A collection of instruments, equipment, and personal effects from folk and blues legend John Martyn is set to be auctioned at a dedicated sale in July.
Auction highlights include two 1954 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop guitars, each estimated to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000. Martyn's 1965 Gibson SG guitar is also part of the auction and is estimated at £10,000 to £15,000.
In addition to these three guitars, the auction includes Martyn's famous Echoplex delay unit and amplifier setup, with a price estimate of £5,000 to £10,000.
According to John Martyn connoisseur Pip Taylor, "He stopped using the Stats (hooray!) and from then on played a Gibson Les Paul. These were retired, stolen, sold off, and he eventually used Epiphone Les Pauls in his comeback gigs, and it seemed he had quite a few LPs when he played Solid Air live.
“The SG was rolled out again until the neck was damaged, and this was replaced by a remarkably similar era SG supplied by “ace” bassist and guitar dealer John Giblin.”
Taylor also describes how Martyn used two Echoplex tape echoes at his live gigs. “Initially, an Echoplex was mounted on a purpose-made stand that was placed alongside him by the mic stand. He could adjust the delay times and feedback intensity on the fly,” he writes.
According to Taylor, the Echoplex was eventually swapped for a Korg SDD-3000 digital delay, although it made occasional appearances later in his career.
Auctioneer Paul Fairweather comments, “The timeless and unique sound that John Martyn created with voice, guitar, and his famous use of effects has had an incalculable impact on modern music, and his music is still cherished by fans all over the world.”
Over his 40-year recording career, Martyn recorded 23 studio albums, with his music blurring the boundaries between multiple genres, including folk, rock, jazz, and blues.
At 17, he was already a key member of the Scottish folk scene. He later incorporated more jazz and rock elements in his music, recording albums like Solid Air (1973) and One World (1977), notable due to his innovative use of effects, particularly the aforementioned Echoplex, which would become an integral part of both his studio albums and live performances.
The auction will take place at Omega Auctions of Merseyside on July 2nd at 2pm BST. For more information, visit Omega Auctions.
