1984 Gibson Citation

[JVguitarsAZ]

The last of the original run of Citation guitars, this instrument represents the very best of what Gibson could produce at the time. There was not a more expensive guitar! This archtop exudes absolutely incredible craftsmanship, playability and tone. Asking 16k

[Woody Sound]

Cool color!

[skykomishone]

Stunning! GLWTS

[tbeltrans]

I have one of these from 1995. I see on reverb that the price ranges from $18k to around $30k. The OP is asking what I paid a few years ago, so today that is a great price. From what I have seen, these things seem to hold their value pretty well. They aren't something a casual shopper would buy, but to the right person, these are just the ticket. Everybody should have one.

The only thing I didn't care much for is that if you have the original case, they weigh a ton. As I understand it, each case was made for that guitar. I have seen these cases without the guitar go for $1k on reverb, so they must have some type of collector value (if you already have the guitar, I suppose). Mine came with all original case and the guitar is all original, so I don't know any more about the case. It was just a part of the deal for me. Not that it is a custom tight fit, but the cases were built with the guitar. I am 71 years old and as a result of the medications, I have lost half my weight over the past year or so and hefting that case has become a real chore. Easy solution - buy a lighter case and keep this one for if I were to ever sell. Personally, I think the Citation is the type of guitar that my heirs would sell, not me. It was just chance that I had the cash in hand when my Citation showed up locally.

Anyway, best of luck with the sale and congratulations to the lucky buyer. These guitars are a dream to play and to just look at.

Tony

[2bornot2bop]

The seller needs to reshoot the guitar so you can actually see the wood. If I was shooting this there’d be well lit shots from every possible angle.

[skykomishone]

2B, you're the best photographer of guitars. No question.

[jads57]

So this Citation is from the late 1960’s if understand correctly? That would be quite a collector’s item at a great asking price. Especially if it was what appears to be excellent Condition?

[2bornot2bop]

2B, you're the best photographer of guitars. No question.

Thx for saying so, but truth is I’m barely an amateur.

[Prossi@cozen.com]

So this Citation is from the late 1960’s if understand correctly? That would be quite a collector’s item at a great asking price. Especially if it was what appears to be excellent Condition?

isn’t this a 1984 guitar?

[jads57]

There were different production runs of the Gibson Citation. The originals were in the late 1960’s. But I believe under Henry J at Gibson they were once again produced.

[Bluedawg]

There were different production runs of the Gibson Citation. The originals were in the late 1960’s. But I believe under Henry J at Gibson they were once again produced.

There were a few Citations made in the 70s and 80s according to what I've read.

And also, its sister model the Kalamazoo Award

Most of them were built after Henry J brought them back

I have a 1995 Citation ... it's quite awesome

[Marty Grass]

That guitar may be one of the last Kalamazoo Citations. Probably a Nashville though. The Citation and the Kalamazoo Award are stunning instruments.

[Marty Grass]

No, this was a Kalamazoo built one. See the following article.

In Memory of Aaron Cowles - by Jack Baruth

This was written by my friend, Jack Baruth. He races cars and writes about the sport. The top guitar in the article is one I owned. It's a Heritage Eagle. It was devasted in a shipping disaster. Jack took it to Aaron Cowles, who rebuilt it for Jack. Another guitar is a blond H-575 that was unusable due to a defective neck. Jack bought it for very little from a Guitar Center and took it to Aaron, who renecked it. Jack lent me that instrument a couple of years ago, and I still have it.

Anyway, the Citation was built by Aaron, according to the linked article. It would have been in his shop in Vicksburgh, MI.

Mystery solved.

[Woody Sound]

There were a few Citations made in the 70s and 80s according to what I've read.

Yes, I remember them. We thought the prices were crazy *then*.

[jads57]

So who built the original run of Citations? I remember Mike Elliot a Gibson endorser owned of the originals. Unfortunately he sold it due to financial hardship during his career.

[tbeltrans]

So who built the original run of Citations? I remember Mike Elliot a Gibson endorser owned of the originals. Unfortunately he sold it due to financial hardship during his career.

