This is a great playing guitar that is 100% ready for the next 90 years. All these 90-year-old gems need work to bring them back to factory spec.  All the work on this was done by one of the most respected luthiers in the business.  

This L-00 with FON # 920 is listed in Spann’s guide on page 110 as a 1934 L-00.  

The number 510 is impressed into the headstock top edge.  Who knows why this is there, Gruhn references that stamping an inventory # was common practice on guitars among institutions with an inventory of instruments 

This has a nice full V neck, but it is not as pronounced as some of the later V’s. 

Weighs 3lbs 2.5 oz’s 

Neck at 1st fret.929

Neck at 7th Fret1.019

Neck at  9th fret   1.03 

Width at the nut 1 49/64 

String spacing center to center hi E to low E 2.358” 

Top has a nice arch as it should with no sinking 

This guitar has a colorful local history. I never name guitars, but this one is already named ‘Billy’. 

I acquired this years ago in rural Idaho from the long-time owner’s family, who were a well-known musical family. The owners name was in his 80’s and named Billy 

If you tilt the guitar just right, you can see “Billy” in the top above the treble sound hole. I imagine this was done when he was young and first learned to spell. I imagine this oversite was not too well received by the older family members at the time. Billy shows up like the flame on a ‘burst…the ‘directional lighting’ influences how it shows up. 

 I’ve owned over a dozen 30’s L-00’s, and while mint examples are exceptional, I’ve learned to appreciate and adapt to the imperfections on these 90-year-old instruments that were lucky enough to survive the years

Plays perfectly with new frets. Bridge plate is original, bracing is all solid and needs no  

Original bridge and saddle and frets included.  I had a Brazilian replacement bridge crafted for this one; the original bridge was sanded down low 

 Rather than reset the neck with a lowered non-spec bridge, I had a correct size Brazilian rosewood replacement hand crafted, with a compensated saddle. 

It was a common hack job repair on these to lower the bridge when a neck reset was needed, a half-baked solution to the neck reset issue that never worked. It’s better to replace the bridge than reset the neck with a non-spec lowered bridge. After a long wait, and a whole lot of money spent on top quality restoration, this one is ready to go. There are cheaper ones with undisclosed issues, but when you add those costs in, they aren't such a great deal.

This one suffered a neck heel break, but fortunately, the original owners did not attempt a re-glue of the joint. The repair I had done to it was on the virgin wood. The truss rod was replaced, and the finish at the heel has been masterfully touched up to conceal the break. 

You will see some stress cracks to the top at the fingerboard extension. I had these cleated when I had the rest of the work performed. Most of these vintage L-00’s need considerable work, including a neck reset, whether or not the seller discloses that or not. This one is ready to go. 

Ships in an original cardboard case, will be double boxed.