Gibson LG-2 Banner Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1945)
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Gibson LG-2 Banner Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1945), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 1011-9, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany body; laminated maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is a very nice example of the celebrated WWII era "Banner" Gibson LG-2, so-called for its headstock decoration reading "Only A Gibson is Good Enough". The long-lived "LG" series of small-bodied Gibson flattops replaced the earlier L-00 style instruments as the war went on, and variants of the model lasted up through the 1960s. In the 1940s the LG-2 sat in the middle of a 3-guitar line under the natural finish LG-3 and above the ladder-braced LG-1.
Original wartime LG's are known for their chunky round-backed neck profiles; this one is slimmer than some but still a comparative handful. Unlike many it WAS built with the adjustable steel truss rod often deleted due to wartime restrictions on metal use. This guitar is also somewhat unusual in having a 5-piece laminated maple neck instead of the standard mahogany, another example of the virtually unlimited variations found on Gibson "Banner" flat top guitars. These blanks have been made up before the war for the off-brand catalog lines Gibson built, and were used up on banner flat tops as the war went on.
This LG-2 also has a sunburst-finished X-braced mahogany top (instead of the standard spruce) as well as mahogany back and sides. This is seen mostly in the mid-late war period, when Gibson ran short of spruce (which was heavily used in the aircraft industry) and substituted mahogany on a somewhat random basis. The decoration is plain with a single bound top and back and simple 3-ply soundhole rosette.
The headstock bears the gold script Gibson logo over the "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" banner decal. The tuners are slim flat-plate Klusons with riveted gears specific to this period, designed to use a minimum of metal. This guitar also has the square poplar neck block in use at the time. The FON stamped on this is not in the known cataloged series for Banner guitars, but the instrument likely dates to 1944-5. This LG-2 has a powerful, bright tone that is never harsh but appears to have been only very lightly used over the last 80 years. It remains a splendid survivor of this period's very fine if endlessly variable Gibson flat tops.
Overall length is 39 5/8 in. (100.6 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This LG is very original and surprisingly clean overall with some noticeable broad checking to the original finish but not a lot of play wear. There is some typical scuffing and small dings, scratches and chips to the finish on the back and sides but very little wear or fading to the top, virtually free of pick marks. The back of the neck is also very clean with some minor finish wear and chipping in spots along the edges of the fingerboard.
This guitar has only one crack, a small grain split off the top of the pickguard which has been sealed and reinforced from beneath. The original bridge is fairly tall but looks to have been perhaps rolled down slightly on top long ago; it has been fitted with a newer bone saddle. Internally it is undisturbed, with the original small maple bridge plate and somewhat crudely scalloped bracing original and in excellent condition. The neck has been reset VERY cleanly, with minimal touchup. This is a really well preserved, excellent playing and fine sounding example of Gibson's smaller WWII-era flat-top model with the interesting and somewhat unusual combinations of woods lending it a distinctive character. Overall Excellent Condition.
This is a very nice example of the celebrated WWII era "Banner" Gibson LG-2, so-called for its headstock decoration reading "Only A Gibson is Good Enough". The long-lived "LG" series of small-bodied Gibson flattops replaced the earlier L-00 style instruments as the war went on, and variants of the model lasted up through the 1960s. In the 1940s the LG-2 sat in the middle of a 3-guitar line under the natural finish LG-3 and above the ladder-braced LG-1.
Original wartime LG's are known for their chunky round-backed neck profiles; this one is slimmer than some but still a comparative handful. Unlike many it WAS built with the adjustable steel truss rod often deleted due to wartime restrictions on metal use. This guitar is also somewhat unusual in having a 5-piece laminated maple neck instead of the standard mahogany, another example of the virtually unlimited variations found on Gibson "Banner" flat top guitars. These blanks have been made up before the war for the off-brand catalog lines Gibson built, and were used up on banner flat tops as the war went on.
This LG-2 also has a sunburst-finished X-braced mahogany top (instead of the standard spruce) as well as mahogany back and sides. This is seen mostly in the mid-late war period, when Gibson ran short of spruce (which was heavily used in the aircraft industry) and substituted mahogany on a somewhat random basis. The decoration is plain with a single bound top and back and simple 3-ply soundhole rosette.
The headstock bears the gold script Gibson logo over the "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" banner decal. The tuners are slim flat-plate Klusons with riveted gears specific to this period, designed to use a minimum of metal. This guitar also has the square poplar neck block in use at the time. The FON stamped on this is not in the known cataloged series for Banner guitars, but the instrument likely dates to 1944-5. This LG-2 has a powerful, bright tone that is never harsh but appears to have been only very lightly used over the last 80 years. It remains a splendid survivor of this period's very fine if endlessly variable Gibson flat tops.
Overall length is 39 5/8 in. (100.6 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This LG is very original and surprisingly clean overall with some noticeable broad checking to the original finish but not a lot of play wear. There is some typical scuffing and small dings, scratches and chips to the finish on the back and sides but very little wear or fading to the top, virtually free of pick marks. The back of the neck is also very clean with some minor finish wear and chipping in spots along the edges of the fingerboard.
This guitar has only one crack, a small grain split off the top of the pickguard which has been sealed and reinforced from beneath. The original bridge is fairly tall but looks to have been perhaps rolled down slightly on top long ago; it has been fitted with a newer bone saddle. Internally it is undisturbed, with the original small maple bridge plate and somewhat crudely scalloped bracing original and in excellent condition. The neck has been reset VERY cleanly, with minimal touchup. This is a really well preserved, excellent playing and fine sounding example of Gibson's smaller WWII-era flat-top model with the interesting and somewhat unusual combinations of woods lending it a distinctive character. Overall Excellent Condition.