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Need help identifying ES


baritx62

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How can you tell the difference? The ES-125 looks exactly the same...at least to an amateur like me.

 

Fair question. Some things are more obvious than others. They are both 16" wide Gibsons. The L-50 is an acoustic guitar with a spruce top. I don't know if it is a CARVED spruce top (as opposed to pressed) but it is solid spruce nonetheless. The sides and back are usually solid maple as opposed to laminated. I'm sure there were exceptions, as the only think consistent about Gibson is inconsistency. The L-50 has binding on the neck and after WWII, they had trapezoid inlays. The ES-125 has a body that is made of laminated maple, top, sides and back. The fingerboard had no binding and it has dot inlays.

 

As stated, there were exceptions, such as an early variation called the ES-135 which had trapezoid inlays.

 

Yours also has a multi layered pickguard (L-50) where the ES-125 would be just one thin layer. Those can be swapped out easily of course, but I'm assuming it's original.

 

Here is a 125:

 

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