Les Paul Fender guitar sells 260% above estimate in California

 

A Fender guitar stood out among a vast selection of music memorabilia from the estate of legendary musician Les Paul on June 8-9.

Les Paul Fender Telecaster
A surprising top lot in the auction


The Beverly Hills sale was held to commemorate what would have been the guitarist's 97th birthday, following his death in 2009. The auction featured an array of personal memorabilia from a career which spanned 80 years, with Paul's own iconic guitar models and equipment selling with excellent results.  

A 1951 Fender No-Caster provided a surprise top lot in the auction, having come from the main rivals to Paul's favoured brand, Gibson. The No-Caster, an adaptation of the perennially popular Telecaster, was signed by Paul on the headstock and featured some of his own modifications. It sold for $216,000, 260% above its high estimate of $60,000.

In 1952, Paul co-designed and endorsed one of the first commercially successful solid-body electric guitars, known as the Gibson Les Paul. It has since become a must-have item for both professional and amateur guitarists. The auction's second highest bids were brought by the first Gibson Les Paul recording model ever made, in a more fitting tribute to Paul's legendary creation.

The 1982 prototype, which bore the serial number 001, had been customised to accommodate a "Paulverizer", one of the many effects modules which Paul invented over the course of his career. The ground-breaking guitar sold for $180,000, against an estimate of $20,000-30,000 while. An early version of the Paulverizer sold for $8,750 later in the auction.

Elsewhere, a complete late 1960s recording console, on which Paul created some of his world-renowned sounds, sold for $106,250 against an estimate of $40,000-60,000. Bidders looking to re-create Les Paul's unique studio effects ensured an impressive 77.5% increase on estimate for the item.

Music memorabilia can provide a brilliant investment for collectors, with the added benefit of the joy of ownership that comes with possessing items from our favourite musicians. Paul Fraser Collectibles has a fantastic Reversokaster electric guitar on offer, which has been signed by all members of the Rolling Stones.

See our full selection of music memorabilia here.

 


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