Gibson L-7 1948 with Routed Humbucker Pickup, Very Clean Finish! (Wes Montgomery!) Comes with HSC

Gibson L-7 1948 – Routed Humbucker, Gibson 57 Classic, Very Clean Finish

Here's a genuinely special late-40s Gibson archtop set up as a plug-in-and-play jazz box in the spirit of a Wes Montgomery L-5 CES — all at a fraction of the price.

The L-7 is the cutaway version of Gibson's professional-grade L-7, introduced in 1948. Like the L-5, it features a fully carved spruce top and carved maple back and sides — not laminate, not pressed. The result is a resonant, woody archtop voice that no laminate box can touch. This one has an uncommonly clean original sunburst finish for its age, with intact binding and split-block inlays throughout.

At some point a previous owner routed the top for a humbucker — a Gibson 57 Classic now lives there, wired to a volume and tone control. The 57 Classic is one of Gibson's best-regarded vintage-voiced humbuckers, and in this body it sounds exactly like you'd want: warm, round, and full in the low-mids with just enough articulation to cut. This is a working jazz guitarist's guitar. Plug it into a small amp, roll the tone back slightly, and you're in Wes territory. You can easly change the pickup if you like.

• 1948 Gibson L-7
• Fully carved spruce top, carved maple back and sides
• Gibson 57 Classic humbucker (routed)
• Volume and tone controls
• Trapeze tailpiece
• Tune-o-matic style bridge
• New pickguard
• Non-original hardshell case included
• Plays well, neck is straight, frets have life

Priced accordingly for the modification. A clean, original L-7 goes for significantly more — this is your chance to get into a genuinely great carved Gibson archtop at a player's price/.

This guitar was constructed with a spruce top, figured maple back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood bridge and fingerboard. This guitar has a scale length of 25.5" , nut width of 1 11/16". Great 40s/50s neck from Gibson, the best! This guitar comes with a non-original hardshell case.