Mysterious G Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 I have my grandfathers 1934 Gibson and made an inquiry through the Gibson instrument ID and information forum. Their reply from the photo's was "This appears consistent with a special order Gibson L-5. This would have been special ordered at the dealer level". "This instrument was shipped from the factory to the dealer" in 1934. I sent this follow-up question 2 weeks ago, and I have not received a response: The guitar is 18" across and the tailpiece is engraved "SUPER 400", so is this an L5 or a Super 400? Can it be both? I have tried to upload photos but the files are "too large"? Any suggestions on attaching some? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 As far as I know the only guitar at 18" across the lower bout was and still is the Super 400. The L5 has always been 17" I believe, except for when it was first produced at a smaller 16". Sounds to me like a Super 400! You might want to post this on the 'es and archtop' section in the Gibson Custom area for more knowledge/ replies. There are some experts on these subjects on here who I am sure will help you with your question more fully than I can. Also, it would be great to see a pic of such a fine vintage instrument, so to post one - use Photobucket and then copy IMG by clicking on the box on the lower right hand side and paste the link onto your next reply (hope that makes sense!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysterious G Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 Here is a link to the photo's I have of the guitar. Let me know what you think ! http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=12032958026/a=19101713026_19101713026/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 Here is a link to the photo's I have of the guitar. Let me know what you think ! http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=12032958026/a=19101713026_19101713026/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/ Hey, thanks for the photos...what a beautiful instrument you have ...I looked into your question and as far as I can see the Super 400 was introduced in late 1934 and was also known as a super L5 initially. Some of them have Super L5 on the truss rod cover, so it looks like your guitar can be both an L5 and a Super 400 until Gibson decided on the Super 400 name solely. It's interesting that yours has the flower pot on the headstock as most of the early models I could find have the split diamond inlay on both the front and back of the headstock and some seem to have Super 400 engraved on the back of the neck heel. It's also interesting that yours has a natural finish on the top with a sunburst back as again most I could find are sunburst top and back! Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysterious G Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 Thank you ! I greatly appreciate your time and insight. The curiosities that you mentioned are the same items that brought me to the forum. I know now that it is a custom guitar, so there will be things that are unique. I just want to be accurate about it when I am discussing it. My grandfather was a very talented local musician in Kalamazoo in the 30's and 40's and also worked for Gibson. The story of the guitar I always heard was that it was given to him as a prototype guitar. Unfortunately, I never had a conversation with him about that so I am not able to validate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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