Gibson L-7 Arch Top Acoustic Guitar (1948), ser. #A-1458, black hard shell case.

Gibson L-7 Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar (1948), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # A-1458, sunburst top, dark stained back and sides finish, maple back and sides, spruce top; laminated maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.

This lovely Gibson L-7 was made a few years after end of WWII, when the company was just getting back to full time instrument production. The L-7 was Gibson's lowest priced pro-grade 17" archtop guitar, a staple of the company's line for many years. Features specific to this era include the headstock logo (the first post-war block Gibson script with the joined dot and the tuners) and large base plate Kluson individual units with open gears and plastic "keystone" buttons. The C-profile neck is a noticeably thinner back-to-front than the wartime guitars, and indeed slimmer than many 1950s Gibsons.

The warm sunburst top and dark finished back have triple celluloid binding; the fingerboard and headstock are single-bound. The rosewood fingerboard features the double parallelogram inlay that became a post-war Gibson trademark. The tailpiece, bridge, and pickguard are typical Gibson fittings. This is a wonderful player with a quite versatile tone, well capable of sounding sweet while having a substantial reserve for pushing into swing rhythm territory.

Overall length is 42 in. (106.7 cm.), 17 in. (43.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).

This guitar is quite clean overall, with the only really notable wear on the back of the neck. This looks like capo wear but we have a hard time imagining anyone using a capo so much on an L-7! At any rate, the surface has been smoothed down and while still feelable this is not an impediment to playing. Otherwise the guitar shows some light wear but not a lot of evidence of use. It also appears all original except for a repro pickguard and bracket, which is cut for a floating pickup installation. This is a really fine-sounding guitar, both rich and incisive and an excellent player. A relative bargain in a fine carved-top instrument. Excellent - Condition.