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Chris Cornell Guitar Used on ‘Superunknown’ Headed to Auction

A valuable piece of Chris Cornell memorabilia is headed to auction. Cornell’s 1966 Fender Candy Apple Red Jazzmaster guitar is going up for bid via the auction site Gotta Have…

Chris Cornell
Jim Dyson/Getty Images

A valuable piece of Chris Cornell memorabilia is headed to auction.

Cornell's 1966 Fender Candy Apple Red Jazzmaster guitar is going up for bid via the auction site Gotta Have Rock and Roll. Cornell famously played the guitar on Soundgarden's landmark 1994 album Superunknown.

Per the guitar's description, "Cornell originally bought this guitar in 1993 and played it heavily throughout the 1993-1994 [Soundgarden] tours, playing it on over 30 shows, with video evidence from 13 different shows...This guitar was used to record most of the songs on their most famous album, 'Superunknown.'"

The description notes, "Cornell loved this guitar, but only gave it up due to his divorce with wife, Susan Silver. As part of their divorce settlements, Silver wanted Cornell’s guitars, which is stated in court documents; however, Cornell didn’t want to give the guitars to her, so he gave them to long-time friend Chris Bond. Bond was Cornell’s best friend growing up, they used to play music together at a very young age...The guitar shows incredible wear as this was one of Cornell’s favorite guitars. The guitar comes with the original touring guitar case. Comes with a letter of provenance from Chris Bond, an Appraisal Letter from Emerald City Guitars and a Gotta Have Rock and Roll Certificate of Authenticity."

The auction is set to expire on Friday, December 4 at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT. It's currently estimated to sell between $175,000 - $250,000.

Remembering Chris Cornell

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights