2 Quote
tbonesullivan Posted March 13 Author Posted March 13 Another thing to note is that Jim Irsay was only 65 when he passed away. There are plenty of people his age and older with crap tons of money, as well as people decades younger who some of his collection will appeal too. He didn't just collect guitars either, and things like the first draft of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" were also a part of this auction. Predicted to go at around 2.5 to 5 million, it ended up going for just over 12. His collection is honestly exceptionally well curated and much of it was definitely historically as well as culturally important. For the guitars, he also was a player, and tomorrow it looks like most of the "player" guitars are going up, which also look quite nice, but are only really remarkable in that they were part of the Irsay collection. Which yes, I admit sounds rather odd when there is a Gibson Les Paul 1958 Burst, two 1960 Bursts, and a circa 1971 Flying V as part of the auction. However there's also a lot of "modern" production guitars, including a bunch Martin and Collings Acoustics. I would water the Martin Museum however may also be in the game, as there are some Martins from the 1930s as well. 3 Quote
Disturber Posted March 14 Posted March 14 15 hours ago, velorush said: And to think how put out we get when we see a vintage Hamer that's been 'de-Kahlered.' 🤣 I did not know it once had a Kahler? Interesting. (Then again, I never listened to P Floyd or Gilmour. Way overrated hippie music. And Waters is a commie). If it is de-Kahlered then it should have lost half it's value. So in reality the buyer got it cheap. 4 Quote
Dave Scepter Posted March 14 Posted March 14 3 hours ago, Disturber said: Way overrated hippie music. And Waters is a commie). WHAT?.. Pfft... oh yeah, you're the Tears for Fears fanboi huh?.. But I do have to to agree with you on the commie remark though.🤣 3 Quote
Saul Goodman Posted March 14 Posted March 14 I have one that's not been de-Kahlered. I'd sell it for $7 million. 1 4 Quote
velorush Posted March 14 Posted March 14 1 hour ago, Saul Goodman said: I have one that's not been de-Kahlered. I'd sell it for $7 million. Ah, missing pickguard screws. Four meelion at most... 4 Quote
bry4321 Posted March 14 Posted March 14 3 hours ago, Saul Goodman said: I have one that's not been de-Kahlered. I'd sell it for $7 million. does that include shipping? 1 Quote
HamerHokie Posted March 14 Posted March 14 13 minutes ago, bry4321 said: does that include shipping? This reminds me - every time I see a '59 Les Paul on Reverb selling for $250k...with an additional $600 for shipping...I'm offended at the shipping fee. 2 4 Quote
geoff_hartwell Posted March 15 Posted March 15 On 3/13/2026 at 12:23 PM, velorush said: And to think how put out we get when we see a vintage Hamer that's been 'de-Kahlered.' 🤣 I once played with Jimmy Thackeray and his strat had the space filled with *bowling ball* material 😳 He also had a 50s LP jr that he said never intonated right until he had the bridge studs hand drilled- freehand with no measuring - by Danny Gatton. 🤷🏼♂️😂 5 Quote
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