Early 30's L-0 questions (mahogany top 12 fret)

[CJB]

Hello everyone! I'm looking for info on early 30's L-0 all mahogany 12 fret guitars.

A few questions:

How many were made? 

How did the build details differ between each guitar?

What's the bracing like?

What $$ do they typically go for these days?

Thanks!

Chris

[jedzep]

I always enjoyed the debate over what got called L0 and what was L00, so I looked at the lower sound hole and bridge placement as the notable difference on my '31 L0 and '35 L00.  I don't think any mahogany top version was called L00, but spruce tops were called L0. It did cause different tone features, but then one was spruce and one hog, so how can it be compared. Body dimensions and top bracing on these two was identical.

I found out later there were many incongruous labeling schemes in calling them 0 or 00. I also recall many of these debates/discussions here producing no conclusive rule of thumb. A clean original L0 from that period rolls up into the 3-5K range, from my casual window shopping.

Not sure I'm happy about it, but I sold it to Steve Uhrik from Retrofret.




Dave

Edited July 2, 2021 by jedzep

[CJB]

Thanks Dave! It’s quite a learning experience sorting through all the variations of names and designations. 
That one was a beauty. What do you remember about it totally?

[Dave F]

from http://www.guitarhq.com/gibson6.html

 

 

The following table (based on E.Whitford's "Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars") shows an "easy" way to tell the difference between pre-war L-0, L-00 and L-1 flat top models (which are all very similar!) First start with the color on the left. Then move right to narrow down the features, which will identify the model and approximate year.

 

Identifying pre-war Gibson L-0, L-00, L-1 guitars.

Body Color	Features	Model	Year
Black	white pickguard unbound back "the Gibson" logo 12 frets clear	L-00	1932
Black	no pickguard unbound back "the Gibson" logo 14 frets clear	L-00	1932
Black	white pickguard unbound back "Gibson" logo 14 frets clear	L-00	1933-1936
Black	L-0 reintroduced 1937 firestripe pickguard bound back 14 frets clear	L-0	1937-1942
Black	straight bridge saddle heavy top bracing firestripe pickguard bound back 12 frets clear	HG-0	1937-1938
Amber	Mahogany top 12 frets clear	L-0	1930-1931
Amber	Mahogany top 14 frets clear	L-0	1932
Amber	Mahogany top 14 frets clear L-0 discontinued 1933	L-0	1933
Sunburst	white bridge pins no pickguard (or elevated PG) "small" sunburst bound back 12 frets clear	L-1	1930-1931
Sunburst	white bridge pins no pickguard "small" sunburst 14 frets clear	L-1	1933-1936
Sunburst	white bridge pins pickguard "small" sunburst bound back 14 frets clear	L-1	1933-1936
Sunburst	black bridge pins pickguard "small" sunburst unbound back 14 frets clear	L-00	1933-1935
Sunburst	black bridge pins pickguard "medium" sunburst bound or unbound back 14 frets clear	L-00	1936
Sunburst	black bridge pins pickguard "large" sunburst bound back 14 frets clear	L-00	1937-1945
Sunburst	straight bridge saddle heavy top bracing unbound back 12 frets clear	HG-00	1937-1942
Body Color	Features	Model	Year

• "small sunburst" has a yellow center about 6" in diameter.
  "medium sunburst" has a yellow center about 8" to 10" in diameter.
  "large sunburst" has a brown edge about 2" to 3" thick.
  "frets" means playable frets clear of the body (either 12 or 14, but 13 frets clear is sometimes seen).

[jt]

The early 12-fret, all-mahogany Ls were L-0s.

As Dave has posted from the website that lifts without attribution from every known book on the subject, the features of the L-0s vs L-00s changed over time.