“A true artifact of musical genius”: Frank Zappa’s ‘Baby Snakes’ SG is heading to auction for the first time – and expected to sell for half a million dollars

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The heavily modified SG copy was bought for $500 and became one of his most well-known guitars

Frank Zappa
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Frank Zappa’s storied ‘Baby Snakes’ SG is headed to auction for the first time, more than 50 years after he bought it off a budding luthier backstage in Phoenix.

The once-damaged SG copy was revived and Frankenstein'd by 19-year-old Bart Nagel, a student at Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, before it was sold to Zappa in July 1974. Before the sale, Nagel replaced its neck for a three-piece mahogany construction, capped it with a 23-fret ebony fingerboard – an upgrade from the 22-fret original – and gave its body some elegant inlays and detailing.

Zappa then handed it to another luthier, Rex Bogue for electronic modifications. Those included a custom onboard preamp with an 18dB boost and phase-switching, and tone-shaping circuitry, resulting in a smorgasbord of on-body controls that play into Zappa’s chameleon-like employment of his electric guitars.

The SG featured regularly on stage and in the studio. It can be seen and heard during his appearance on The Mike Douglas Show in 1976, where he performed Black Napkins, as well as on his Halloween 77 show, the 1979 Baby Snakes film, and its 1983 soundtrack.

It is still in great condition and Heritage Auctions is expecting it to sell for around $500,000. Bids will start at $300K.

“Hitting the market for the very first time, the ‘Baby Snakes’ SG is a true artifact of musical genius,” says Aaron Piscopo, Heritage's Director of Vintage Guitars & Musical Instruments. “This guitar embodies the boundless intelligence, innovation, and creativity that defined Zappa’s career.”

Heritage's latest auction will also see the sale of 'Pattie', a 1913 Gibson Style O archtop acoustic guitar owned by Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Steve Vai’s Alcatrazz and David Lee Roth-era Jackson SL Series Soloist, built and presented to Vai by Grover Jackson himself, is also included in the lot.

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Frank Zappa Baby Snakes SG
(Image credit: Heritage Auctions)

The auction is set to take place on December 5. Head to Heritage Auctions for more.

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Phil Weller
Phil Weller

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.

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