Gibson L-5 Arch Top Acoustic Guitar (1936)
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Item # 4623
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Gibson L-5 Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar (1936), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sunburst lacquer finish, Burl maple back, sides and neck; spruce top, ebony fingerboard, original tweed hard shell case.
An interesting and very good sounding early "Advanced" L-5 from the mid-1930's,a fine player with some cosmetic issues. In late 1934 Gibson upgraded their entire archtop guitar line; While the L-5 was supplanted at the very top by the new 18" Super 400 it was still the company's signature instrument. The newer 17" wide L-5 was bigger, fancier and smoother-sounding than the original 16" version and became the keynote guitar for swing-era big band players, as well as soloists like Dick McDonough and Carl Kress. This is a rather hard-to-find guitar, for such a well-known instrument.
Surviving data indicates that surprisingly few L-5's were produced in 1936...only 19 17" L-5's are listed as having shipped that year, but with a substantial upkick in 1937. While the records may well be incomplete, this does suggest that these guitars are far rarer than generally thought. This L-5 has a serial number dating to mid-late 1936 by most reckoning, and the guitar has some transitional features making for an unusual combination. The top is parallel braced...in general early advanced guitars in this period are "X" braced, with the occasional rare exception like this one. The "F" holes are the larger pattern introduced around this time, but unbound like the earlier smaller style. Tuners are the early style open-back gold plated Grovers, and the tailpiece is the earlier open pattern, hinged at the base.
Typical L-5 appointments abound including multiple binding everywhere, pearl flowerpot inlay and prewar script Gibson logo, wide bell truss rod cover and pearl block position marks. This L-5 has seen some serious play and a fairly major top repair, but remains a very fine player. The neck is slimmer than many, with just the slightest hint of a "V" profile at the lower frets. Almost any style of play brings forth a big powerful sound.
Overall length is 42 in. (106.7 cm.), 17 in. (43.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 7/16 in. (646 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). Overall a very nice guitar, with a very warm and well-rounded sound. A solid but unfortunately ugly top repair-two long cracks on the treble side near the bridge, sealed and touched up some time ago-makes this more of a players than collectors' guitar. There is some patched-up superficial damage to the top under the bridge, the longer top crack extends from the bottom edge into the upper bout while the second, slightly higher on the top is not as long. They are cleanly glued and cleated from underneath, but the old touch-up work is quite visible and they rather conspicuous. Other than this the guitar has normal play wear, with a lot of finish worn off the back of the neck, but no other major repairs-the pickguard is missing but all other hardware is original. A good bargain in a player's pre-WWII high-grade carved top guitar. Very Good + Condition.
An interesting and very good sounding early "Advanced" L-5 from the mid-1930's,a fine player with some cosmetic issues. In late 1934 Gibson upgraded their entire archtop guitar line; While the L-5 was supplanted at the very top by the new 18" Super 400 it was still the company's signature instrument. The newer 17" wide L-5 was bigger, fancier and smoother-sounding than the original 16" version and became the keynote guitar for swing-era big band players, as well as soloists like Dick McDonough and Carl Kress. This is a rather hard-to-find guitar, for such a well-known instrument.
Surviving data indicates that surprisingly few L-5's were produced in 1936...only 19 17" L-5's are listed as having shipped that year, but with a substantial upkick in 1937. While the records may well be incomplete, this does suggest that these guitars are far rarer than generally thought. This L-5 has a serial number dating to mid-late 1936 by most reckoning, and the guitar has some transitional features making for an unusual combination. The top is parallel braced...in general early advanced guitars in this period are "X" braced, with the occasional rare exception like this one. The "F" holes are the larger pattern introduced around this time, but unbound like the earlier smaller style. Tuners are the early style open-back gold plated Grovers, and the tailpiece is the earlier open pattern, hinged at the base.
Typical L-5 appointments abound including multiple binding everywhere, pearl flowerpot inlay and prewar script Gibson logo, wide bell truss rod cover and pearl block position marks. This L-5 has seen some serious play and a fairly major top repair, but remains a very fine player. The neck is slimmer than many, with just the slightest hint of a "V" profile at the lower frets. Almost any style of play brings forth a big powerful sound.
Overall length is 42 in. (106.7 cm.), 17 in. (43.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 7/16 in. (646 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). Overall a very nice guitar, with a very warm and well-rounded sound. A solid but unfortunately ugly top repair-two long cracks on the treble side near the bridge, sealed and touched up some time ago-makes this more of a players than collectors' guitar. There is some patched-up superficial damage to the top under the bridge, the longer top crack extends from the bottom edge into the upper bout while the second, slightly higher on the top is not as long. They are cleanly glued and cleated from underneath, but the old touch-up work is quite visible and they rather conspicuous. Other than this the guitar has normal play wear, with a lot of finish worn off the back of the neck, but no other major repairs-the pickguard is missing but all other hardware is original. A good bargain in a player's pre-WWII high-grade carved top guitar. Very Good + Condition.