LONDON — Music enthusiasts and collectors have an exciting opportunity to acquire guitars previously owned by the iconic Jeff Beck, as Christie’s has announced an upcoming auction featuring over 130 items from the legendary guitarist’s collection. This auction includes approximately 90 guitars belonging to Beck, who was celebrated as a member of the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group before his passing in January 2023 at the age of 78.
The assembled collection is appraised at more than 1 million pounds (around $1.3 million) and features a noteworthy 1954 Gibson Les Paul in an oxblood finish. Beck purchased this particular guitar in Memphis in 1972, using it extensively throughout the decade. This instrument, which graced the cover of Beck’s Grammy-winning 1975 album “Blow by Blow,” is anticipated to fetch between 350,000 pounds and 500,000 pounds ($450,000 and $640,000). Amelia Walker, who oversees Private and Iconic Collections at Christie’s, described the guitar as “a really beautiful instrument, covered in grime and dust and signs of use.”
Walker elaborated that the wear on the instruments adds to their charm. “These are things that he used. They’ve got the indents of his fingernails on the fretboards. Some of them, the strings haven’t been changed for years. He played them hard. He didn’t see them as precious works of art – they were his tools to ply his trade with,” she noted.
Beck rose to fame in the 1960s with the Yardbirds and later embarked on a solo career that blended various genres, including rock, jazz, blues, and opera. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice—once with the Yardbirds and once as a solo artist—and collaborated with musical legends such as Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, and Tina Turner. Renowned for his improvisational talent and distinctive sound, he utilized the whammy bar on his favorite instrument, the Fender Stratocaster, to create unique tones.
Walker praised Beck’s extraordinary guitar techniques, stating, “He had an unparalleled ability to bend entire tones” on the Strat. The auction will also include Beck’s 1954 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster, with an estimated value of 50,000 pounds to 80,000 pounds ($65,000 to $100,000), and a white Strat that Beck relied on for 16 years. This particular guitar was used in various venues, ranging from Ronnie Scott’s jazz club to the Obama White House, and it holds an estimated worth of 20,000 pounds to 30,000 pounds ($26,000 to $39,000).
Recognized as one of the noteworthy guitarists of the 1960s, alongside Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jimi Hendrix, Beck garnered immense respect among his peers, with many labeling him “the ultimate maestro,” according to Walker.
Alongside Beck’s cherished Stratocasters, the auction features a variety of other models, including a Telecaster-Gibson hybrid dubbed the “Tele-Gib,” which is estimated to sell for between 100,000 pounds and 150,000 pounds ($130,000 to $190,000). Walker remarked on Beck’s unique ability, saying, “It didn’t really matter what he was playing, he’d always sound like Jeff Beck.” She continued, “It didn’t matter what the amp was turned to or which guitar, he could still pick it up and make it sound incredible. It’s all in the fingers, and in his brain.”
This auction follows Christie’s earlier sale of items from Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler’s collection, which garnered over 8.8 million pounds ($11.2 million) this year, as well as memorabilia from Pattie Boyd, a model and artist prominent in the 1960s, which sold for 2.8 million pounds ($3.6 million) in March.
Sandra Beck, Jeff Beck’s widow, expressed the emotional challenge of parting with her late husband’s collection but indicated that it is what he would have wanted. “After some hard thinking, I decided they need to be shared, played and loved again,” she stated.
A selection of the guitars will be on display at Christie’s showroom in Los Angeles from December 4 to 6. The entire collection will be available for viewing at Christie’s in London from January 15, culminating in the auction on January 22.