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A custom five-neck guitar once played onstage by Cheap Trick‘s Rick Nielsen has sold for $313,600 at auction in Nashville. The remarkable instrument was the highest-profile lot in The Rick Nielsen Collection, a sale organised by Julien’s Auctions on Saturday, October 24.
Nielsen’s stage-played 2004 Hamer Five Neck Korina guitar was being offered publicly for the first time. Its final price substantially exceeded the $175,000 estimate reported ahead of the auction. The guitar is one of the musician’s instantly recognisable instruments, built around a single body carrying five separate necks.
Another important instrument, Nielsen’s stage-played 1975 Hamer Standard, reached $256,000. That guitar is linked to his early relationship with the manufacturer and appeared at key performances during Cheap Trick‘s rise. The collection also included numerous other guitars, stage items and personal possessions.
According to the auction results, a 1984 Gibson Les Paul sold for $25,600 and a vintage Marshall amplifier brought $19,840. A 1955 Ford Thunderbird changed hands for $76,800. The sale took place at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville.
Nielsen’s colourful guitar collection has long been part of Cheap Trick‘s visual identity. While his five-neck instruments often attract attention for their sheer size, the collection also illustrates the guitarist’s longstanding connection to Hamer and his enthusiasm for unusual instruments.
Julien’s Auctions has said that a portion of the proceeds will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The event brought an unusual chapter of rock memorabilia collecting to a close, while placing several of Nielsen’s personally used instruments into new hands.
You can check out Julien’s Auctions’ official collection announcement and October 27 auction-results report.
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