Gibson L5 Studio 1997 - Translucent Blue Burst

***Youtube link below to hear example of guitar.

This beautiful whale of a guitar is a rare one: a 1997 Gibson L-5 Studio in a Translucent Blue Burst.

This model was produced by the Custom Shop for only a few years in the late 1990s and 2016. It features the same carved spruce top and maple body as the flagship L-5, but with simplified cosmetics.

Generally speaking, the guitar looks fantastic. But if you inspect it carefully, there is age-appropriate crazing and fine lines on the body, especially along the heel. It's hard to capture and can only be seen at certain angles. There are also two minor dings on the lower back bout, as pictured.

Please know that the previous seller listed its condition as excellent. I'm just stricter when it comes to evaluating condition. If you aren't looking for a perfect museum piece, you're going to be very happy. Structurally, the guitar has no problems: the truss rod is functional and the neck is straight. Comfy c-neck and 1.7” nut width.

A highly experienced luthier in the Los Angeles area did a refret with 55090 Jescar frets. It is currently set up with D’addario 11-50 flatwounds. It plays fantastic with low action across the neck and no buzzing. Sounds even better.

I also switched out the stock pickups to Tail Fin Humbuckers by Goodland Pickups. I've tried dozens of PAF-style pickups over the years – these are my favorite by far. I will include the original pickups in the case in case you want to switch back or return to stock.

Also, all the electronics were upgraded to 500K Bourns pots, as well as paper-in-oil capacitors. All rewiring was professionally done by my luthier.

Free shipping. Comes with the original Gibson case. I ship within 12 hours of payment clearance. Make use of this opportunity to get a beautiful, rare jazz box at a discounted price — many of these are currently listed over $5,000, and increasingly rare.

Trans Blue Nitro Gloss Finish 

• 17" Venetian Cutaway Body 
• Solid Quartersawn Carved Spruce Top 
• Flame Maple Back and Sides 
• Single-ply Black Binding 
• Flame Maple Neck with Walnut Center Stripes 
• Ebony Fingerboard with Pearl Dot Inlays 
• 25 1/2" Scale Length 
• 1 11/16" Nut 
• 20 Medium Jumbo Frets 
• Grover Super Rotomatic Tuners
• Trapeze Tailpiece with Triple Parallelogram Crossbar 
• Ebony Bridge with Inlaid Base  
• Chrome Hardware