“These were both huge British bands with international followings so we’re expecting considerable interest”: How the “fingerprint” wood grain of this Warwick bass revealed a connection to not one but two British rock legends (and tripled its value)

A prototype Warwick bass guitar that was co-designed by the late Who bassist John Entwistle is headed to auction, 22 years after it was originally sold, but this time its value has sky-rocketed after some analysis of its woodgrain revealed it to have also belonged to Queen’s John Deacon.

This isn’t the kind of bass that you would miss, or easily forget. The Warwick Buzzard is a real vibe, a big mood, a shape that looks more metal than ‘80s Queen, and yet it somehow managed to be auctioned off via Sotheby’s in 2003 for just £3,500 (approximately $4,629).

It was later discovered that this bass is a super-rare prototype, and the current owners unearthed the connection with Deacon after getting all CSI with the instrument. The natural finish on the zebrano body shows up all the grain and they were able to make a positive ID.

“The wood grain of a guitar is like a fingerprint so thank goodness the bass wasn’t painted,” says Luke Hobbs, auctioneer at Gardiner Houlgate. “If it had been, the current owners probably wouldn’t have been able to prove the connection to Queen.”

You can see this bass in action. If you are a Queen fan, as Hobbs is, you most likely already have, as it was played by Deacon at the band’s 1986 performance at Montreaux, and it was used in the promo video for Friends Will Be Friends.

“I’m a Queen fan and the 1986 Montreux Pop Festival was one of their high points,” he says. “They were at the peak of their powers and had just released their classic album A Kind Of Magic.”

As to the value? Well, it has tripled. Gardiner Houlgate now puts it up there between £20,000 to £40,00, after initially valuing it at £10,000. It could go more.

There is a lot of attention on it now, and it is available for public viewing at Gardiner Houlgate’s Wiltshire HQ on Friday 28 November and Monday 1 December, between 9am and 5.30pm. It goes under the hammer on the 2nd.

“Bass guitars generally aren’t seen as being as cool as regular guitars so tend to attract lower prices,” says Hobbs. “However, this instrument with its history with The Who – and now Queen – is pretty special. These were both huge British bands with international followings so we’re expecting considerable interest.”

Whoever picks it up is getting a heck of a bass. It has a pair of split-coil EMG active pickups, gold hardware, a wenge through-neck topped with a wenge fingerboard, inlaid with Arabic numerals. And it has a heck of a headstock…

It ships in a fitted flight case, and you can check it out at Gardiner Houlgate.