Most Expensive Guitar Picks

Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Collectibles, Music

If you’re looking for a guitar pick, there’s no shortage of different shapes, styles and materials available for you to choose from. Customized picks have been prevalent since the days when Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick would throw hundreds of them out into the audience. In fact, most famous guitarists have their own custom guitar pick. Even among the myriad of different styles, some plectrums are more unique than others. The world’s most expensive guitar picks are some of those.

Starpics, an Australian company known for plectrums made of precious metals, created a completely unique pair of guitar picks. Like their other picks, they’re guaranteed to last pretty much forever and to significantly reduce string breakage. So what makes these picks so special?

They’re made of meteors.

World's most expensive guitar picks

These two luxury picks were fashioned from pieces of Gibeon meteorite. Said to be around 4 billion years old, Gibeon meteorites were discovered in 1836 in Namibia, Africa, where their sale and export were banned by the local government. Despite that fact, over twenty-five tons of the meteorites have been recovered and it is the most commonly found meteorite on the market today. One of the most interesting things about the meteorites is the pattern of Widmanstatten lines created by their frigid passage through space. These patterns are preserved in the picks and can be seen in the picture above.

The most expensive guitar picks in the world are priced at $5,000 AUD ($4,674 USD).

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Most Expensive Bass Guitar

Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Art, Luxury, Music, World

A financially endowed bass player might look at any one of Jens Ritter’s bass guitars, which start at $6,000, and be content. After all, the German luthier’s expensive basses are made with some of the same techniques used to make Stradivarius violins. One customer, however, wasn’t satisfied with one of Ritter’s “normal” guitars and we’re lucky for it. After all, if it weren’t for this customer, we wouldn’t be able to tell you about the world’s most expensive bass guitar.

World's most expensive bass guitar

The Ritter Royal Flora Aurum, as it’s called, has a body carved from a rare, solid piece of maple while the nut is carved from 10,000-year-old mammoth ivory. The fingerboard is decorated with a floral inlay pattern made of 24-karat gold. There’s even a black diamond set in platinum decorating each leaf. Even the bridge, tuner buttons and knobs are cast in gold. The knobs on this luxurious bass hold an additional embellishment—they’re both topped with brilliant-cut diamonds (3.3 carats total).

The Flora Aurum is a work in progress and is on hold for one lucky buyer.

The most expensive bass guitar in the world is valued at $100,000.

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Most Expensive Compact Disc

Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Music, World

Audiophiles may lament the fact that sometimes the source of their music doesn’t live up to the standards set by their tens of thousands of dollars in audio equipment. Vinyl records and compact discs both degrade rather easily, after all, and many audiophiles still contend that CDs just sound worse. Last year, a Japanese recording engineer named Suenori Fukui may have solved both problems by inventing the world’s most expensive CD—and it’s made of glass.

As glass is a completely transparent medium, unlike the plastic used in other CDs, the laser in your CD player can read the information on this expensive disc perfectly. Additionally, glass is less prone to scratching than plastic and neither heat nor humidity will harm the most expensive compact disc in the world. Of course, detractors point out that one thing that glass is famous for is shattering.

Most expensive CD

Glass CDs currently need to be made by hand, which has contributed to its significant price tag of 98,700 yen ($883 USD). The first glass CD made available to the public was Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Air on G String,” sold by N & F Label. Judging by the lack of media attention in the year or so since it was released, though, you shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for your favorite band’s entire discography to be released on glass.

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Most Expensive Car Audio System

Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Electronics, Luxury, Music, Vehicles

Looking for a top of the line audio system to put in your spacious new SUV? Why not try the world’s most expensive car audio system? Up and coming luxury audio system creators Rogue Acoustics made a splash when they unveiled their premiere car audio system, the RA:1K.

While the RA:1K is highly customizable, the majority of systems will be installed with nine or ten drivers—four tweeters, four mid-range drivers and one or two subwoofers. These will be supported with up to six amplifiers capable of delivering extraordinarily clear sound at equally extraordinary volumes (0.0008% harmonic distortion at 100 watts and a signal-to-noise ratio higher than 115dB). All of these features will ensure that your car stereo will sound better than it ever has.

World’s most expensive car audio system

Drivers used in the RA:1K

Additionally, the central amp will include a cellular connection allowing Rogue technicians to remotely tune the system or even disable it if it’s stolen. The system can even diagnose itself and, if necessary, automatically request that a service appointment be scheduled.

The most basic version of the most expensive car audio system can be purchased for $72,000, but a serious audiophile can spend over $300,000 on all the bells and whistles that may be included.

