Gibson L-3 Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar (1927), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, birch back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
Here's one we don't see that often...a later 1920's example of Gibson's midline archtop, the L-3. By the time this guitar was built, Gibson had reversed their earlier diffidence about flat-top guitars, previously decreed "inferior" in the company's catalogs. The L-1 archtop had been recast as a flat top, leaving the L-3 at $100.00 as the company's least expensive archtop guitar under the the $150.00 L-4 and $275.00 L-5. The L-3 is a fairly fancy guitar nonetheless, with a rich red sunbursrt top finish, single multiply inlaid soundhole ring, and the same hardware as an L-4.
The L-3 became something of a forgotten model, particularly after the introduction of the fancy Nick Lucas Special flat top in 1927, and was phased out in the early 1930's. These smaller-bodied round hole carved top guitars have a bright and barky sound with plenty of volume, and remain as a charming reminder of the Gibson company's earliest periods.
Overall length is 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm.), 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/4 in. (616 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
100% original and very clean overall; some finish flaking to the back and a tiny hole in the back of the headstock. An exceptionally nice example, with a lovely OHSC. Excellent + Condition.
