Bonham's is auctioning off a number of Eric Clapton's guitars and amps at their NYC location on March 11. The money raised will go for his Crossroads addiction center in Antigua. I looked through all the lots and there are a number of very nice pieces in there. Some had surprisingly low estimates...although they may sell for much more. I wonder when Keith or Ronnie will auction off some of their old gear? Probably not until after they die. Here's the link to the site:

[www.bonhams.com]

Well done, Eric, hats off to you.

[www.cbsnews.com]

There's an article in the UK Guitarist magazine, and many of the items do not have that good provenance. Many guitars are spares used on tour, and descriptions read ‘might have been played by Clapton’. With amps the same, with descriptions saying ‘might have been used in so-and-so jam session’. Most gear are also just company give-ways that really didn’t suit Clapton at all. I have the feeling that this collection was found in a forgotten warehouse somewhere. One of the only real interesting bits is his ’57 twin he used for a long time, and perhaps one of the Music Man stacks used in the 70’s.

Mathijs

I'd agree with that, although someone obviously thought the Blackie Replica was interesting enough to spend $51,240 on.

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Mathijs
There's an article in the UK Guitarist magazine, and many of the items do not have that good provenance. Many guitars are spares used on tour, and descriptions read ‘might have been played by Clapton’. With amps the same, with descriptions saying ‘might have been used in so-and-so jam session’. Most gear are also just company give-ways that really didn’t suit Clapton at all. I have the feeling that this collection was found in a forgotten warehouse somewhere. One of the only real interesting bits is his ’57 twin he used for a long time, and perhaps one of the Music Man stacks used in the 70’s.

Mathijs

Mathijs, I agree completely with your assessment of this collection as mostly spares, "never-played", and a few really nice vintage guitars and stage/touring gear. Despite that, every one of the pieces sold and most for far above their pre-auction extimates. Either Bonham's had a few shill bidders in the audience, or there are people out there willing to shell out top-dollar for some stuff of dubious provenance. One can only imagine how much the Stones could get for some of the old gear they have collecting dust in warehouses and storage lockers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-03-14 20:28 by TornAndFried.

I acutally put in a bid (or two) on one the guitars, I new it had never been used by the man but it was a guitar i had tried and had considered buying a few years back. The expected sale price was between £200- £400. I was a bit shocked when the bidding shot way beyond that and it sold for around $10,000. At least the cash goes to a good cause!

It would be great if he would action *all* his guitars...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-03-14 19:36 by Koen.

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mr_c_ox
I acutally put in a bid (or two) on one the guitars, I new it had never been used by the man but it was a guitar i had tried and had considered buying a few years back. The expected sale price was between £200- £400. I was a bit shocked when the bidding shot way beyond that and it sold for around $10,000. At least the cash goes to a good cause!

One thing I don't quite understand is why Clapton's rehab center in Antigua would need any money. I mean, he is a multi-millionaire on par with the Stones (i.e. hundreds of millions) and surely this place must charge a lot of money for at least a number of it's clients. Not to say it's not all legit...I just don't know why he needs to raise funds for it.

Most of the stuff was useless NEW stuff BUT The Musicman, 65 Marshall, 57 Twin, the Beano prototypes would have been cool stuff to have. At the end of the day, it's for an extremely good cause, he gets a hefty tax write off and 'might have been used' translates into 'he used it on a tour'. Every item had a serial number associated with it and was in fact owned by the man himself. In a warehouse, whorehouse, outhouse, those items more than likely will retain or increase in value.

A very close friend of mine sold him a 1930's National Tri-Cone and a 2001 Lipstick Red Firebird. I have yet to see them ever up for auction but have seen the Tri-cone put to use here in Saint Louis. He loved the tri-cone for sure.

CBII