1982 Gibson Custom Shop Chet Atkins CE Natural, Excellent, Original Hard, $1,200.00

This unique piece sprang forth from the collective minds of Gibson’s acclaimed Custom Shop and the twang master himself, Chet Atkins. Atkins had begun to utilize classical guitars during the 1970s and into the 1980s and Gibson came to him to help design a top-of-the-line electrified classical with increased feedback control. The end result was the Gibson Chet Atkins CE (Classical Electric). Gibson began production of the CE and CEC in 1981 and continued producing them until 2005. The two models differed in terms of nut width (the CEC is a standard classical 2”; the CE is a smaller 1.75”) and finger board construction (the CE was rosewood while the CEC was ebony). The CE is electrified by a Gibson Hex piezo pickup in the bridge position and can be controlled by a battery-powered pre-amp system that allows players to get a more balanced tone. The single cutaway body sports a Solid Spruce top and acoustically-chambered mahogany back. The mahogany neck sports a 25.5” scale and features 19 frets with the neck meeting the body at the 12th. The body is 2” deep with an ornately designed soundhole rosette. The guitar is in very good condition with only some light dings on the top and light scratches on the back of the body. There is a ding adjacent to the 5th fret on the treble hand side of the neck as well as two smaller dings in the back of the neck in the area of the 1st fret. These did not seem to affect the playability but can be felt while gripping the neck in their vicinity. The gold Schaller 3-on-a-side tuning machines have some light tarnish and the gold plating on the control panel has come off over time. There is also some light checking on the bottom of the body near the bottom strap button. It has been set-up by our in-house tech for optimal playability and intonation. The guitar plays great with comfortable action and the frets have lots of life ahead of them. It has a bit of weight to it, coming in at just about 9 ½ lbs. Overall this Chet Atkins CE is a unique take on a classical nylon string guitar that is sure to turn more than a few heads! Includes original hard shell case.