Johnny Ramone's guitar The 1965 Mostrie Ventures II owned by legendary Ramones guitarist is up for auction. It's Johnny's number one guitar in his time with the Ramones. In fact, the guitar would have racked up almost 2,000 shows between 1977 and 1996. The guitar was used on 15 Ramones albums.
The guitar is signed by Johnny on the back in black felt tip. "Johnny Ramone, My Main Guitar, 1977-1996." Ramone purchased the guitar in 1977 to replace his original blue Ventures II slab body. It was stolen from the Sire Records van as well as Ramones gear after a gig in Chicago.
The fretboard shows some wear from the down stroke action that Johnny Ramone thrashed out. In addition along the edge there's a few dings in the guitar. It still has Ramones' original strap that's secured to the guitar with gaffer tape. It even has the same strings that were used on the very last Ramones show. The last shown took place at The Palace in Los Angeles, California on 6th August 1996.
1234 Cretins wanna bid some more
Other Ramones items are up for auction too. There's an Electro-Harmonix Mike Matthews guitar amp that Johnny Ramone played in the early CBGBs gigs. Ramone purchased the amp in 1974 and this is what gave Johnny Ramone that buzzsaw sound. In addition there's handwritten lyrics by Dee Dee Ramone, Joey Ramone's old microphones and more.
The item that's got the biggest buzz is Johnny's 1965 Mosrite guitar. The guitar is forecasted to go over half a million dollars! It's is one of the most iconic guitars in punk rock history.
The Auction "Ramones And Punk Collection Of Daniel Rey" by RR Auction began 24th August and will finish during "The Remarkable Rarities" live auction set to smash on Saturday, 25th September in Boston, Massachusetts.