Gibson L-30 Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar (1935), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, black lacquer finish, maple back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, period chipboard case.

The mid-1930's L-30 is a fairly unusual Gibson, a small-body archtop guitar with the plainest trim but impeccable craftsmanship. This model was introduced in 1935 as the new bottom of the line carved-top guitar, when the previously lowest-priced L-50 archtop was upgraded to the larger 16" body. During the Great Depression instrument makers had to built affordable guitars or face extinction! The body pattern is similar to the contemporary L-0 flat top, with a flat back but fitted with an arched, fully carved F-hole soundboard. The earliest L-30's had a plain black finish overall, which allowed visually flawed woods to be used but now gives this little archtop a sort of badass elegance.

The maple body has a single bound F-hole spruce top with an unbound back, simple adjustable rosewood bridge and nickel plated tailpiece. The mahogany neck has a shallow but fairly sharp "V" profile, the unbound rosewood fingerboard is inlaid with pearl dots while the headstock features a white silkscreen Gibson script. The tuners are unplated brass Grover strips with celluloid buttons. The Factory order number (FON) stamped inside is indistinct, but we can tell you this was #3 in the batch! Based on the style of tuners we believe this is a 1936 model; the guitar was only built in this ebony-finished form in 1935-6 before being altered to a Sunburst look.

These small-body Gibson archtops only exist in the 1930s; they have a distinctive feel and sound with plenty of punch. While not as smooth-toned as their larger brethren these smaller "L's" work well for many period styles like blues, ragtime and jug band music and make surprisingly good fingerpickers. This is a very nice playing and sounding guitar, with a contact pickup added under the bridge wired to an endpin jack for gigging convenience.

Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).

This is a generally decently well preserved guitar for being 90 or so years old, showing general wear overall and some fairly minor repair. The all-original black finish has scuffing, dings, dents, scratches and other disturbances; there is some pickwear above the fingerboard and below the front part of the pickguard and an odd set of deeper marks to the top between the bridge and tailpiece. The back of the neck has wear to the wood over part of its length and some small dings and dents.

There is one grain crack on the flat back just above the center seam, solidly sealed but a bit sloppy and not finished over. Several back braces have been reglued but all is solid. The hardware is original and complete including the oft-missing pickguard and clamp. The original frets have some noticeable wear but still play well, and the guitar has a good chunky sound for a small body archtop, warmer than some, with the discreet under-the-top pickup and endpin jack added making it an easy gigger if desired. It lives in a correct period but slightly oversize chipboard case, made for a 16" guitar. Overall Very Good + Condition.