Ed Sheeran donates prototype guitar to be raffled for charity

Virgin Radio

9 Dec 2021, 16:16

Ed Sheeran continues to be one of the nicest men in pop.

He has continued his charity work by donating the prototype of his latest guitar to charity to be raffled off.

The one-of-a-kind guitar is being raffled off to raise funds for a music pod and disabled access facilities at a school in Ed's hometown.

If winning the guitar wasn't enough, Ed will be personalising the prototype for the lucky winner.

Tickets for the raffle are priced at just £5.

As well as the grand prize of the guitar, three runners up will receive an Ipswich Town Football Club shirt signed by Ed. The guitar is the latest in a collaboration between guitar maker George Lowden and Ed, George has been making guitars for Ed for six years.

The raffle is open from today until 19 December, tickets are available from www.geewizzcharity.com/EdGuitarRaffle  Ed Sheeran said: “This is the prototype of the new = (equals) guitar by Sheeran Guitars by Lowden, it is one of one, there is not another guitar like this, this is the guitar that gets sent to me to check that all the other guitars are alright, it says prototype in it.

"To win this, it’s a £5 raffle which goes to charity, it’s going to build a music centre at a primary school near me which I’m really excited about. If you win it you can have it personalised, I can write some lyrics on it, I’ll do whatever you want! Runners up will get a signed Ipswich shirt by me, good luck and Merry Christmas!”

The guitar is crafted from walnut and spruce trees that have fallen naturally; the = (equals) inlay is in maple inset into the ebony fingerboard.

A butterfly is etched into the heel and the album artwork is included within the internal label.

The final versions of the publicly available = (equals) Edition guitar will be limited to just 3000 units worldwide. George Lowden said: “It has been an absolute pleasure for me, along with my team, to design and make this limited edition = (equals) guitar. The detail of the album cover design along with the etching of the butterfly on the heel work so well with the other guitar features - especially the figured European walnut and reclaimed spruce used in the soundbox itself.”

 Gina Long MBE, Founder of GeeWizz said “We are so incredibly grateful to Ed for this wonderful donation, it is a true reflection of his generosity towards his local community. The prototype guitar is a hugely collectable piece of music memorabilia, a chance for someone to own a piece of history and the legacy from the guitar will benefit so many children for years to come”. We are delighted to be supporting Sir Robert Hitcham School, providing a wonderful space for their children to enjoy and we look forward to seeing it in use for many years to come.” Helen Picton, Headteacher of Sir Robert Hitcham’s CEVAP School, said: “We are extremely grateful for the support of the GeeWizz Charity without which we would not be able to provide such a wonderful music space and disabled facilities for our children.  We so look forward to seeing and using the fruits of your hard work and efforts.”  Any extra funds raised will be distributed by GeeWizz to others SENDS projects for learning disabled and neurodivergent children around Suffolk.