Paul McCartney’s Record-Setting Yamaha BB-1200 Leads Auction With Basses by Dusty Hill and John McVie
Over the past few years, there has been a steady influx of historic bass guitars for sale, and now a handful of them are back on the market. Christie’s has unveiled the Jim Irsay Collection, a massive auction of the late Indiana Colts owner’s unbelievable stockpile of sports and cultural memorabilia.
The lots include Dusty Hill‘s sheepskin-covered Dean, John McVie‘s fretless Alembic, and Paul McCartney‘s Yamaha BB-1200, which he used with Wings during the ’70s. Irsay acquired that particular bass in 2021 for an eye-watering $496,100, making it the most expensive bass ever sold at auction.
“Constructed of maple, alder, and mahogany with an ebony fingerboard featuring inlaid mother of pearl fret markers, the BB-1200 features a neck-through design for extra sustain and P-style split pickups,” the 2021 listing stated. “Prized for its consistency of tone and playability, the Yamaha bass was used prominently on Wings final studio album, ‘Back to the Egg’ (1979).”
Hill’s Sheepskin bass was custom-made by Dean Guitars and appears in the ZZ Top music video for “Legs.” It sold in 2023 for $317,000, while McVie’s Alembic pulled in $100,000. Irsay spent nearly a million dollars on these three basses alone, not to mention other lots of collectibles from the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, and more.
The basses have estimated sale prices slightly lower than their purchase prices. Macca’s Yamaha is expected to fetch between $200,000 and $400,000. Hill’s bass is estimated at $100,000 to $300,000, while McVie’s Alembic should come in at $60,000 to $100,000. The rest of the Jim Irsay Collection includes several vintage basses from Gibson, Höfner, Fender, and more.
“The Jim Irsay Collection forms a chorus of cultural touchstones and chronicles one of the greatest collections of music, film and sports memorabilia and historic Americana ever assembled,” Christie’s shares. “Meticulously compiled over decades by the late philanthropist, passionate music lover and owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts, a portion of the proceeds of these sales will be donated to philanthropic causes supported by Jim Irsay during his lifetime.”
Bidding opens on March 12th. Visit the Christie’s website for more info.
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
It’s amazing how the music and equipment of the 60s through 80s still carries on unmatched. It’s a shame how the price gouging goes on too . I’m own a pretty massive collection of gear. Luckily it was acquired pre-greed. Sorry but no instrument that was a few grand tops (actual materials probably a few hundred) is magical worth a cew hundred thousand just because somebody played it. Maybe if no matter who plays it and it always makes a #1 hit? But for it to sit in a corner lots of times by a nonmusician is just crazy. But that’s the way a “shut up and take my money” culture works I guess. And nobody can figure out why a gallon of milk is almost $10!