Metallica's Kirk Hammett Auctioning Guitar Played At Ozzy's Farewell Show

11-06-2025

A guitar played by Metallica's Kirk Hammett at Ozzy Osbourne's farewell event, The Back To The Beginning Concert, leads the lineup of special guitars being auctioned to benefit Gibson Gives, the instrument maker's philanthropic division which supports musicians worldwide through music education as well as health and wellness initiatives.

The brand and the charity have partnered with Julien's Auctions for the annual Played, Worn & Torn auction. Prime PR sent over these details: Global bids start online today at JuliensAuctions.com and feature over 800 guitars and music memorabilia. The Gibson Gives portion of the Played, Worn & Torn auction will feature 15 unique Gibson guitar lots, with stage-played and hand-signed guitars from music legends.

Music fans can now own a piece of music history and bid on these exclusive guitars stage-played and hand-signed by legendary music artists. All proceeds from the Gibson Gives guitars on Played, Worn & Torn will support Gibson Gives, which is committed to making the world a better place by supporting non-profit organizations and developing programs in our efforts to advance musicians through music education, and health and wellness initiatives worldwide. 100% of all donations to and from Gibson Gives go towards giving the gift of music. In the last five years, Gibson Gives has raised over $5.5 million dollars and enabled $52.5 million in funding for key organizations through product donations and meaningful giving worldwide.

Gibson and Julien's are proud to offer this one-of-one Gibson SG guitar, serial number CEO#4, designed and custom-built by Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson. This unique guitar is a Gibson SG with custom-designed appointments and was played onstage by Kirk Hammett of Metallica at the last-ever Black Sabbath show, Back to the Beginning on July 5, 2025 in Birmingham, UK. Hammett also hand-signed the guitar.

In addition to performing Metallica's cover of Black Sabbath's "Hole in the Sky," with it, Hammett personally hand-signed the Gibson SG CEO#4, which features a 24.75 inch scale length mahogany neck, a bound 22 fret ebony fretboard with Supreme style split block mother of pearl inlays, a bound open book Gibson headstock with Custom model split diamond inlays, a truss rod cover engraved "CEO-4," and a mahogany body with a multi-ply bound flame maple top finished in Ghost Burst-the finish name was coined by Adam Jones, guitarist of Tool. The guitar includes a hardshell Gibson Protector case and Cesar's Back To The Beginning backstage pass, signed by Cesar.

"The Gibson CEO Series is a collection of guitars I design and build alongside our craftsmen and craftswomen in our craftories," says Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson. "What began as a project to build my own guitar evolved into a deep passion for the process and collaboration with our people. On Friday mornings, I dedicate time to build these instruments at our craftory in Nashville, TN-starting with ideas that often change as I collaborate with our Master Luthiers. Each guitar blends features from different models, making it truly unique. These guitars aren't for me to keep; they're played on stage, auctioned for Gibson Gives, and continue their journey with new owners and players. I'm grateful to everyone who supports Gibson and Gibson Gives."

Cesar continues, "CEO#4 is a unique maple-top SG that combines elements of the Gibson SG, Super 400 and Supreme, and Les Paul Custom, finished in a Ghost Burst-a name coined by my friend Adam Jones of Tool. It was my fourth CEO build and played onstage by Kirk Hammett during Metallica's set at the Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath tribute show, Back to the Beginning. I created it as a tribute to Tony Iommi, the father of heavy metal, who defined the genre with a Gibson SG. After the show, Kirk signed the guitar, and it has remained untouched since, strings included. The guitar also comes with my backstage pass from that historic event."

View this guitar and the other Gibson Gives auction items exclusively here.