We all love hobbies and pastimes. Music is one of the most popular leisure activities, specifically the guitar.
This is one of the reasons why guitar players have purchased more guitars over the past few years. While electric guitars are popular among players, you would be surprised at how many people play acoustic guitars.
Not only that, but how many people are willing to spend good money on a rare or novelty acoustic guitar? What are some of the most expensive acoustic guitars that have been sold? Here are some of the most expensive ones that we could find.
Martin Guitars are some of the most prominent guitars. Some of the most notable players either actively play Martins or at least own one. But would you think a Martin acoustic sold for $400k? The pre-war Martins are known as some of the most expensive Martin models and can go anywhere between $320k-$400k.
The D-45 is the most expensive model and is worth 20 times more than the average Martin acoustic. Even so, Eric Clapton's D-45 sold at an auction for $625k!
It's nicknamed "pre-war" because they were first made in 1936. But that's not what makes them so expensive. They're made of Brazilian rosewood, which is extremely pricey. Brazilian rosewood is a vulnerable wood species, so anything made of Brazilian rosewood increases in quality.
Rest assured, other than the Brazilian rosewood material, there are minor differences in construction between the D-45 and other Martin acoustics.
Martinss are a recurring theme on this list!
This guitar, in particular, is highly sought after and is even considered a Holy Grail of acoustics. There are a few reasons why this guitar is worth a pretty penny. First, there were only 11 models made, making it one of the rarest guitars in the world. The rarity of this model contributes to the price point - with at least one known to be insured for a million dollars!
It's also said to be one of the finest-made guitars, in general. However, it's not worth as much as the D-45.
This Martin is already valuable for being a prewar model, but its history really seals the deal. This gorgoeus guitar was used to record Tears in Heaven, Layla, and Clapton’s MTV Unplugged Sessions.
The 1939 famous instrument was sold for $791,500 in 2004, with a lot of the auction profits going to charity.
The D'Angelico Teardrop is a custom-made guitar for Pete Girardi of the band The Teardrops. This guitar not only gets its name from the band but also the body- it's in the shape of a teardrop.
Luthier John D'Angelico designed this guitar in 1957. Its age not only gives it value but also the general impressive quality that the guitar holds. In addition, only the original and two replicas were ever made.
Because it's so sought after, buyers are willing to pay a pretty penny for this guitar. Back in 1993, a collector bought the original for $150k. Today, it's said to be worth $500k.
This Martin shows up in this list not because of its age, quality, and rare materials, but because of its previous owner. This Martin was played by Kurt Cobain in 1994 for Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance - one of the most iconic of all time.
This is not only one of the most acoustic guitars ever sold but one of the most expensive guitars auctioned off, in general. Pete Freedman (owner of Rode Microphones) was the winning bidder when Cobain's acoustic went on auction in 2020. Freedman paid $6 million for the guitar!
Okay, so this is also an electric guitar, but John Lennon's old guitar still sold for a pretty penny. Specifically, $2.4 million in 2015!
The craziest thing about Lennon's J-160E is that he only had it for two years in the 60s. What happened to it? It was stolen! Lennon found the guitar missing after a London gig in 1963.
The guitar re-emerged in 1967 at a San Diego music store. There was no mention of its previous owner, and it wasn't traced back to Lennon until it was identified by Beatles expert Andy Babiuk in 2008. He traced the serial number back to the original receipt from Lennon's purchase.
But what makes this guitar special is that Lennon used this guitar to write and record some of the most famous Beatles songs, such as "I Want to Hold Your Hand." He used this guitar to record the album With The Beatles and Please, Please, Please Me. George Harrison also had an identical guitar that he and Lennon bought together.
We should note that half of the proceeds went to Lennon's and Yoko Ono's charity, Spirit Foundations, Inc. This charity gives back to international affairs, human services, and women's causes.
Another of Lennon’s guitars, the 12-string German-made Framus Hootenanny, has set records as the most expensive Beetle’s guitar ever sold - surpassing even the Gibson J-160E.
After a long period of floating in between friends, and even a long stint in an attic, the Framus only came back to light recently. After some cunning repair work, this beautiful guitar sold for almost 2.9 million in 2024!
