Welcome to a new segment here at ArtOfShred, Fretboard Friday! This replaces the old This Week In Guitar news roundup that we did a couple of years ago. Check out all previous editions of Fretboard Friday here: https://artofshred.com/category/fretboard-friday/
NAMM 2024!
Lots of NAMM talk this week, for obvious reasons. Too many great guitars and amps were announced to really break it down in any coherent way, but I liked Steve Sterlacci’s NAMM video:
One thing I do want to note: Sire announced a whole slew of new guitars and basses. I’m particularly interested in checking out the Sire J5 “Jazzmaster style” guitar. It’s $599 and I wonder how it compares to a Classic Vibe Jazzmaster or a MIM Jazzmaster.
Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Collection Sells For $11.2 Million!
This is pretty wild. The Dire Straits guitarist sold a bunch of his guitars, including a ’59 Les Paul for $875,000! More at Julien’s Auctions.
Most Expensive Guitar Sold At Auction?
Knopfler’s collection was impressive, but Kurt Cobain’s Martin D-18E that he used on Nirvana Unplugged sold for $6,010,000 back in 2020. The second most expensive guitar at auction? Cobain’s Smells Like Teen Spirit Fender Mustang, which went for $4,550,000. I’ll bid $100 for a Cobain pick. Any takers?
Taylor Swift Taylor Guitar Auction for Musicares
Another Julien’s auctions find. The current bid on her Taylor is $10,000, but it’ll likely go for more by the time the auction closes. This same auction collection also has some other cool finds like a Robert Smith stage-played Schecter acoustic that is currently at $8,000.
Video of the Week: Ben Levin’s Indie Riff Generator
If you don’t know Ben Levin yet well it’s about time. He’s one of the most unique guitar instructors you will come across and I loved this indie riff generator.
That’s all for this week. I’ll see you next Friday with a few more links and videos!