The guitars will be listed on November 19 and 20 as part of Julien's Auctions' Icons & Idols: Rock 'N' Roll auction
(Image credit: Julien's Auctions)
A trio of guitars belonging to David Gilmour, Elvis Presley and Eddie Van Halen are set to hit the auction block next month.
Up for sale as part of Julien's Auctions' Icons & Idols: Rock 'N' Roll auction – which will be held both online and at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York on November 19 and 20 – the guitars are a Gilmour-owned, heavily stage-used Fender Stratocaster Vintage '57 reissue, a 1972 Martin D-28 acoustic guitar once belonging to Presley, and a stage-used Fender “Frankenstrat” signed by both Eddie and Alex Van Halen.
The Gilmour-owned Fender is one of six vintage Strats reportedly purchased in the mid-'80s by the Pink Floyd guitarist, and is customized to his exact specifications, most notably with EMG single-coil pickups. A backup for his famous Cream #1 guitar, Gilmour refers to this six-string as Cream #2.
It was taken on Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason tours in 1987, 1988 and 1989, as well as their tour supporting 14th album The Division Bell in 1994. The guitar is expected to fetch between $80,000 and $100,000.
The 1972 Martin D-28 acoustic was, according to Julien's, played onstage, and used during the mid- to late-'70s, by Elvis Presley. Gifted to him by his friend Norman Taurog – who also directed the films in which he appeared – the guitar was, until recently, displayed at the Elvis-A-Rama Museum in Las Vegas. It's expected to fetch between $70,000 and $90,000.
And lastly, a Fender “Frankenstrat” played on stage by Eddie Van Halen, and signed by the late guitar icon and his brother and bandmate Alex Van Halen, is also up for grabs, though you'll need somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000, according to Julien's estimate.
The guitar – which features bicycle reflectors on the back to reflect stage lighting – and five guitar picks taped to its body – was reportedly gifted to Kevan Hill, a childhood friend and bandmate of Eddie and Alex Van Halen in their first band, Broken Combs.
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Also part of Julien's Auctions Icons & Idols: Rock 'N' Roll auction is a Eric Clapton-owned and stage-played 1968 Martin D-45 acoustic guitar. The strummer was used heavily during Derek and The Dominos' debut concert at the Lyceum Theatre in London on June 14, 1970, and is expected to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000.
For more information on any of the guitars listed in this auction, head to Julien's Auctions.
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.