A week ago, the Sotheby's action gallery headlined their Rock & Roll auction on April 18 with a striped Kramer guitar once owned by Eddie Van Halen. It had a starting price of $1,800,000; the final bid ended at $3,932,000, which makes it the fourth most expensive guitar ever sold.
Van Halen began playing with Kramer guitars during the early 1980s and was constantly associated with the brand as it became his trademark. The guitar in question was made by guitar maker Paul Unkert, and it was the first ever rear-loaded striped Kramer guitar that Eddie Van Halen owned. It was delivered to Eddie at the beginning of 1983 and was his main guitar during 1983 and 1984 – the golden years of his career.
Officially named the Kramer CO176, the guitar was built by Paul Unkert, The guitar is most famous for being played in the 1984 Hot For Teacher music video (link below).
Specs for the guitar include a 22-fret, bolt-on maple neck, a sole Seymour Duncan humbucker and, unsurprisingly, a lone volume knob and Floyd Rose bridge.
How it came to auction, Sotheby's reported that Van Halen gifted the guitar to Gregg Emerson – the band’s retiring drum tech – around 1990, who then passed it on to his nephew. The Kramer was subsequently sold to Neal's Music in Huntington Beach, in Southern California, who then sold it to its pre-auction owner. The guitar has shipped to its new owner along with a letter of provenance from Paul Unkert, a signed photo from Van Halen, its original case, and the straight jacket and white gloves worn by Van Halen in the music video in which it starred.
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