A collection of gear from John Paul Jones’ collection is set to be auctioned off. The legendary Led Zeppelin bassist is looking to clear house and has teamed up with UK firm Soundgas to oversee the sale of his vintage gear.
Pick of the bunch is Jones’ Guild Thunderbass amplifier. The bass amp, was used to record with Them Crooked Vultures, his impeccable one-time supergroup with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme.
Afterwards, Grohl would go on to borrow the amp. But, as per its description, the amp was returned with its speakers blown. Whether it still works or not isn't clear.
"Used with Them Crooked Vultures and left at Dave Grohl's house," the listing for the amp reads. "Apparently someone borrowed it and when it was returned to JPJ the speakers were blown. We will test and check and report back."
It has an upper auction estimate of £1,400 (approx. $1,876).
Other pieces of kit from Jones’ studio – though sadly not affiliated with Led Zeppelin – include a rare Arbiter Soundimension mechanical echo unit, built in the 1960s. Said to be “almost impossible to find in any condition”, this particular chrome box is in fine shape.
It comes loaded up with “very expensive” NKT275 germanium transistors, which gave early Fuzz Faces their velcro-like grit. Owning it will cost you £4,500.00 (approx. $6,000).
There’s also a rack-mounted Hughes & Kettner PS64 guitar amp, which has some cosmetic bumps and scratches, a Carlsbro Mantis analogue delay, and a Roland SDE-330 Digital Delay for the best of both worlds.
Vintage pedal collectors, however, best look away now. Jones’ rarebreed Electro-Harmonix Talking Pedal, billed as “a speech synthesizer pedal in a wah-style enclosure”, has already sold.
As was the case with the recent Joe Walsh gear auction, it’s another example of a big-name musicians wanting their instruments and recording equipment to be re-homed to new players who will actually use them.
“John is still very active musically, writing, recording, and performing, but he no longer requires so much studio equipment, most of which he has owned from new,” says Soundgas. “He feels it should be in the hands of people who will put it to good use, so it is offered here without formal provenance, with the intention that it continues to be used as intended.”
Visit Soundgas to explore the full lot.
