One of the key nights in igniting the legend of Jimi Hendrix happened at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, when he set his guitar aflame.

Now, obviously the way Jimi attacked/destroyed his guitars necessitated that he used more than one throughout a set – and it’s the second, unburnt guitar he played on that fateful night that you can purchase for a mere $750,000 – possibly less if you are savvy.

A private collector is selling the ‘Black Pepper’ Fender Stratocaster through Heritage Auctions, with bidding opening at a reasonable half-million.

It’s the one he uses during The Wind Cries Mary’, and on the below ‘Rock Me Baby’. It’s fairly scruffed up, apparently, but that surely adds to the value. You don’t make it to rock ‘n’ roll heaven by treating your guitars kindly.

YouTube VideoPlay

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine