Auburn, WA, United States
About this listing
This is an exceptionally rare 2005 Schecter Tempest New Orleans Saints Katrina Relief guitar, individually numbered #2 from a production run of only 20 instruments.This is not a later Saints commemorative guitar or one of the more numerous Super Bowl editions. This is the original 2005 Katrina Relief edition, produced in connection with Schecter’s New Orleans charity efforts following Hurricane Katrina.Only 20 of these guitars were made, and this example is #2 of the entire production run.The production number is handwritten in silver inside the original rear control cover, where it would normally remain unseen. I removed the cover specifically to document the marking, and photographs of the number are included with the listing.Factory Verification & AuthenticityThis guitar has been directly verified by Schecter as an authentic factory-produced New Orleans Saints Katrina Relief instrument. Correspondence with Schecter verifying its authenticity available upon request and purchase. The backside looks like two things may have been repaired but not entirely sure I've taken close-ups but not sure they can be seen or if I'm overthinking it. This guitar plays like a dream absolutely quiet pickups and in my personal opinion plays like butter, although we all have our own opinions about that. I'm going to give this a couple weeks and if it doesn't sell it's going back in my collection until I pass away at least but I've always felt that someone was from that area or dealt with Katrina or was in New Orleans fan May value this guitar even more than I do so I wanted to give someone a chance.Schecter’s verification was based on multiple points of identification, including visual identification of the guitar and its factory-specific construction details, identification of the internal components used, and cross-reference of the instrument’s serial number.Documentation of that factory verification is included with the sale.That matters with a guitar this rare. There are very few surviving examples available for comparison, and the combination of factory verification, serial-number cross-reference, internal construction details, and the handwritten #2 production marking gives this guitar an unusually strong provenance trail.Extremely Rare – No Meaningful Public Sales HistoryThere is effectively no established public sales history for this exact 2005 Katrina Relief edition.In searching archived listings, collector references, Reverb history, and other publicly available records, we have been unable to locate a documented public sale of one of the original 20 guitars.More than 20 years after these instruments were produced, we have not been able to find a single traceable public sale of this exact edition.Because of that, there is no conventional market comp for this guitar.Later New Orleans Saints Schecter guitars have occasionally surfaced, including subsequent limited editions and the Super Bowl XLIV guitars, but those are different instruments produced in different years, with different artwork, different historical context, and in some cases substantially larger production runs.The closest comparable Saints-related Schecter guitars are later editions, but they are not this guitar.This original 2005 Katrina Relief model appears to occupy a category of its own.With only 20 originally produced, and more than two decades having passed without a documented public sale that we could locate, another example may not surface for years.And there is certainly no guarantee that another single-digit-numbered example — especially #2 of 20 — will ever become publicly available again.Schecter TempestUnderneath the collectible artwork, this is a genuine Schecter Tempest, with the distinctive offset Tempest body style and the substantial feel and construction associated with the model.It features dual humbuckers, set-neck construction, a Tune-o-matic-style bridge, stop tailpiece, body and neck binding, and gold hardware.This is a real, fully functional Schecter guitar — not simply a promotional wall piece or decorative collectible.AppearanceVisually, this guitar is spectacular.The white Tempest body carries the oversized black-and-gold New Orleans Saints fleur-de-lis, gold NEW ORLEANS SAINTS lettering, gold hardware, black pickguard, bound body and neck, and Saints graphics on the headstock.The fleur-de-lis fretboard inlay ties the entire design together and makes the guitar immediately recognizable from across the room.It is unmistakably a Saints guitar, but it still looks and feels like a serious Schecter instrument.ConditionThe guitar is in excellent overall condition, particularly considering that it is now more than 20 years old.The finish presents beautifully, the graphics remain strong and clean, the gold hardware still shows very well, and the guitar appears to have avoided the kind of wear, abuse, or modification commonly seen on instruments of this age.Please examine all photographs carefully for exact cosmetic condition.Period-Correct Schecter Tempest Hardshell CaseThe guitar includes a period-correct vintage Schecter hardshell case made specifically for the Tempest body style.The case is from the same era as the guitar and is a far more appropriate match for a collectible instrument like this than a modern replacement or generic aftermarket case.Together, the guitar, the period Schecter Tempest case, the documented factory verification, and the individually marked #2 of 20 production number make this a remarkably complete collector package.Collector SignificanceThis guitar sits at the intersection of several collector markets: Schecter collectors, rare-guitar collectors, New Orleans Saints collectors, NFL memorabilia collectors, New Orleans memorabilia collectors, and collectors of Hurricane Katrina-era historical memorabilia.For a serious collector, this is the kind of piece where availability may matter more than conventional price-guide comparisons.There were only 20.This is #2.It has been factory verified by Schecter.It retains a period-correct vintage Schecter Tempest hardshell case.And after more than two decades, we have been unable to locate a documented public sale of another original 2005 example.That combination is extraordinarily difficult to duplicate.If you have been waiting for one of the original 2005 Schecter Tempest New Orleans Saints Katrina Relief guitars to surface, this may represent one of the very few opportunities to acquire one — and quite possibly the first publicly documented offering of its kind.
Original Price$3,875
$800 price drop
New Price$3,075
+ $40 Shipping
