Gibson L-7 1932 Sunburst

Absolutely phenomenal sounding 1932 Gibson L-7 in original hard shell case. Carved solid spruce top, solid flame maple back & sides, mahogany V shaped neck.

This is a prime example of one of Gibson’s best sounding acoustic archtops. This instrument was built in 1932, the same year the L-7 model was launched. Early L-7s compare very favorably to the much more expensive L-5 model in terms of sound, materials and construction... but at fraction of the cost.

Both the guitar and case show the kind of play wear and finish checking you would expect from a well loved, almost 90 year old instrument. As such, I would consider this instrument to be player’s grade. However, it has been well cared for and consistently maintained over its long life. Someone obviously cherished this instrument.

This is a wonderful sounding and playing guitar. Frets have lots of life. 1 3/4” nut, 2 3/16” at 12th fret. Neck is straight with minimal relief (truss rod functions as it should) and is currently set up with SCGC Medium Tension (similar to .013) acoustic strings. This L-7 has exceptional tone, volume and playability up & down the fingerboard. The finish on the V shaped neck has been played through to the bare wood in places and feels extremely comfortable and friendly.

At some point a different tailpiece was mounted on the guitar as evidenced by the plugged holes on the tailblock but the original is currently installed.  A small circular finish touch up was done on the top just above the tailpiece long ago. The finish in this area displays consistent checking with the rest of the guitar which would suggest the touch up was done decades ago. There is a small section of fingerboard binding that has been replaced between the nut and third fret, bass side of neck. Again, this professional repair was done long ago and feels/looks great. Otherwise the guitar has no structural issues. Case has replacement handle . Please message for additional pictures or questions.