Prior to the unveiling of the Rogue Acoustics Audio System, Critical Mass’ CES5.1 Electrostatic Surround Sound System was the most expensive car audio system available. It was lauded for the twelve relatively small electrostatic speakers included in the system; such speakers are normally quite large. In fact, the system outfitted four seats with independent left, right and center drivers while a single pair of rear speakers and a UL12 subwoofer dominated the back of the car. Only ten of these systems were made and they were priced at $259,000.

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Most Expensive Private Musical Performances

Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Luxury, Music

Hiring a band is a great way to ensure that yours is a memorable party, but only if the band suits the attendees. How, then, do you impress a party that includes the social elite? You could try hiring one of the performers (or groups thereof) who have put on the most expensive private musical [...]

Most Expensive Speakers

Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Electronics, Luxury, Music

Wilson Audio, makers of high end audio systems such as MAXX, the WATT/Puppy System and Sophia, have combined and perfected the technologies utilized during the development of these systems into their flagship speaker system, the Alexandria X-2. Winner of the 2005 Soundstage! Edge of the Art award and the 2004 Ultra Audio Product of the [...]

Most Expensive Stereo System

Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Electronics, Music

As one of the world’s largest consumer electronics trade shows, the IFA show in Berlin has certainly been host to some startlingly expensive electronic marvels. IFA 2007, which opened its doors on the last day of August, was no disappointment. Among the 1,212 exhibitors present at this year’s show was the aptly-named Audio magazine, there [...]

Most Expensive Drum Kit

Written by: Hunter Filed Under: Collectibles, Music

by Hunter Davis
Becoming popular in the late 1800’s, drum kits were revolutionized by the invention of the bass drum pedal that allowed a drummer to play on several percussion instruments at once like the snare, bass, and cymbals. Drum kits were popularized in the roaring twenties when their deep sounds and bright tones became a [...]

Most Expensive Flute

Written by: Hunter Filed Under: Music, World

by Hunter Davis
Flutes fall into the category of woodwinds and unlike other similar instruments produce their sound without using a reed. Flutes produce sound using the flow of air against an edge. Generally called a flautist or flutist, the flute is known for its pleasant and sweet sounding tones that easily blend with various other [...]

Most Expensive Piano

Written by: tom Filed Under: Music, World

Have you ever imagined what the world’s most expensive piano is? Imagine no further. The most expensive piano in the world belonged to the Beatle’s John Lennon and was auctioned off to British pop-singer George Michael in 2000. When the topic of expensive pianos comes to mind you might think somewhere along the lines of [...]

Most Expensive Violin in the World

Written by: tom Filed Under: Music, World

The violin, also known as a fiddle, is probably the most popular bowed stringed musical instrument. The instrument comes from Italy during the 16th century, and the oldest surviving violin dates to 1564.
The Lady Tennant Stradivarius violin was sold by Christie’s New York in April 2005 for $2.03 million US dollars. There have [...]

Most Expensive MP3 Player

Written by: tom Filed Under: Electronics, Fashion, Luxury, Music, World

The mp3 player, or digital audio player, is a small portable device which plays digital music files, the most common of which are mp3s. Flash-based players, like the Apple iPod Shuffle, and digital jukeboxes, like the larger Apple iPod, are becoming increasingly gadgets used by millions around the world.
After receiving an order [...]

Most Expensive Guitar in the World

Written by: tom Filed Under: Art, Collectibles, Electronics, Music, World

by Heather Strobel
“Blackie”, Eric Clapton’s favorite mid-career modified Strat has been surpassed in value and is no longer the most expensive guitar ever, despite that it was bought for $950,000 USD in 2004 by a guitar archaeologist.

The latest most expensive electric guitar in the world dethroned its predecessor at an auction in Doha, [...]

Most Expensive Turntable in the World

Written by: tom Filed Under: Art, Electronics, Music, World

The turntable started out as a device used to play music by rotating a phonograph record on a a circular horizontal platform, but it has evolved into a music instrument itself and some models now are just as much as the costliest instrument. The record player was the most popular device for playing sound [...]

Most Expensive iPod Speakers

Written by: tom Filed Under: Electronics, Luxury, Music

iPods are an expensive and ever more popular electronic device. As the iPod has spread, so have the attachments and systems designed to interact with the iPod.
But here is probably the most expensive iPod accessory, and definitely the most expensive speakers being marketed for iPods. The most expensive iPod speakers are Hammacher Schlemmer Studio-Quality [...]

Most Expensive Music Video Ever

Written by: Administrator Filed Under: Art, Fashion, Music, World

Music videos are an important marketing device which increase sales for artists. Michael Jackson’s music videos were one of the first to use the idea of the short story film. This is one of the reasons he makes the most expensive music videos.
Michael Jackson’s videos have always been ridiculously expensive. In [...]