Iconic Les Paul 'Black Beauty' guitar to hit auction block

Reuters ^ | 2015-01-30 | Alicia Powell

[WhiskeyX]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One deep-pocketed bidder will get a chance to own a piece of rock and roll history when the iconic Les Paul guitar known as "Black Beauty" goes up for auction in New York next month.

The electric instrument, which is the original prototype for the Les Paul Custom guitars made the Gibson Guitar Company, will be sold by Guernsey's Auctions at the Arader Galleries on Feb. 19th.

No pre-auction estimate, or reserve price, has been put on the instrument. But some music experts believe it could exceed the record auction price of $965,000 paid in 2013 for the guitar owned and played by Bob Dylan at his first electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

[MeshugeMikey]

sadly it will likely be sold to someone who will never PLAY it..

I was at that concert where Bob DYlan...."went electric" but dont remember the guitar....or much else about the concert...

[cripplecreek]

I always preferred the Ram Jam version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85114404&v=ZbjyuDYtAtk&x-yt-ts=1422579428

[sauropod]

Dylan played a Strat.

If I had to fork out more than $900k for a guitar, I’d never play it either.

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[stephenjohnbanker]

If I must guess, this guitar will exceed 1 million. Nothing is priceless, but this comes mighty close.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Les Paul, bartender;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wssezWBPugM

[left that other site]

Gorgeous.

[evets]

Les Paul's original electric guitar...the "Log"

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

More on this from the auction site. Other Les Paul items available there and a Chet Atkins guitar;

http://www.guernseys.com/Guernseys%20New/tom_doyle.html

[MeshugeMikey]

thats what I remember from years later..yes.

900K? well if I had a few million extra bucks,..maybe.

I once had an old Fender Broadcaster that I loved dearly.

[Walmartian]

Yep. A fence post with a neck on it. Kind of like playing a Les Paul.

[dainbramaged]

Thankfully it won’t end up on Pawn Stars like Mary Ford’s guitar which Rick Harrison paid around 80K for - IIRC.

[roofgoat]

that’s a beautiful guitar. Like that with silver hardware.

[Drew68]

If I must guess, this guitar will exceed 1 million. Nothing is priceless, but this comes mighty close.

That's a big "maybe" and only because it is a prototype. Aside from this, the vintage electric market collapsed in 2008. For a while there, the sky looked to be the limit but the days of selling a refinished '58 Standard with Bigsby holes and a repaired headstock for a quarter mil are over.

[Mama Shawna]

If I had to fork out more than $900k for a guitar, I’d never play it either.

I'd play it EVERY DAY!! Guitars get better as they age and are played. You should see my Martin. Scratched to hell, doesn't look like much, but sounds SWEET.

[stephenjohnbanker]

I didn’t know about the collapse, but in 2008, most collectibles took a big hit. I agree on the prototype.

[MeshugeMikey]

Here’s a somwhat older recording from a guy who was at the same newport folk festival where bob dylan “went electric”

no guitar at all on this version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgL0mM2qPGY

[Michael.SF.]

I always think it’s pretty cool when the young guys pay tribute to the older generations.

[Drew68]

I didn’t know about the collapse, but in 2008, most collectibles took a big hit.

Yep.. It got pretty crazy there for a while. Baby Boomer empty-nesters were taking out second mortgages on their homes to buy the toys of their youths. People were paying $60,000+ for beat-up pre-CBS Strats as "investments" thinking they'd continue to balloon in value.

There's still a market for vintage guitars but only certain models, certain years and perfect conditions. As Boomers die off, I predict the market will be flooded with vintage guitars, --but the Gen-X kids and Millennial grandchildren who will be inheriting them just don't have the same attachment to these instruments that their Baby Boomer parents and grandparents did. Expect to see these sold in estate sales for fractions of what they were valued at in 2007.