The group The Who did not destroy all their instruments: a bass specially designed by and for the British rocker John Entwistle will be sold at auction this Thursday, May 23 in Lyon (center-east).
The instrument, whose value is estimated between 12,000 and 15,000 euros, will be put up for sale in the afternoon by De Baecque and associates.
It is “a prototype” designed in 1986 by the German luthier Warwick “at the request of John Entwistle, who designed it,” explains auctioneer Etienne de Baecque. This Buzzard model, whose shape resembles a mouthpiece, was later produced in a limited series.
Entrusted to a collector
The first copy was presented by the bassist during the inauguration in 1988 in Lyon of a specialized store “Guitar Center”, now defunct. The Who bassist gave a demonstration before offering the signed guitar to a Lyon collector very involved in the world of music. He had kept it until now but decided to sell it along with other pieces from his collection.
Since the announcement of the sale, this four-string guitar has aroused “great interest throughout the world”, according to Etienne de Baecque. “Collectors are a bit fetishistic, the fact that it’s dated and signed appeals to them,” he says. “We always dream a little about these objects…”
“A very specific model”
“The Who remains a legendary group,” agrees Antoine Stacchetti, who came on Wednesday to admire the objects on display to the public before the sale. Long-time manager of the Guitar Center store, he attended John Entwistle’s 1988 demo, “a remarkable personality.”
As for his guitar, “it is a very specific model,” he points out: “it is huge, which corresponded to the size” of the rocker who died in 2002, nicknamed “the Ox” for his solid presence on stage.
Source: BFM TV
