The Most Expensive Guitars Ever? If Money Were No Object
Cheque books at the ready...
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When looking at the most expensive guitars ever, you immediately think of those that belonged to legendary players sold at auction. Not this time. Here we’re checking out Thomann’s biggest ticket items.
Thomann’s Most Expensive Guitars:
Dollar Dollar Bills
Us guitarists always spend too much money on guitars, and other gear that goes with them. It’s kind of the law, right? Maybe we invest a few hundred dollars here, one or two thousand pounds there.
You may have even splashed the cash on your own expensive axe. Compared to this list though, your new Les Paul Studio or Custom Shop Strat is pocket change! We’re not even talking about auctioned off lots either, these are all brand new, and available to by at Thomann as we speak.
So, let’s look at the most expensive guitars on sale, and ponder the question, ‘what if money were no object?’. Oh, and does money buy class? You can be the judge of that…
PRS Special 22 SH PS Pale Moon
What do we have here? *PRS guitars are renowned for having a steep price tag. But this is in a different league. Oh, and this is the most budget friendly entry in this list…
Initially, this shares a lot of components with other top end PRS units. Such as the humbucking pickups with a coil split function for each, along with a Gen III tremolo system. This 22 fret model features Pale Moon Ebony wood, not your usual attribute found with these guitars. It also has a semi-hollow body for added lightness and sustain.
Moreover, we’ve got an Ebony fingerboard complete with gold glimmer inlays. It certainly looks striking enough, but I’m sure that it’ll play just like any other PRS model. You’ll get change out of £15,000. Bargain.
Gibson LP Std 59 Greeny Murphy Lab
For years, Fleetwood Mac, Thin Lizzy and Metallica fans have all been chasing various iterations of Greeny based guitars. You can get into an *Epiphone Greeny signature for just over four figures, so what makes this one so special?
Murphy Lab makes up a prestigious corner of the Gibson Custom Shop division. Specifically, in the careful aging and relic-ing of high end guitars. Their attention to detail is unmatched! They laser scan original guitars to fully understand the exact inner workings of 1950s/1960s Gibson guitars. Even coming up with a revised nitrocellulose lacquer that ages like the original finishes.
Most notably played by Garry Moore, and now owned by Kirk Hammett, this is as close as you’ll get to the real thing. Unless you’re buying a genuine vintage unit, this is potentially the most expensive new *Les Paul that you can buy. Ideal for Peter Green fanboys too!
Fender Walyon Jennings Tele
Next up, to my all time favourite style of guitar. The Telecaster is a timeless piece of design, with one of the broadest sound scopes. This particular model is a *master built model from the Fender Custom Shop.
In theory, this is the best of the best, of the best. Limited to just 70 pieces worldwide, we get a Quartersawn maple neck and a body made of specifically selected ash wood. But that finish… Really? Underneath that custom made leather top, it is actually a butterscotch blonde tele.
We’ve also got 50s spec pickups, hardware and bridge components. Notably the ashtray bridge cover, which I’m a sucker for! Your eyewatering purchase also includes a certificate of authenticity, custom shop strap and case. As far as Telecasters go this is very special, but it’s not really for me.
Ramirez Anniversary
Time for some unplugged action in our quest for the most expensive guitars ever. We haven’t even got to the biggest ticket item yet, and this one just makes me laugh…
You’d be forgiven in thinking that it’s just any other run of the mill classical guitar that you’d find in any practice room gathering dust in the corner. This is actually a handcrafted piece of Spanish royalty, built to mark 125 years of *Ramirez guitars.
Likewise, this is also a limited model, 125 of which will be made. We get one-off machine heads and masterclass materials like solid Madagascar back and sides. It’s easy to mock a fancy finish to reflect the price tag, but this isn’t special enough to justify the nearly £30,000 price tag.
Martin D-300
Okay then, what is the most expensive guitar at Thomann? To give you a flavour, last year we looked at the hilarious Martin D-200, which was €135,000. Well, you could buy two of those for less than what we’re about to see! *mic drop*
Drum roll please! The Martin D-300 costs *€369,000 / £327,086. This limited edition dreadnought acoustic marks the 3 millionth mass-produced Marin guitar. Again, we’ve got a slip of paper that tells people how much money you’ve got. Oh, sorry, no that’s the certificate of authenticity. I actually like that it tells you which model you have out of a potential 30 units.
Visually, it’s not actually that offensive. However, on top of the Rio rosewood back, there’s some kind of tree. It’s nice enough, but looks like the sort of thing your grandma would have on a cushion that only gets brought out at Christmas.
For collectors, I can perhaps see the appeal. But considering that it costs certainly more than my house, and many others too I’m sure, it’s a no from me.
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