The iconic instruments favoured by iconic musicians

Dec. 28, 2011 - PRLog -- Birmingham-based auctioneers Biddle & Webb are anticipating a great year as some really exciting and rare items will be featured in the first sale of the New Year on the 6th January 2012.

Amongst the items up for sale at the Ladywood auction house is a Martin guitar and ukulele as well as a McIlroy guitar, both makes of which are considered as the Rolls Royce in terms of flattop acoustic instruments.

The Martin guitar and ukulele were manufactured by C.F. Martin & Company a US guitar manufacturer established in 1833 and highly acclaimed for its steel string guitars. Rare vintage Martin instruments have commanded up to six figures in the past.

Many of the special models Martin produced were designed, endorsed and named after well known guitarists including Stephen Stills, Paul Simon and Johnny Cash. The Martin guitar featured in Biddle & Webb’s January auction is an Eric Clapton model. It has a herringbone inlay and an auction estimate of £1,000 to £2,000.

The Martin Ukulele comes with a reserve price tag of £400 to £600.

Built in Ireland by Dermot McIlroy (pronounced MACKLE-roy) the hand-made McIlroy guitar with Celtic inlay was made in February 2009 and has an auction estimate of £1,000 to £2,000.

Biddle & Webb’s managing director Jeremy Thornton said: “We are hoping that the sale of the instruments will generate a lot of interest from avid guitarists who , not only want to own  something that’s beautifully crafted but also something that’s renowned for its sound quality and endorsed by many of the most iconic musicians in the world.”

To view the instruments as well as some of the other ‘star lots’ included in the sale visit: http://www.biddleandwebb.co.uk/starlots.cfm