Gibson Custom Shop guitars built in secret by Roger Giffin head to auction

The “Giffin Outlaw Guitar Collection”, a set of unauthorized Gibson Custom Shop guitars built in secret by luthier Roger Giffin and Brett Allen between 1988 and 1990, will be sold in a 30-day auction on ANALOGr.com starting October 20, 2026. An invite-only private viewing takes place in Los Angeles on November 10, according to Premier Guitar.

The Gibson logos on the headstocks were never approved by the company. Highlights include four hollow-body Les Pauls, fully carved inside to get a Gretsch-like resonance and fitted with remote-mounted bridges to fight feedback, two Les Paul baritones, one of them with 1954 P90 pickups, a Goldtop 12-string Les Paul with a custom 12-way intonated bridge, and a Les Paul with three P90s in a Gretsch-style gold sparkle finish.

Giffin became head of Gibson’s West Coast Custom Shop in Los Angeles in 1988, having already worked for Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour and Paul McCartney. There he met Brett Allen, a guitar tech for AC/DC and Paul Simon. Working after hours and on weekends, Giffin drew on Gibson’s Nashville wood and parts supply; he says he was given “anything I asked for.” Allen kept the collection hidden under his bed for decades.

The top lot, a 1989 Les Paul Baritone, the first Giffin built, is estimated at $75,000–$150,000. A 1990 Les Paul 12-String Standard Goldtop, a Pelham Blue Firebird V and an all-gold Flying V are each estimated at $25,000–$50,000, while two Chet Atkins SST models, a guitar and a bass, carry $10,000–$20,000 estimates.

In October mbuzz reported that Gibson had announced four new acoustic models in its Original Collection.