Business

Rock fans amped up for iconic guitar auction

Guernsey’s is tuning up to sell some seriously pricey guitars this week.

The New York auction house will kick off a sale Wednesday of what some critics say is the greatest-ever single collection of strung-up axes — and at least one of them is expected to fetch north of $1 million.

The 265-guitar collection is composed almost exclusively of acoustic models, and boasts a number that were previously owned by A-list rock stars. Among them are a pair of vintage Gibson SJ-200s, one of them owned by Eric Clapton and the other by Stephen Stills.

For connoisseurs, the lot includes 10 guitars made by master luthier John D’Angelico, who meticulously handcrafted each at his New York workshop in the early-to-mid 20th Century.

One of them, a 1934 Excel, also had been owned by Clapton, notes Guernsey’s president, Arlen Ettinger.

“The fact that we have 10 D’Angelicos is in itself extraordinary,” Ettinger told The Post. “Most auctions are lucky to have one.”

Nevertheless, insiders say the most droolworthy item to hit the block likely will be an 84-year-old Martin OM-45 Deluxe — a spruce-and-rosewood confection lavishly inlaid with abalone that’s possessed of almost supernatural tone and projection.

A seven-figure auction price would make the vintage Martin the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction. The current record was set in December, when Christie’s sold the Fender Stratocaster played by Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival for $965,000.