Paul McCartney’s Epiphone guitar string from Rubber Soul recordings is expected to fetch $5,000 at auction
Ideal for a Beatles aficionado with a little disposable cash to spend.
Image: Special Auction Services / Getty Images
An Epiphone guitar string Paul McCartney used when recording Rubber Soul has gone up for action and is expected to fetch over $5,000.
Special Auction Services in Newbury is auctioning the string, which according to Beatles biographer Walter Everett was likely used on Michelle, on which McCartney uses his acoustic Epiphone Texan.
The string belonged to the late David Cardey, a dedicated Beatles fan who won it in a competition, and a cousin of the vendor. Cardey won the string almost six decades ago, on 14 February 1966. He received a letter from Johnny Dean, editor of The Beatles Book fanzine, telling him that he’d won a competition, and would get a guinea (equivalent to just over £1) and the promise that “I will be sending you a piece of Beatle equipment within the next few days”.
And the string – of which the gauge is unknown – stayed in his possession for decades. It might be going for a sizeable sum, but for any Beatles aficionado with a little more disposable cash than most it could be a worthwhile buy. You can check it out at Special Auction Services.
If you’re up for parting with more money for a piece of rock history, the Hunter Burst Les Paul Slash used when writing Appetite For Destruction could be yours for a cool $1 million. The Guns N’ Roses legend used the axe for recordings and live shows between 1985 and 1986 before selling it, and it’s been displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ever since.
There was set to be an auction of Bernie Marsden‘s guitars earlier this month, too, but it’s been postponed to a later date after the Whitesnake guitarist’s death on 24 August. A collection of his acoustic and electric guitars was set to be auctioned off by Gardiner Holgate Auctions as part of their guitar sale on 5 September, but it was postponed as a mark of respect.