Gibson guitars owned by the late guitarist and singer John Martyn are expected to fetch up to £50,000 each when they go under the hammer this summer.

A selection of instruments, equipment and clothes owned by the folk musician, who died in 2009 aged 60 and who lived in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny with his partner Theresa Walsh, are to be sold by Omega Auctions in the UK on 2 July.

Among the items are two 1954 Gibson Les Paul gold top guitars, which each have an estimate of £30,000 to £50,000. The collection also has a 1965 Gibson SG guitar, which is expected to sell for £10,000 to £15,000, while the guitarist's Echoplex delay unit and amplifier set-up has an estimated price tag of £5,000 to £10,000.

Martyn, whose real name was Iain David McGeachy, was known for his style combining folk and jazz music. During his 40-year career, he released more than 20 studio albums and worked with music titans including Eric Clapton and Phil Collins. His fourth album Solid Air released in 1973 is often regarded as his most successful, receiving positive reviews from critics.

Omega auctioneer Paul Fairweather said: "The timeless and unique sound that John Martyn created with voice, guitar and his famous use of effects has had an incalculable impact on modern music and his music is still cherished by fans all over the world. We are honoured to be able to offer some of the instruments and equipment that John used in his recording and performing and expect significant interest in the sale."

The sale is set to take place at Omega Auctions of Merseyside on 2 July at 2pm.

sitenotes:
This article was published on various websites and is based on a press release by Press Association.
The picture of the Echoplex is interesting as John himself has written three song titles next to the echo speed slider: [Big] Muff, [Rather Be The] Devil and John Wayne.
Apparently this is an Echoplex EP-2 Tube unit. I transcribed the text from under the cover:

THE FANTASTIC
ECHOPLEX
ECHO●CHAMBER

ECHO TEMPO
The tempo or speed of the echo becomes faster as you move from 0 to 35. For pleasent [sic] effects echo tempo can be set the same as the playing tempo, double tempo, or half-tempo. Setting at 35 creates reverberation effects.

[FOOT SWITCH]

[ECHO REPEATS]
NUMBER OF ECHOS PER NOTE
At position #1 there will be one echo repeat. As you turn up the control, the number of echo repeats will increase to the point of infinity or "Run-away".

[INPUT]
Instrument or microphone

[ECHO | SOUND ON SOUND]
SOUND ON SOUND RECORDING

[INSTR-BALANCED-ECHO | VOLUME]
ECHO VOLUME
Full clockwise position gives max. echo volume. Full counter-clockwise position reduces echo volume so that only the instrument is heard. Between these two you can create desired balance.

Below the echo speed slider, John wrote this to remind the settings for three songs:

SPEED OF ECHO DELAY
15 | MUFF
20 | DEVIL
30 | JOHN WAYNE