DALLAS, TX.- There might not be a rock star as inseparable from one particular guitar as Lonnie Mack and “Number 7,” the 1958 Gibson Flying V that was his primary instrument for almost the entirety of his influential yet underappreciated career.

It is no exaggeration to say the course of rock ’n’ roll was directed in part by Mack’s signature guitar, “Number 7” — so named, Mack said, because it was the seventh off the assembly line when Gibson introduced the forward-pointing electric guitar with the arrow-shaped body and head. Journalists seldom wrote about or photographed him without including the guitar in the story or picture, and Rolling Stone even included “Number 7” on its 2019 list of “20 Iconic Guitars.”

This piece of rock history is the headline lot at Heritage Auctions’ Oct. 15 Vintage Guitars and Musical Instruments Signature® Auction. The lot also includes the 1962 Magnatone Custom 440 amp, the other half of Mack’s signature guitar tone, from which his Flying V is inseparable.

Combining country- and blues-style fingerpicking and a voice that would later be described as “blue-eyed soul,” Mack developed a proto-rockabilly sound that influenced future generations of players. After some session work in the late 1950s and early ’60s, he recorded two blues-rock instrumental singles for Fraternity Records: a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” and “Wham!”, an original composition. They became hits and were central to his 1963 debut album, The Wham of That Memphis Man.

Mack’s customizations to “Number 7” further molded the guitar to fit his trailblazing style, changing the direction of rock guitar in the process. Mack had a guitar shop owner add a Bigsby tremolo arm to the guitar, which required a steel bar fitted between the two wings of the Flying V to brace the device. He made such extensive and creative use of it that guitarists began calling the accessory a “whammy bar,” referring to Mack’s debut single and album. More than 60 years later, it remains the tremolo bar’s most common nickname.

In interviews, Mack said the arrowlike profile drew him to the Flying V, that it struck a chord with his Native American heritage. Initially, he was in a small minority in his appreciation: The model was a commercial failure, with fewer than 100 sold its first two years of production. But after it was embraced by players like blues legend Albert King, the Kinks’ Dave Davies and Mack, who loved the eye-catching shape and powerful sound, it eventually caught on despite a polarizing body style that makes it awkward at best to play sitting down.

Aaron Piscopo, Director of Vintage Guitars & Musical Instruments at Heritage, is ecstatic for the opportunity to sell such an important part of rock history.

“Lonnie Mack’s ‘Number 7’ is far more than a rare 1958 Gibson Flying V — it is one of the defining instruments of early blues-rock guitar,” Piscopo says. “Lonnie recognized the potential of Gibson’s radical new design before almost anyone else, then made it entirely his own. Offered with his Magnatone Custom 440 amplifier, this is an extraordinary opportunity to acquire the equipment behind a groundbreaking and unmistakable sound.”

Dave Hinson, Managing Director of Music for Heritage, points out that “Number 7” has not had a single alteration since Mack died and comes with the Flying V’s original tuners as well as another era-correct set in addition to the updated tuners Mack used. Altogether, it represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a serious guitar collector.

“A regular 1958 Flying V would be $600,000 or $700,000 even without any celebrity story attached to it,” he says.

Also included: Mack’s instantly recognizable tooled and accessorized leather stage strap, mojo bag and all.

Not all late-1950s Gibson guitars are as well-worn, repaired, modified and customized as Lonnie Mack’s “Number 7.” A gorgeous, incredibly preserved rare example from the other side of the spectrum is the other headline lot in Heritage Auctions’ Oct. 15 Vintage Guitars and Musical Instruments Signature® Auction: this 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Sunburst Solid Body Electric Guitar, Serial No. 9 0640.

Hinson says he would rate the guitar’s extraordinary state of preservation as a 9.6.

“The guitar is all original, in very pristine condition,” he says.

It was part of the celebrated collection of Ichiro Kato, one of Japan’s most respected vintage Gibson collectors, whose collection has become synonymous with originality, authenticity and some of the finest surviving examples of Golden Era Gibson instruments. Its serial number has been extensively documented within the vintage guitar community and is recorded in the Burst Serial Registry, whose archival information is drawn from the foremost reference works on the subject, including The Beauty of the Burst, Burst Believers, Sunburst Alley and Burst Gang.

Other featured Gibsons include a circa 1970–71 black Les Paul Custom formerly owned by Tom Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Provenance includes a 2007 bill of sale and letter of authenticity from Jeffery Fogerty, and the lot includes a handful of Fogerty-related LPs and a copy of Bad Moon Rising, which features photographs of Fogerty playing the guitar.

Fender highlights in the auction include a Telecaster customized with skull artwork on the front and a portrait on the back depicting a half-skeletonized Keith Richards smoking a cigarette. The artwork is signed by the late airbrush artist Paul Karslake, who worked with the Rolling Stones and was friends with Richards.

Tele lovers will also have their eyes on “The Halloween Tele,” a 1952 Fender Blackguard with its original blond finish and a body dated “Eddie 10-31-52,” from which the spooky nickname came, as well as a beautiful 1952 Fender Telecaster Butterscotch Blond Telecaster.

A limited-edition Fender Custom Shop recreation of the hand-painted Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix played at the Monterey International Pop Festival, serial No. 209 of 210, honors one of the all-time great players’ most legendary performances and remains in excellent unplayed condition.