“An amazing piece of history from the British blues scene”: Robert Plant is selling a trove of gear for charity – including a John Birch-modded ‘62 Stratocaster with two switches that once belonged to Stan Webb of Chicken Shack

Robert Plant is selling a bunch of his gear to raise money for charity and collectors looking for a golden era Fender Stratocaster with some serious mojo – and some mods that might give the vintage cork-sniffers the heebie-jeebies – should definitely check out the sale.

Sadly, the Led Zeppelin frontman’s 1990 Gibson Les Paul Standard has been sold – Les Paul himself gave it to Plant backstage at the Garden during a Page/Plant show in 1995 – but guitarists perhaps should turn their attentions instead to a 1962 Strat that has been stripped, its fingerboard lacquered, that has entered and exited the workshop of the legendary late British luthier John Birch – a favourite of Tony Iommi's – with a number of mods, including an inspired second pickup selector switch.

Venerable vintage guitar emporium ATB Guitars, in Cheltenham, is hosting the sale, and all proceeds will be going to Plant’s favourite charities, such as the Good Shepherd in Wolverhampton.

With its stripped finish, revealing all the wood grain of the solid alder body, this unique electric guitar kind of reminds us a little of Jerry Garcia’s Alligator Strat – at least there seems to have been subjected to a similarly radical spirit.

Again, another detail that will bring tears to the purist collector’s eyes, we have aftermarket Schaller tuners, swapped out saddles in the tremolo, and while many players – purist and regular alike – might consider the original Strat pickups to be the acme of single-coil tone, those too have been replaced at the neck and bridge position with a pair of Suhr vintage ’60s. The middle pickup is the original “black-bottomed” pickup.

The decal on the headstock has been changed. Indeed, the headstock has been repaired. As the listing notes, this is unusual for a Stratocaster but then maybe it speaks to some of the adventures – and misadventures – it has had along the way. As Joe Bonamassa oft-says, he doesn’t collect guitars, he collects stories, and this has definitely got some stories to tell.

For a start, it had some artist provenance before coming into the possession of Plant. It was owned by Stan Webb of British blues guitar stalwarts Chicken Shack. Plant and his LedZep bandmates were big fans, and the frontman bought it off Webb in the ‘70s. It’s a good weight, under 8lbs – £19,995 and its yours.

Alternatively, and a more budget-friendly option, you could pick up Plant’s 1993 Dobro F-60 Resonator for £1,995, which is A) a very cool guitar, and B) pretty affordable as far as rock-god owned guitars go.

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Plant’s 1917 Gibson A-1 Style is also up for grabs. It is a piece of Gibson history, coming out of the Kalamazoo, Michigan factory with a design that planted the seed for the arch-tops to come.

As with guitar, Plant didn’t get the chance to play mandolin with Led Zeppelin, leaving that to John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page. But you know, this could be just the thing for playing Going To California in the back garden once summer finally arrives. It’s priced £2,495. All of these come with a signed COA from Plant himself. Check the Robert Plant Collection out at ATB Guitars.