Jimi Hendrix’s 1951 Epiphone FT79

This Epiphone (serial number 62262) was purchased by Jimi in 1967 sometime during the JHE US tour, which was the band’s first away from Europe. According to Noel Redding, the guitar was bought second-hand in New York for about $25 and was brought back to England.

According to the information on Bonhams’ auction page, Jimi used the Epiphone extensively in London, composing and arranging many of his songs on it. Kathy Etchingham noted that Jimi primarily played acoustic guitars when practicing or writing music at home.

Jimi used it for almost everything he composed in this country, as he didn’t use an amp until the move to Brook Street, and in any case Chas would never have allowed it in case we disturbed the neighbors because we’d upset them in Montague Square and Chas didn’t want to be chucked out of a second flat. Jimi would pick up and then play the acoustic, then pick up a Strat and play that unplugged, listening to it without an amp. He constantly played it to work out riffs and song arrangements including his own version of Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”.

Kathy Etchingham – Bonhams: Jimi Hendrix: An Epiphone FT 79 acoustic guitar, 1951

There are very few photos of Jimi playing this guitar, which is understandable since it was primarily used in private settings. However, there is one video recording of him playing the guitar in what appears to be a bedroom, likely filmed around 1969. In the video, Jimi can be seen performing a cover of Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog for a group of friends.

Jimi kept the Epiphone until March 1970, when he gave it to Alan Parker, a session musician and guitarist for the band Blue Mink. The guitar remained with Alan until 2016, when it was sold through Bonhams’ auction house for £209,000 (approximately $270,000).