One of the greatest pieces a collector of music memorabilia can acquire is undoubetbly a guitar. Guitars come in all shapes, sizes, condition and prices. You have electric guitars and acoustic guitars, guitars that were beaten up by the musician, guitars that were kept in the case and in pristine condition, guitars that were used on legendary albums, guitars that were simply autographed by the musician by a fan waiting outside a concert… and everything in between. When it comes to collecting guitars as music memorabilia, guitars that have some link to a historically significant event are always most coveted, and therefore, most valuable. Collectionzz members have many great guitars in their collections, and we are going to take a look, in no particular order, at some guitars which I believe to be the best of the best!
EDDIE VEDDER (PEARL JAM) AUTOGRAPHED & INSCRIBED GIBSON EPIPHONE
This is one of the nicest autographed Pearl Jam items I have ever seen. Not only is the signature on the body of the guitar, which is preferred, Eddie makes a wave out of the ‘E’ in his name… a very nice touch. But the undoubtable highlight of this piece is the inscription of the lyrics to ‘Release,’ a classic and beloved Pearl Jam song. See it here: https://goo.gl/1TA2Gz
BRIAN WILSON (THE BEACH BOYS) AUTOGRAPHED & INSCRIBED YAHAMA ACOUSTIC GUITAR
If we are talking about inscribed guitars, this Brian Wilson signed and inscribed “God Only Knows” Yamaha acoustic guitar has to be in the conversation. For one, this song is one of the finest written in the history of mankind, that will be studied long after we are all gone. Paul McCartney has called it the greatest pop song ever written, and he may be the most qualified person to make such an assessment! See it here: https://goo.gl/6Uwn4u
JERRY GARCIA (GRATEFUL DEAD) AUTOGRAPHED FENDER STRATOCASTER
An incredible single signed Jerry Garcia guitar from the collection of legendary concert promoter, Larry Magid. Anyone who collects Jerry Garcia or Grateful Dead memorabilia knows how difficult it is to find a genuine Jerry Garcia signed guitar. There are simply none ever available, and never do they have as exceptional a signature as this! See it here: https://goo.gl/py9gJd
PETE TOWNSHEND (THE WHO) 1964 FENDER STRATOCASTER STAGE USED AND SMASHED GUITAR
We did say guitars come in all shapes and sizes! In the case of Pete Townshend, he’s known to have smash a few guitars in his day! This extremely well-documented used and smashed guitar was from The Who’s performance on December 1, 1967 at Long Island Arena in Commack, New York. It doesn’t get much better than being able to own an actual piece of a guitar used by Pete Townshend at arguably the height of The Who’s popularity — with photographic proof. See it here: https://goo.gl/jD2ytY
KURT COBAIN (NIRVANA) USED, SMASHED, FULLY PLAYABLE FENDER STRATOCASTER AKA DESTRUCTO STRAT
Kurt Cobain gave this “Destructo Strat” guitar away to a fan at the end of Nirvana’s February 16, 1994 show at Palais Omnisport de Rennes, France. Kurt had 5 of these lefty black and white “Desctructo Strats” made by Fender specifically for the end of set jamming and destruction during the In Utero Tour. This guitar was smashed on stage at a previous show, and then repaired by Kurt’s guitar tech, and put back in the guitar rack. He didn’t play it on the night he gave it away (which is why this is a complete guitar!), but after the encore, took it out of his guitar rig and handed it to a fan at the front of the pit. It is truly a piece of music history. See it here: https://goo.gl/rpnR3s
MIKE MCCREADY’S (PEARL JAM, TEMPLE OF THE DOG) 1962 FENDER TELECASTER
This 1962 Fender Telecaster reissue was owned and used by Mike McCready to record Temple of the Dog album, and was used heavily during early Pearl Jam shows in the early ‘90s (many in 1992), including the legendary PinkPop festival. It was also famously used by Mike in the Evenflow music video, and many Pearl Jam promotional photos. The guitar is hand painted/decorated with designs, handwriting and many Temple of the Dog logo stickers. When Temple of the Dog reunited in 2016, the owner of the guitar loaned it back to Mike and he played it again on tour! See it here: https://goo.gl/HyMMHo
KEITH RICHARDS (ROLLING STONES) SIGNED CUSTOM SHOP MICAWBER
Eric Clapton gifted the 1954 Fender Telecaster to Keith Richards for his 27th birthday, when the Rolling Stones were preparing to work on Exile on Main Street. He named it Micawber after a Charles Dickens character. This nearly-identical Fender Custom shop Blackguard was retrofitted with the same Armadillo bridge as installed for Keith, in addition to other modifications done by Keith Richards to Micawber. It was hand-signed for the collector by Keith Richards on the pick guard (he declines to sign guitar bodies) in Beverly Hills. A simply amazing piece! See it here: https://goo.gl/aaodQC
ACE FREHLEY (KISS) BUDOKAN SIGNED & AGED LES PAUL #1 OF 100
This was Ace’s #1 guitar studio recordings and live performances from 1977–1980 and then again on Kiss’s Reunion Tour in 1996, the guitar has become highly iconic by being the most filmed guitar with Ace during the height of Kiss’s success. Ace calls it the Budokan Les Paul after being used at Japan’s Budokan Concert Hall in 1977. This Gibson Les Paul #1 of 100 aged replica’s is not only signed but was also owned by Ace Frehley, making this item extremely rare! See it here: https://goo.gl/wLrTdf
These guitars are more than just wood, knobs and strings. Each of them have an extraordinary amount of depth, and are tied to the musicians in various ways. Whether they are one of a kinds, inscribed, used or owned, each of them is special for their own reasons. There are many more guitars than these on Collectionzz, and I encourage you to visit the site and discover which guitars interest you the most!
