Frosty Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Vintage experts and old Gibson guys alike... this is likely an L-something but I'm not sure which! Can anyone say for certain? Unbound fingerboard with round neck profile - no V and not a "baseball bat" either. Arched top with an elevated fingerboard. Tailpiece looks old enough to be original, but I can't say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 It's a c1933 Gibson L-50. Gibson only made the round hole L-50 from late 1932 to 1933. In 1934, the body was 14 3/4" across the lower bout with f-holes, similar to the L-30. In 1935, the L-50 was changed again to a 16" f-hole archtop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 Thanks for the quick reply Mr. Fox! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thanks for the quick reply Mr. Fox! No problem. Best of luck with the guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Here's the 1933 catalog picture of the L-50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thanks again, Paul. So, that drawing does not look like the guitar in the photo. I know how cloudy things can get in Gibson history... so I guess we can only go with "circa". Could not find a FON on the instrument, but I know those fade away. I plan to go back and take another look today. It's at a dealer and they have the guitar incorrectly label (not L-50, I forget what) and they are asking $1400. No case, bridge all the way down, playable action, looks like an old overspray on the top. Dark stain... even if Maple B&S, hard to tell for certain. Perhaps I can talk them down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thanks again, Paul. So, that drawing does not look like the guitar in the photo. I know how cloudy things can get in Gibson history... so I guess we can only go with "circa". Could not find a FON on the instrument, but I know those fade away. I plan to go back and take another look today. It's at a dealer and they have the guitar incorrectly label (not L-50, I forget what) and they are asking $1400. No case, bridge all the way down, playable action, looks like an old overspray on the top. Dark stain... even if Maple B&S, hard to tell for certain. Perhaps I can talk them down! The illustration is the same as your guitar minus the pickguard. Photos can be a little deceiving, but it's the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 The action is good, the bridge could be cranked down a couple of millimeters. The top appears to sag, however. Perhaps a lifetime of heavy gauge strings bearing down? Those white dots appear to be a filler of sorts... I can't imagine what used to be installed there... a pickup of some kind, perhaps. The guitar used to have a typical, floating archtop pickguard, judging from the screw holes on the side and near the fingerboard. Couple of un-repaired back cracks, too. I am thinking the store is optimistic in it's pricing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I agree that the price is a bit high. These aren't exactly the most desirable of all vintage pre-war Gibsons. I think the design didn't work very well which is why they changed it so quickly. However, Gibson did re-use this body size for the Kalamazoo KG-11 flat-top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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