Gibson Citation - The Gibson Citation
Twenty-Five hundred dollars. Its all the Gibson there is |
The Gibson Citation was a very impressive jazz cello bodied guitar, that had an equally impressive price tag. designed by Gibson president Stanley Rendell, it was at the top of Gibsons range, priced at $2500 it almost doubled the price of the next most expensive instrument, the Super 400CESN ($1275), and was 14 times more expensive than the single pickup Melody Maker ($179.50).
It was a registered edition, made to order only from 1969, and was available with the buyers name ingraved into the truss rod cover. Shipping figures are imprecise (as usual); according to Meiners (2001) Only 8 instruments were shipped between 1969-71, and a further one instrument was shipped in 1979. This contrasts with Bishop (1976) who claims 15 instruments were shipped up until 1976.
The following description is taken from the 1970 Gibson electric acoustics catalogue
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Years of dedication, experience and craftsmanship have made the Citation the finest instrument of its kind in the world. The visual elegance and magnificent tone quality of the Citation will long be appreciated by the proud owner of this distinctive musical instrument. And inscribed on the mother-of-pearl truss rod cover will be the owner's name. This instrument is truly "The Gibson" guitar.
FEATURES; Carved top of the finest, close grain spruce, carved maple back with matching rims, multiple white-black-white ivoroid binding. Raised maple finger rest made to match the rims and back. Five piece laminated maple neck, ebony fingerboard with deluxe inlay design. Exquisite Citation tailpiece, special design humbucking pickup, volume control mounted on pickguard. Gold-plated metal parts and machine heads with fleur-de-lis engraving. 17" wide, 20 ½" long, 3 1/8 " deep: 25 ½" scale, 20 frets.
Citation - Sunburst
Citation-N - Natural finish
Complete with faultless plush-lined case and case cover.
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