Holy Grail Of Guitars: Ultra Rare Martin Guitar For Sale, Only 14 Ever Made
The Holy Grail of Guitars is up for grabs, and anyone willing to shell out a small fortune can have one of only 14 Martin OM-45 Deluxe models ever made.
The rare instrument is part of an auction put on by California collector Hank Risan, who is offering 265 pieces from his collection through Guernsey’s. The auction includes some of the rarest vintage guitars known to exist, as well as some famous pieces as well.
The collection spans more than 160 years, with the oldest model from 1840 and the newest from 2000 — a re-creation of the Holy Grail of Guitars, perfect for someone who doesn’t have the money to pay for the original itself.
The collection also includes a 1900 Manuel Ramirez Flamenco and a 1939 D’Angelico New Yorker, made by Greenwich Village guitar maker John D’Angelico. His works have been called the “Stradivarius of guitars,” Guernsey’s President Arlan Ettinger said.
There are famous guitars as well, including a 1941 Gibson SJ-200 played by Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and a 1959 Gibson J-200 once owned by Eric Clapton. There is also a 1967 Gibson SJN Country Western, which Mick Jagger used for his 1988 album Primitive Cool.
But the crown jewel of the auction is the OM-45, Ettinger noted.
“The OM-45 Deluxe is the holy grail of guitars,” he said.
Hank Risan has been a lifelong guitar lover, buying his a vintage Martin when he was 16. Since then he amassed some big buying potential as the founder of the virtual Museum of Musical Instruments and the CEO of Media Rights Technologies Inc.,
Risan has also courted controversy because of his love of music. After investing $20 million into a song downloading site, a judge ruled that he was banned from streaming or selling songs by the Beatles or other digital holdouts like AC/DC and Pink Floyd.
Risan had offered Beatles songs for 25 cents each, but they were performed by a “virtual cover band” using algorithms to create “psycho-simulations” of the works.
He will likely make a lot of that back by selling the Holy Grail of Guitars, which is expected to fetch a hefty sum.
