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Vintage L-?


Frosty

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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.

 

GibsonLSomethingFront.jpg

 

 

GibsonLSomethingBack.jpg

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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

 

Soundboard.jpg

 

Soundboard2.jpg

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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.

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