In the early 1970s, Pink Floyd guitar player David Gilmour purchased this C.F. Martin from another musician in New York City. He had this guitar for nearly his entire career.
You can hear this guitar on one of Pink Floyd's most famous songs, "Wish You Were Here." In addition, Gilmour wrote most Pink Floyd songs on this C.F. Martin.
In 2019, he sold it for over $1 million to the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, Jim Irsay. Gilmour has sold many of his guitars and donated all proceeds to ClientEarth, an environmental charity.
This guitar is special, not only because it was owned by Sir Paul McCartney but because it was his first guitar. Well, kind of. McCartney's friend and teacher, Ian James, lent McCartney the guitar and taught him how to play it.
Still, McCartney kept the guitar and played it for many years. He was actually playing it when he and Lennon first met.
In 2015, it sold for £330,000, which is nearly $434K in USD.
Between the years 1971 and 1973, we often saw Elvis Presley performing with this acoustic guitar. Most of us saw this guitar during Presley's concert, Aloha From Hawaii. Many aspects of the guitar were customized.
For example, the guitar has an ebony finish due to Presley's black belt in karate and also has a Kenpo Karate decal on the guitar's body. The fingerboard also has an acanthus "Elvis Presley" inlay.
Presley had this guitar until 1975, when he gave it to an audience member, Mike Harris. He was playing a show in Asheville, North Carolina, and gave it to the 21-year-old fan. Harris cherished the guitar so much that he had the police escort him from the concert to protect the guitar. In 2016, it sold at an auction for nearly $300,000.
Another gorgeous guitar played by Elvis, this Martin D-18 was the primary acoustic guitar the King used on stage during the fifties. Often referred to as the “Sun Sessions” guitar, this was the instrument used in many of the recording sessions that happened at Sun studios.
Not surprisingly, this guitar set a new record for the most expensive piece of Elvis paraphernalia ever sold - going for a whopping 1.32 million in 2020.
Jerry Garcia's 1943 Martin D-28 sold for $175,000 in an estate auction. The lucky buyer is Andy Logan, a guitar collector who has an impressive arsenal of historic guitars.
He also owns Garcia's "Alligator" Strat, which he got for $420k. Plus, Logan is a massive Grateful Dead fan. He has spent lots of time (and money) collecting as many guitars connected to Garcia and Bob Weir as he can.
If he can't find the exact guitars, he commissions luthiers to build custom replicas. His devotion has even caused him to create his own nonprofit, Grateful Guitars, to give instruments to players.
Back in 2020, an Ovation 1612-4 previously owned by reggae legend Bob Marley sold in Jamaica for J$22 million (USD 153,600).
It was sold at the Icons & Idols Trilogy: Rock n' Roll Auction. It was only expected to sell for J$11 million. Marley gave the guitar to his friend, Benji Levy, in 1979. The two met at a car dealership in Jamaica, where Levy worked. Levy suggested Marley purchase a BMW because the initials stood for Bob Marley and the Wailers!
Marley gave the guitar to Levy after the neck became damaged. Levy had the neck repaired and kept the guitar. He passed it on to his son, Jonathon Olsen. The guitar holds a letter of authorization from Olsen.
Bob Dylan's Martin D-28 is one of his most recognizable guitars. He played it at Concert for Bangladesh, the spectacle that George Harrison and Ravi Shankar hosted at Madison Square Garden in 1971.
In addition, Dylan used this acoustic during his 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue Tour. Back in 2017, this same guitar was sold at an auction for $396,500. It was sold for nearly $100k more than expected!
More guitars in Dylan's arsenal have been auctioned off. For example, his Fender Strat with the sunburst finish that he played during the 1965 Newport Folk Festival sold for $965k back in 2013!
Playing the acoustic guitar is a favorite hobby for many people. But would you imagine that there are some expensive acoustic guitars out there?
From rare Martin guitars to acoustics owned by famous guitar players, many guitars were sold at auctions for a pretty penny.
Would you ever spend that much money on an acoustic guitar?
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