September 28, 2019. Geddy Lee, well known as the bassist for the Rock band Rush for over forty years, is auctioning off six classic guitars. Lee, known primarily as a bassist and who also handled the keyboards for Rush, it turns out has quite a collection of early Gibson and Fender electric guitars. He began collecting after Rush’ 2015 tour concluded and according to him: “his initial goal in seeking out historic and collectible guitars was quite focused: he wanted to acquire a dozen or so guitars that would each pay homage to his personal bass-playing heroes. While it was a straightforward start, the deeper Lee dug into the history of the bass, the wider his interests grew, and he soon found himself purchasing guitars from brands he’d never even experimented with, some of which were built before he even knew how to play.” To that end, he collected guitars as well as basses.
He showed his collection in a book he recently published but has now decided to part with some of the collection – specifically, six electric guitars. The six electric guitars consist of five from Gibson and one Fender, most notably a 1959 Gibson Les Paul in sunburst finish. Highly sought after by collectors, the Les Paul could fetch a hefty price. Looking at photos of the guitar, it has some weathering through the years and there is virtually no flame in the maple top but being that it is owned by Lee I would still expect it to sell in the mid-six figures. There is also a 1967 Gibson Flying V in the auction – the first year Gibson reissued the guitar after it was first introduced in 1958. I would expect this to sell at or near six figures as well.
Mecum Auctions are well known in automotive circles for their muscle car auctions. Lately they have branched out into other high-dollar collectibles as well. You can view the lot from Geddy Lee’s guitars here.
Be sure to check out the guitar collection in the Met Museum’s “Play it Loud” display which is due to move to The Rock and Roll hall of Fame in October. You can also view Van Halen’s Touring Rig housed at The Met here.
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