ner1971 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hello Gibson Forum. While I have been lurking for some time now, this is my first post. I would love some help in identifying the blonde archtop Benny Garcia is playing in this photo. I am also attaching the photo to this post. Low res, I know. I thought it was an L-5, but I swear that profile is that of a P-90. The photo is from 1949 or (more likely) 1950. It's western swing legend Hank Penny and his band performing at The Palamino in Los Angeles. Benny was a wonderful jazz guitarist mostly known for his work with Penny, Tex Williams, and Bob Wills. He also played with Benny Goodman in the mid-1960s. Any help would be appreciated. This one has me really scratching my head. Thanks! Nick Rossi www.facebook.com/nickrossimusic San Francisco, Calif., U.S.A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hi Nick, I've heard of Penny, but not sure I've ever heard of Garcia (I come from more of a jazz/blues background). Interesting photo. It's really tough to see much in the way of clear evidence, but my best guess would be an L5N. The pickup could be a floater... maybe the FHC ("Guitar Mike") model. A Google image search turns up a couple of photos of Garcia in later years with a Gibson L5CT, by the way. Hope you'll stick around and post more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zizala Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 An L-5N with added pickup it could very well be...... But if the pickup is a P-90.....and on first glance it gives me that impression anyway.... ......I'd suspect its an ES-300. With the low-res photo, the inlays on the neck could be block or parallelogram.....I can't tell much from the headstock. Nice photo anyway.......love looking at the details. Think I'll get out my Hank Penny discs today! ziz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ner1971 Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thanks for the replies. I realize the photo does not have a lot to work with, but I appreciate the info. The truss rod cover clearly is bound in white. For this reason I keep thinking it is a higher end model. But did Gibson ever use this truss rod cover on ES-300s? Perhaps. It looks like a P-90 or a Charlie Christian pick-up to my eyes, but again it is rather pixelated. Garcia was a wonderful jazz player. His playing on those 1950-1951 Hank Penny recordings is well worth hearing for anyone who enjoys jazz guitar (and particularly western swing) from that era. Like Jimmy Wyble, he started off as one of the more inventive Charlie Christian acolytes. And again like Wyble he later struck up a friendship with the great Barney Kessel in LA. Garcia even studied with Kessel around the time this photo was taken. Kessel, who of course was from the Southwest as well, was a regular at The Palamino and reportedly even sat in with Penny's band on occasion. Nick Rossi www.facebook.com/nickrossimusic San Francisco, Calif., U.S.A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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