Gibson Super 4000 1997 – Honey Burst

As soon as you open the case, its evident that this guitar is Gibson’s finest, right up there with their golden era archtops in terms of craftsmanship, quality and sound. Not only is this an incredible instrument to play, but it is incredibly rare, with only 25 produced and a whopping list price of $40,000 when new. They do not come up for sale often, and are covetously guarded in top tier collections all over the world. Behold, the Gibson Super 4000!

Each Super 4000 was personally signed by Chet Atkins and represented the absolute finest that Gibson’s Custom Shop archtop division, headed by James Hutchins, had to offer. (That’s really saying something!) These were Super 400 size instruments that were thinline and featured the finest hand carved Spruce tops and hand carved Flame Maple back and sides. The result is an incredibly resonant guitar with a huge depth of sound, but a very comfortable feel. The pickup sounds DIVINE, and i find myself wishing that Gibson would put something similar on their Jazz guitars now! The plugged in sound is pleasantly percussive with a sweet woodiness and tons of clarity. Absolutely joyful to play! It has low action and a straight neck with a perfectly functioning and responsive truss rod. It was just set up today (12/15/24) with Pyramid 11 gauge flat wound strings and is playing wonderfully.

This example is in wonderful shape and was evidently not played much as the frets are perfect, the finish is in great shape, with no dings or bumps. The guitar bears the signs of a “case queen”: some light finish checking, especially at the edges of the headstock, and some light discolorations of the binding at the neck heel. The pickguard has experienced some off gassing and has some cracks running through it because of it. It is structurally sound and does its job. In addition, there is some light wearing of the gold plating on the pickguard side of the pickup.

All in all, this is a very fine example of this rare and desirable model. If you have been looking for one, act fast! They rarely come up for sale, and do not typically stay on the market for long! Thanks for looking! Ships promptly, pro packed and fully insured!