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Bob Dylan’s 1965 Fender Electric XII, played on Blonde On Blonde, hits the auction block

The guitar has been valued at $1 million.

Fender Electric XII Bob Dylan

Photo: Gotta Have Rock And Roll

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The 1965 Fender Electric XII that Bob Dylan played on Blonde On Blonde is heading to auction.

Bidding on the historic instrument opens at 9am EDT later today (April 14) with a starting bid of $215,000. According to the auction house, Gotta Have Rock And Roll, it’s been valued at $1 million by Heritage Auction Appraisal Services.

Fender gave Dylan the 12-string electric guitar to play on 1965’s Highway 61 Revisited and early sessions of 1966’s Blonde On Blonde, which took place at Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York.

On top of being owned and played by the folk legend, the 12-string electric was said to be a “rare specimen” in itself. Being an early example of the model, it has the original pearloid pickguard which was replaced by tortoiseshell in later production models.

The alder-bodied guitar has a rosewood fingerboard, amplifier-style knobs and no neck stamp. It comes in a black tolex case, stencilled “Property of Ashes & Sand Inc”, the name of Dylan’s own touring company.

It also comes with photographs from the period, depicting Dylan playing the guitar, along with letters of authenticity from Jody Carver, a former Fender Liaison, Dylan’s management, as well as vintage guitar experts George Gruhn and Clive Brown.

This won’t be the first time Dylan’s ‘65 Fender XII has hit the auction block. Back in 2019, it was listed by Heritage Auctions, but failed to sell.

Learn more at gottahaverockandroll.com

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