cmatthes

Mike - you have brought SO MUCH joy and energy to this little corner of the Internet and those of us fortunate enough to have landed here and been part of this community over the last 28 years. Your talent is a rare gift, but we all know that YOU are the real engine and vision behind the art you’ve created, and we all appreciate this. As you and I have discussed often, we only get one life and have to make the most of our time and try our best to make things a little bit brighter for others. You’ve done that, and continue to do that - we’re here for you and hope that even a slight reduction in stress will make a difference with things. Hang in there, and know you have more people who truly care about you out here!

Not sure how familiar you are with Cheap Trick or how bidding at an auction house works, but from your post, I'm assuming you have a limited knowledge of either! Rick really has no financial worries, and could have retired years ago and lived off the songwriting income alone. Rick also didn't fire Bun E. (not "Bunny"). Bun had been having worsening health issues that limited the band's ability to tour beyond limited/short opening sets, and tensions between he and Robin Zander finally came to a head 16-17 years ago and he was then replaced as touring drummer (and eventually performing member) by Rick's son, Daxx, who had filled in for Bun E. many times over the years before things came to a head. Bun is still a 25% co-owner and business partner and he shares the income the band generates without making a single drum hit. Band litigation got kind of ugly for 3-4 years, but appears to be settled and they've moved along by now. It is unfortunate, and got ugly, but that was settled a decade and a half ago, when they went their separate ways (except for the RNRHOF induction show in Brooklyn in 2016 where Bun played 4 songs with the band). As far as auctions go, there is nothing resembling a trick here. If you haven't participated in an online pre-auction like this or sat in an auction house (I have in the past and successfully bid on a guitar), everything that Julien's is doing is exactly how it's always done. You ALWAYS have to show extensive proof of who you are and that you have the ability to pay for an item and the house premium if you throw a successful winning bid. This is to protect the auction house as well as serious bidders from scam or shill bidders as well as to keep things fair by fully verifying and vetting prospective bidders. It's not eBay! House premiums can range from 24-28% at most places and those are tacked onto the hammer price, as well as any additional fees, taxes and shipping costs that get added in after the fact. These celeb auctions are not for the faint of heart...or wallet, typically. I just watched the entire Johnny Marr Christie's auction a few weeks ago, which was far more significant than this one. It had a 350 page bound, lavishly-illustrated top-quality book available, and was heavily promoted by displays in NYC and London beforehand. That raised close to $5M, which was 3 times the pre-sale estimate. As far as the guitars, #0004 is honestly in pretty rough shape, which is likely why it was retired from touring nearly 40 years ago - the fingerboard is separated from the neck at the first few frets and it will require some work to get it back up and running condition (according to Mike Adams, the guitar tech who prepped the instruments for this auction). Rick also has displayed most of his extensive collection of guitars and personal/band memorabilia for fans to check out in person via several museum exhibitions over the last few decades, and now has many choice pieces on permanent display at the HRC Casino in Rockford. Nothing (guitar-wise) I've seen in the auction is what I'd consider Rick's "keepers". There are some cool guitars, but nothing I'd consider "iconic" apart from #0004, and there are only a few things I really would have dug - the Red and Yellow Sunbursts, a Lonnie Mack V, the '65 SG, '81 Explorer, the "One on One" Standard, and the '84 LP XPL. Maybe the #000 of 000 Korina RN model, which DOESN'T have the ORIGINAL checkerboard case despite what the auction copy says, because that case has been sitting in my basement since December, 1998. Trust me, he's not letting any of his really good stuff go here, and he still has a shit-ton more lying around and in the vaults...

Always loved Mike in that band.

The flag graphic finishes were pretty rare, but honestly, not really all that desirable - I'm talking about ANY of the flag designs they did. That wasn't a Custom Order or anything - Blitz guitars with Kahlers were regular fare in '84-'86, and the flag graphics (Confederate, USA, Union Jack) were done in small numbers, but just as stock graphics if a dealer ordered it or they just did the finish and shipped it out. I would have less than zero interest in that particular one, but for somebody who had to have that, I'd think you'd be overpaying at $1k, honestly.

You just did. Ted is currently out of commission, but we're looking into this as best as we can - and yes, spoofed IP addresses are being used. Proceed with caution at least for the present time, and unless you 100% know the person and trust the communications, DO NOT send PPF&F, Money Orders, or any other non-recourse method. If the seller is open to sending current pictures, videos or FaceTime/phone calls and that can be arranged, all the better. Click on the seller's profile and see what their post history is as well. If they haven't been active in 5-10 years and are all of a sudden posting items for sale, that should be at least a yellow light, if not a red flag! Thanks.

Just a punch up for the Quilter UK Superblock. It’s the lightest AC30 you’ll ever play through!

Geez. "Play Authentic" or whatever, dude.

Please use your due diligence when interacting with sellers on the "For Sale" portion of our site. We've had some hacked profiles of long-time members and inactive members purportedly selling high-dollar guitars on here. We're doing our best to keep the scammers at bay, but if you see something that looks odd or get a strange response that involves high pressure, check it out thoroughly from third party sources or use an outside communication (FB, phone/text, etc.) to contact the seller - do not rely solely upon profile information, as a scammer will be able to control that. Also, if it looks too good to be true, well...

Maybe it's just me, but...

It's NOT an original era Sunburst. That's an 89-90 Sunburst "reissue", most likely. It looks like the headstock decal could bean aftermarket replacement, but the photo is so blurry (NOBODY should take a blurry photo in 2026, unless they're still using a flip phone or something) I can't tell for certain. If it has an inked serial number, it would be the original run, if the serial is stamped/impressed and starts with an 8, 9 or 0, then that is your proof. Keep that in mind also, since it won't be as valuable as a 77-85 Sunburst, and even less so with a headstock break. The pickups, if stock, are Duncans, not the original, coveted DiMarzios (PAF or Hamer "Slammer") and there's a wider space between the Sustainblock and the bridge pickup ring. Not sure what the guy is asking for this, but it shouldn't be at a premium.

Ugh. He may be the worst know-nothing on the internet. His voice alone…

The 3 Zandards were all spectacular instruments and each one had a different top selected so they wouldn’t look identical. I remember taking pics of them for Elduave’s shop when they came in and was kinda kicking myself that I had just ordered a Greenburst Standard at the time and couldn’t swing both! The way Standards are getting up there, this one is right on the money and less than what a new Gibson copy of one sells for!

Aw man…I’ve totally done similar things. Ive hear that KK and Ripper are REALLY good out there…

God, that Trogly guy is absolutely horrible.

Uh...