A 1967 Fender Stratocaster guitar owned by Jimi Henrix with a controversial past is now for sale after its owners settled with the late rock star’s estate.
The sunburst Strat is a right-handed one that was converted to left-handed use to accommodate Hendrix.
The owners, Rockstarsguitars.com, are asking $500,000.
The instrument, currently on display at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, was at the centre of a 2001 lawsuit. Disputed were claims by Experience Hendrix LLC that the guitar was stolen shortly after Hendrix’s death in 1970, or that it never belonged to him at all.
After two court trials and appeals, the estate settled with Rock Stars Guitars earlier this year for an undisclosed sum and an agreement that Experience Hendrix will give up its claim to the guitar.
As the story goes, Hendrix gave the guitar to roadie James “Tappy†Wright as a gift around 1968.
Rock Stars Guitars owners, Greg Dorsett of San Diego and David Brewis of England, said they bought it from Wright in 1999 for $60,000.
When the company tried to auction it on eBay in 2001, Hendrix’s estate halted the sale by questioning its ownership.
A lawsuit followed, ending with a verdict two years later that ruled in favor of the businessmen. The jury awarded the partners $131,000, saying Hendrix’s estate prevented them from getting market value on the guitar.
But after subsequent appeals, the case finally resolved in January with the settlement.
“I see this settlement as a complete vindication,†Dorsett said in a statement. “Hopefully the litigation experience has only added to this guitar’s unique history.â€
2 replies on “Hendrix 1967 Stratocaster For Sale”
[…] on guitars which come up for auction/sale around the world (for example these posts on the Hendrix 1967 Stratocaster or John Lennon’s Hofner), a series of posts on collectible guitars (36 so far) or his rebuild […]
When Al Hendrix dies a lot of the spirit of Jimi and his music went with him. I was too young to really catch Hendrix live in any way I could appreciate. I do remember hearing Electric Ladyland at a very young age while stuck in traffic at night and being subjected to a hippie communes’ illegal radio station. We were way up in the Colorado mountains. At age 13 I becam a Hendrix crazed guitarist. I had the Astan 12 album boxed set of Hendrix’s early stuff done in Europe and recorded onto acetate, or RtR is you were lucky.. When Al passed away those Astan albums came under the same scrutiny as this guitar. The rest of the Hendrix family having no real rights to this music first said it was not Jimi playing. It was so obvious it was a deaf moron could tell. Then they sued, and see how many boxed sets from Astan you can find. I have been wanting to get some of mom ‘s money away from the bank who is losing it and invest in old Fender/Gibson/Martin/Gretsch/etc guitars. The price has tanked. Her humming bird bought through jazz guitar legend Johnny Smith’s Gibson dealership with a custom slim taper Dove neck was courted with offers from Guitar Center up to $36,000. I know 24-66 they had a long scale slim neck, but this is clearly a 1961! It plays like no other acoustic I’ve found. The Astan set was stolen and I have no clue what it is worth. I’ve never seen another anywhere. Not on google’s search engine even. Mr. Pitiful is there. It is included in the set, but so are 11 more albums on good old vinyl. Hendrix’s greedy sister should rot in hell for making his music inaccessible to us, and spreading lies so she can get more money for never lifting a finger, or working at anything but screwing people. I hope big brother slaps the crap out of her in the next life. When his dad was alive these neat things were allowed to just happen and a lawyer did not pop out from under every stone.