Guitar collector and Indianapolis Colts owner in disagreement with…

The renowned guitar collector has had his take on the sale of Cobain’s Martin D-18E, which is presently the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction.

Kurt Cobain’s famed MTV Unplugged Martin D-18E is at the top of the list of the most expensive guitars ever sold at auction, fetching a stunning $6,010,000 in 2020.

However, according to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, a well-known guitar collector whose personal collection includes a large number of high-profile electric guitars, the amount “doesn’t make any sense,” and the D-18E isn’t worth that much.

The acoustic guitar was purchased by Rode Microphones owner Peter Freedman, who, according to Irsay, placed a personal value on an instrument that clearly meant a lot to him as a Cobain enthusiast.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” he tells Rolling Stone about the sales statistic. “It was not worth that, but it was to him.”

That much is true. According to Rolling Stone, Freedman was particularly drawn to the acoustic because Nirvana’s music had helped him get through terrible times in the 1990s.

Surprisingly, the second most expensive instrument to be sold at auction is another Kurt Cobain guitar, a Smells Like Teen Spirit Fender Mustang, which was purchased in 2022 for $4,550,000 by – you guessed it – Irsay himself.

Despite his Cobain guitar costing just $1.5 million less than Freedman’s, Irsay says his purchase is easier to justify owing to its greater cultural and musical significance.

“That being Kurt’s main guitar, and the electric guitar that survived the stage and survived many a jump – versus a one-night show – I felt [the electric guitar] was worth more,” Irsay states.

However, Freedman, who was also interviewed for the Rolling Stone article, was given the opportunity to respond to Irsay’s comments, and he quickly dismissed the NFL team owner’s claim that Cobain only used the Martin D-18E for the MTV performance.

“It was not a one-off guitar that Kurt bought and put away,” Freedman responds.

Irsay’s opinions, however, are worth hearing, especially given that he has emerged as one of the most prominent guitar collectors of our time.

His collection includes Jimi Hendrix’s ultra-rare 1964 Fender Jazzmaster, David Gilmour’s legendary Black Strat, and Bob Dylan’s Newport Folk Festival Strat, which he considers his favorite of the bunch.

In fact, Irsay’s guitar collection is so coveted that he was reportedly offered more than $1 billion to sell the entire catalog and relocate it to Dubai.