You can buy Jimi Hendrix's Epiphone Wilshire for $1.25 million

06 Jul 2023 by Jef |

5,0 / 5,0 | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes

You can buy Jimi Hendrix's Epiphone Wilshire for $1.25 million · Source: Moments in Time

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Jimi Hendrix’s Epiphone Wilshire is up for sale at $1.25 million. Which is a pretty hefty sum for a single guitar, that he didn’t play during his most well-known years.

$1.25 million

A cool $1.25 million is the asking price for this 1961 Epiphone Wilshire that once belonged to Jimi Hendrix.

Supposedly, Hendrix acquired the instrument in early 1963, around the time he first started performing with King Kasuals (later known as Johnny Jones and the King Casuals) at Club Del Morocco.

A modern-day version of the Epiphone Wilshire was re-released back in 2020 and they are currently still available.

Hendrix with his guitar · Source: Moments in Time

Billy Cox

This is a guitar he played during his time with The King Kasuals with army colleague and bassist Billy Cox.

Therefore, it has been photographed many times and at one point may have sported a white pickguard, which could have been painted by Hendrix himself.

Jimi Hendrix’s Epiphone Wilshire · Source: Moments in Time

Hendrix Rumours

Apparently, Hendrix either bought the guitar for $65.

Or he may have traded $65 and his old 1958 Danelectro Shorthorn 3012 nicknamed ‘Betty Jean’ after his then-girlfriend Betty Jean Morgan towards an Ibanez Rhythm Maker at Collins Music Store in Clarksville Tennessee. Though, supposedly he defaulted on that loan and instead the 1961 Wilshire became his next guitar.

Either way, this guitar is not one of his famous Fender Stratocasters and so it could be a tough sell at $1.25 million.

This Epiphone was previously on the market back in 2008 but has now resurfaced again with a private collector.

The sale is being held by Moments in Time and all of the basic information about this guitar, along with some photographs is available on their site.

White Pickguard, could it be the same guitar? · Source: Ground Guitar

Verdict

It’s a tough one, as Jimi owned a lot of guitars and this one is known to have been one of his used to play live with and there is photographic evidence to show him playing one.

Allegedly, there is paperwork to go with this guitar that proves its authenticity.

Therefore, with the correct provenance, this could be a smart buy for someone with deep pockets. As there is only ever going to be a finite amount of Hendrix-owned guitars in existence. Hendrix died in 1970 at the age of only 27 and his legacy is huge.