Two music fans in the U.K. are selling a Fender Gemini II acoustic guitar that was used by Prince during the recording sessions for his 1991 album Diamonds And Pearls.
According to reports, the guitar has been owned by a pair of siblings who came into possession of the prized, rare instrument after acquiring it from Sylvia Massy, a studio engineer who had worked with Prince on the 1991 album. The instrument also comes with a signed statement of provenance from Massy, which reads, “I have saved the instrument as a memento from our sessions from 1991 to 1994 and am pleased to have the guitar preserved as a historical artifact from Prince’s amazing popular musical career.”
The two Prince fans/siblings, whose names remained anonymous in the report, will be selling the guitar at an auction scheduled to take place at the offices of Gardiner Houlgate in Wiltshire, England on March 10th.
“In the six months since we bought the guitar, it’s been displayed in my brother’s living room, in what we call his ‘Prince Corner,'” said one of the unnamed owners in a statement shared to Clash. “Lots of our friends have seen it but we’ve not let anyone play it. But now I’ve moved to Spain, it’s not practical for us to share the guitar so we’ve decided to put it up for sale.”
NME reports the instrument is expected to sell for somewhere between £40,000 and £80,000 (roughly $54,600 – $109,000), notably less than the record-setting price of $6,010,000 that one collector paid for Kurt Cobain‘s used Martin acoustic guitar in 2020.
The entry deadline for prospective buyers to take part in the auction and potentially purchase Prince guitar is February 12th. Click here for additional auction info.
[H/TÂ Clash]