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Has your Mercury gone retrograde, too, or does it just sound a little cosmic that a single guitar could strum together decades of rock legend, global fandom and a million-dollar jaw-drop? (And here we thought our Leo season impulse buys were daring!) Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer—a six-string thunderbolt played everywhere from Philly to Buenos Aires, tricked out to his own Frankenstein-ian blueprints, and scuffed from enough stage dives to make even Saturn do a double take—is about to find a new home. Oh, and in true Gemini style, it’s already shown up in the hands of not one, but two icons; after Eddie, Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars took it for a ride in Dr. Feelgood. As Sotheby’s preps to unleash this rare relic during Grails Week, I can’t help but wonder… if this riff machine could talk, would it reveal rock ‘n’ roll secrets, or just offer to read your birth chart? Strap in, because whether you’re a collector, an astrology skeptic, or you still dream of mastering “Eruption,” this auction’s bound to send shockwaves through your sign. LEARN MORE.
A piece of rock history is set to hit the block.
Rocker Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer electric guitar will be auctioned by Sotheby’s New York during the house’s inaugural Grails Week from Oct. 21-28. According to estimates, the guitar, which was custom-built for the Van Halen star, is expected to fetch a whopping $2 million-$3 million. A previous Sotheby’s sale for a guitar owned by Van Halen — that one on display in the band’s “Hot for Teacher” music video — netted $3,932,000 in April 2023.
Based on Van Halen’s original “Frankenstein” design, the piece was extensively played during Van Halen’s 1982-83 tours, seen onstage during concerts in Philadelphia; Caracas, Venezuela; São Paulo, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Van Halen gifted the guitar to longtime friend and guitar technician Robin “Rudy” Leiren, who later sold it to Mick Mars, former lead guitarist and co-founder of Mötley Crüe. Mars used it during the recording of the hit Dr. Feelgood album, including on the track “Slice of Your Pie.”
The guitar will be on display in Monterey, California, from Aug. 13-16, a date that coincides with RM Sotheby’s Monterey auctions. It will mark the first time the guitar has been seen in public in more than 40 years since Van Halen last played it in concert. Sotheby’s Grails Week is curated to showcase items from the worlds of film, music, TV and comics.
“Played during some of Eddie’s most iconic performances and later used by Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars, this instrument connects two giants of heavy metal,” explained Ian Ferreyra de Bone, Sotheby’s managing director of its luxury division. “With its custom build and incredible backstory, it’s a true grail — exactly the kind of piece we had in mind for Sotheby’s first-ever Grails Week, which shines a spotlight on the most sought-after treasures from music, film, TV and comics and puts Sotheby’s right at the center of pop culture.”
Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer electric guitar. Per Sotheby’s, the guitar shows extensive wear from playing, and the body features an inscription from Van Halen to Rudy Leiren. The red, white and black abstract design traces back to the original “Frankenstein” built by Van Halen in 1975.
Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer electric guitar. Per Sotheby’s, photographs show Van Halen working on the instrument at the Kramer factory in Neptune, New Jersey, using an electric drill to make adjustments.
Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Van Halen died following a battle with cancer at age 65 on Oct. 6, 2020.
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