It would have been safe to assume that, following last year’s record-breaking auction, it would be a long time before another Mark Knopfler–played guitar went under the hammer. Yet, a Baldwin/Burns Double Six solid-body 12-string guitar, used extensively by the Dire Straits man, has defied the odds. It is expected to sell for more than $40,000 when it goes on the block at U.K. auction house Gardiner Houlgate on September 9.
Knopfler sold a staggering 123 guitars via Christie’s in January 2024, raking in roughly $11 million. Just under 30 of those instruments fetched $100,00 apiece, while the standout was a 1959 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard that sold for $876,000.
It's little surprise Knopfler acquired so many guitars, given that he has been an inveterate collector throughout his career.
“I still stop and look in a guitar shop window when I pass one on the street,” he told Guitar Player just last year. “Nose up against the glass, that whole thing.”
The unusual Baldwin/Burns Double Six wasn’t one of his impulse buys, however. Knopfler “borrowed” the guitar for a rather extended 50-year period from his pal Jeff Sadler, a fellow northeast England native best known for his work in the folk-rock group Lindisfarne. Sadler bought the guitar in the mid 1970s before lending it to Knopfler. The pair, who were school friends, regularly traded and shared gear.
In Knopfler's hands, the Double Six found employment both in the studio and on stage. It was prominently used in the recording of “Angel of Mercy” and “Portobello Belle,” both from Dire Straits' 1979 sophomore album, Communiqué, and it appeared onstage at Wembley Stadium at 1986 show for the Prince’s Trust (now the King’s Trust). Knopfler also used it to perform “Sailing” at the show with Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton.
The Double Six is one of several models sold by Burns in the U.K. and rebranded by Baldwin for sale in the U.S. (Burns is the same firm behind Jeff “Skunk” Baxter’s bargain six-string, which he played on a disco classic.) The Double Six remained in Knopfler’s hands until last year. It had been earmarked to feature in his Christies fire sale. Upon discovering it in the trove scheduled to go on the block, Knopfler had the guitar returned to Sadler.
Now Sadler has put the guitar up for auction. It's set to be sold in the Gardiner Houlgate auction along with two other notable electric guitars: a 1957 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 owned by Jimmy Page, and a 1989 Takamine FP-360SC acoustic-electric used by Pete Townshend.
The Double Six isn't one of Knopfler's better-known guitars, nor is it associated with a major hit record. Although Communiqué is certified Gold in the U.S. and Platinum in the U.K., it produced no major hit singles and is the only Dire Straits record not represented on the Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler compilation album Private Investigations.
Still, the weight of its reputation and the fact that it remained by Knopfler's side for so long is enough to warrant an estimated $40K sale price.
“Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits had a huge influence on music and guitar players not just in the 1980s and ’90s, but through today,” says Gardiner Houlgate auctioneer Luke Hobbs. “I’m confident that this guitar will attract a lot of attention from fans and collectors alike — particularly as it has such a great story behind it. There's lots of provenance to this guitar.”
Visit Gardiner Houlgate for more information ahead of its sale on September 9.
Elsewhere, Knopfler has revealed the iconic guitar tone of one of the band's biggest hits was a stroke of dumb luck, explained why the most challenging aspects of Dire Straits' live shows had nothing to do with guitar playing, and detailed how a cheap guitar inspired his most famous guitar solo.
He's also discussed the one guitar he is “never without.” Like the Burns 12-string, it's another guitar he acquired from a friend and fellow rock legend.
