Pete Townshend guitar up for grabs

A Gibson Les Paul (pictured) once owned by Pete Townshend of The Who will be sold at auction by "Christie's" in London this Thursday. The estimate is 20,000 - 30,000 British pounds ($ 38,000 - 57,000 US).

According to "Christie's", research suggests that the Les Paul was played by Pete Townshend at either The Who's concerts in Newcastle, 5th-7th November, 1973, or at the Madison Square Garden concerts, 10th-14th June, 1974.

Pete Townshend owned the guitar until 1975 when it was acquired by the current owner. It was given by The Who guitarist to an employee who subsequently sold it to the current vendor. When the guitar was given away by Townshend it was in three pieces. The only unoriginal parts are the headstock, which apparently was unrepairable, and the pickups, which are replacements as one of the original mini humbuckers was missing so both were replaced with standard humbuckers.

Technical characteristics: Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, Serial No. 956924. In cherry sunburst finish, single cutaway body, mahogany neck, 22 fret bound rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays, two humbucker pickups, four rotary controls, selector switch, metal bridge and cream pickguard. Accompanied by a black softshell case and a document concerning the provenance.
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