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1982 Gibson Moderne, Serial Number B046

This 1982 Gibson Moderne™ is a remarkably clean and highly original example of one of the more unusual guitars in Gibson history. The Moderne was conceived alongside the Explorer™ and Flying V™ during our late-1950s experiments with radically modern solidbody designs, but unlike those two models, it never made it into production at the time. The design finally emerged more than two decades later, and even by early-1980s standards there was still nothing else quite like it. Built from Korina and finished in Natural, this example has been very well cared for and is simply a great example of the model.

The Korina body remains exceptionally clean, with a vibrant Natural finish and only light evidence of play. There are a handful of small nicks and dings around the body and edges, including an approximately 1" long by 1/4" wide scratch and ding in the recess between the body wings and a small mark near the neck joint, along with very light lacquer chipping around the tuners on the face of the peghead. One small area on the back shows buckle wear through the finish and what may be a minor amount of older touch-up. That is about the extent of it. For a guitar more than 40 years old, this one has survived in very good condition.

The Korina neck has a comfortable D profile measuring .85" at the first fret and .96" at the 12th, with an Indian rosewood fingerboard, 22 medium-jumbo frets, and a 1 11/16" Corian™ nut. The frets are broad and fairly low, but the guitar plays cleanly and comfortably up and down the neck. One interesting detail is the unusually thick Moderne truss rod cover made up of two standard depth truss rod covers adhered together, which appears to have been installed at the factory. There is some slight wear around the truss rod cover screw holes, but nothing structural or of concern.

The rest of the guitar is largely original, including the gold-plated hardware, Gibson-embossed double-ring tuners, ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic™ bridge, Stop Bar tailpiece, five-ply black and white pickguard, and electronics. When the guitar came to us, it had period gold Top Hat knobs installed in place of the standard black Top Hat knobs and was missing its selector switch ring. We sourced period-correct black Top Hat knobs and a black selector switch ring and installed them, returning those details to the original specification.

Under the hood, everything is just as we would hope to find it. The original double-black Patent Number ink-stamped humbucker™ pickups measure 7.26k ohms in the neck position and 7.44k ohms in the bridge. The original wiring harness remains intact, with CTS® potentiometers bearing visible date codes 137822x, 1378145, and 1378029, a ceramic disc capacitor, and original Switchcraft® components.

It sounds great, too. The Korina body is lively and resonant, and the original humbuckers™ are clear and punchy with plenty of warmth. At only 7.57 pounds, the guitar feels light and responsive, and the Moderne shape is more comfortable in hand than its appearance might suggest. For all the attention the design gets—and it certainly gets attention—this particular Moderne is first and foremost a very good guitar. It plays easily, sounds excellent, and is a lot of fun to have in your hands.

The guitar includes its original Gibson brown and pink Moderne hardshell case, which remains in very good condition overall. The original plastic handle has been replaced with a leather buckle-on style handle; otherwise, the case is well preserved and fully functional.

This instrument has received a professional setup and thorough inspection from Gibson Certified Vintage and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, Letter of Appraisal, new Limited Lifetime Warranty, and exclusive Gibson Certified Vintage accessories including a leather guitar strap, matching leather luggage tag, and vintage-style Gibson pick container.

Weight: 7.57 lb.
Neck Depth: 1st Fret: .85", 12th Fret: .96"