“My only regret is that I don’t get to play them all as often as I would like”: U2’s Adam Clayton is auctioning off a score of bass guitars that have shaped the band’s sound over the years

A score of instruments from U2 bassist Adam Clayton’s personal collection is set to be auctioned off next month, after a three-week exhibition in Ireland.

The 18-strong collection, housed at The Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland, opened last week and will run until November 9th. Following the exhibition, they’ll be shipped to Nashville to feature as part of Julien’s Auctions’ latest Played, Worn and Torn collection of music memorabilia. The two-day auction takes place at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum’s Municipal Auditorium, November 20-21.

All guitars come from Clayton’s personal collection, marking the first time his bass guitars of choice have been part of such a public showcase.

“I’m fortunate enough to have owned many wonderful instruments in my life, and I have amassed a very personal collection of basses over the last 40 years,” Clayton explains. “They have all become favourites for one reason or another, a reminder of a particular tour or recording session.

“My only regret is that I don’t get to play them all as often as I would like. A musical instrument needs time and attention. I’ll be sad to see these basses go, but this is an opportunity to give each and every one of them a new home in the care of a new owner. And maybe they can become someone else's favourite.”

Among those up for grabs is Clayton’s Sherwood Green Fender Jazz signature guitar, which was used for U2's performance of Invisible on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon on February 17th, 2014.

A year later, it played a starring role on the Innocence + Experience tour in 2015 across Europe, the US, and Canada.

U2 - Invisible (Live on The Tonight Show) - YouTube

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His 200 Lakland Joe Osborn J sunburst bass, played during the U2’s Vertigo tour a decade earlier, as well as on their classic hit One, sits alongside a score of 1960s and '70s Fender basses. Those include a 1964 Jazz in Olympic White, a 1964 Precision Bass in Lake Placid Blue, and a 1978 Sunburst Jazz.

Elsewhere, there’s a 2010 Gold Sparkle Fender Adam Clayton Precision Bass deemed a “mistake” by his guitar technician due to the Jazz Bass-decaled headstock, which could sell for $60,000.

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Other brands get a look in, too. There’s a pair of Warwick Gold Reversos played on U2’s 360 world tour in 2010, and a 2010 Sadowsky Will Lee J Style bass in Green Sparkle.

See Julien’s Auction for more.

Speaking to Bass Player, Clayton once revealed how Bono had pushed for him to use a guitar pick in the band, but believes “there's nothing quite like that contact of pulling the wires”, as he detailed the crux of U2's Grammy-grabbing sound.