All by itself, a 1987 Gibson ES-175D in Arctic White is a bad ass machine and worthy of any real players attention, however if you add the fact this it was owned by Izzy Stradlin and used on the recordings for Appetite for Destruction, it becomes an extremely valuable piece of history. Truly, it is a guitar that any collector who had the cash would want to add to their collection, and it is now up for auction.
Izzy scored the guitar from Gibson rep Roger Bell back in 1987, and a damn good score it was. He wisely used it for all of the Appetite recordings and several live shows afterwards. You can see it in the MTV production filmed on February 2, 1988 at The Ritz in New York. Izzy's playing combined with this instruments cool tone quickly made an impact on the LA music scene.
Allegedly, Izzy owed Howard Hubberman, who was the band's manager at the time, a little bit of money and the guitar was exchanged as a result. Cool deal. Howard, besides his gig with the band, also owned the predictably named Guitars R Us. Izzy's girl at the time, alerted a couple of her musician friends from the strip that the ax was at the store and available. They ran down with cash in hand, picked em up, and have had them in their collection for over 32 years.. until very recently.. when they were sold to a record executive, who is now putting them up for auction.
I've seen the spec's on this guitar and the authenticity is undisputed. It's a great guitar, made even cooler by its previous owner and his accomplishments.
So what is the value of such an instrument?
Truly, the sky is the limit. It is safe to say it is one of the most listened to electric guitars in rock history. I've seen similar items go into heavy 6 figures, depending on the player and it's provenance. Of course, we have seen iconic instruments go for millions, but I just don't think Izzy fits the profile of those over the top guitarists. He's laid back, and does amazing work. It will be interesting to see the outcome.
If you want to take that stimulus check, and a large portion of your uncle's retirement fund, and jump in on this circus.. you'll need to raise a minimum of $50,000 plus fees and head over to Backstage Auctions
Written by Patrick Capone