I once owned a Gibson Johnny Smith from the early 1970s with two pickups that had been owned by Mike Elliot. I bought it at Willie's American Guitars as a consignment back probably 10 - 15 years ago. At that time, the second owner had it on consignment because he had too much arthritis to play anymore. The only reason I moved it along was that it had damage resulting from the gasses released from the pick guard, and I didn't want to deal with getting it fixed. At some point, it had been stolen and recovered, so the serial number on the back of the headstock had been partially removed. There was enough documentation with the guitar such that this didn't pose a problem.

As I understand it, the Citation was supposed to be an "improved" version of the Gibson Johnny Smith. The pick guard gasses problem was solved in the Citation by using ebony for the pick guard. My Johnny Smith had a short scale (24.9" ?), while my Citation has a longer scale. I don't recall the exact length, but it is something along the lines of 25.5" (?). So I am not at all sure about the Citation really being considered an improved Johnny Smith rather than a custom guitar of its own. As I understand it from a friend of mine who deals in guitars and is a full-time jazz musician, Gibson had certain models built by their best luthiers separate from the factory floor. Among these were the Citation and the Johnny Smith.

My Citation was built in 1995 and is completely original, including the case, and all of this is in mint condition. I would think most of the surviving Citations would be mint and all original since it seems to be more of a collector's item than something one would routinely gig with. I haven't gigged in years, but I do play the Citation regularly since I am not a collector. I just wanted one top quality Gibson archtop and the Citation came along at the right time.

I wouldn't doubt that somebody around here has the facts surrounding all this. It would be interesting to know the whole story sometime.

Tony

[tomvwash]

The last of the original run of Citation guitars, this instrument represents the very best of what Gibson could produce at the time. There was not a more expensive guitar! This archtop exudes absolutely incredible craftsmanship, playability and tone. Asking 16k

..off thread...hoping to see your Ebony Super 400 here from Reverb, but maybe you've already accepted the offer there. Thank you,

Tom

[floatingpickup]

I once owned a Gibson Johnny Smith from the early 1970s with two pickups that had been owned by Mike Elliot. I bought it at Willie's American Guitars as a consignment back probably 10 - 15 years ago. At that time, the second owner had it on consignment because he had too much arthritis to play anymore. The only reason I moved it along was that it had damage resulting from the gasses released from the pick guard, and I didn't want to deal with getting it fixed. At some point, it had been stolen and recovered, so the serial number on the back of the headstock had been partially removed. There was enough documentation with the guitar such that this didn't pose a problem.

As I understand it, the Citation was supposed to be an "improved" version of the Gibson Johnny Smith. The pick guard gasses problem was solved in the Citation by using ebony for the pick guard. My Johnny Smith had a short scale (24.9" ?), while my Citation has a longer scale. I don't recall the exact length, but it is something along the lines of 25.5" (?). So I am not at all sure about the Citation really being considered an improved Johnny Smith rather than a custom guitar of its own. As I understand it from a friend of mine who deals in guitars and is a full-time jazz musician, Gibson had certain models built by their best luthiers separate from the factory floor. Among these were the Citation and the Johnny Smith.

My Citation was built in 1995 and is completely original, including the case, and all of this is in mint condition. I would think most of the surviving Citations would be mint and all original since it seems to be more of a collector's item than something one would routinely gig with. I haven't gigged in years, but I do play the Citation regularly since I am not a collector. I just wanted one top quality Gibson archtop and the Citation came along at the right time.

I wouldn't doubt that somebody around here has the facts surrounding all this. It would be interesting to know the whole story sometime.

Tony

I think you are correct in that the Citation was partly based on the Johnny Smith model. As far as I can tell, the body appears to be the same as a JS (the JS body is shallower and shorter than an L5). According to Lin Flanagan’s book “Moonlight in Vermont”, the last Gibson JS that was given to Johnny, was originally intended to be a Citation and they just made “minor changes” to make it a JS model. I assume those minor changes referred to the neck and the hardware, with a Citation body.
Keith