A quintessential guitar to the history of Jazz, the Gibson L-5 had evolved along with the times - this example dating accurately to the early 1970's. Blonde finish, it is quite the striking guitar - equipped with two original Patent pickups. It has sustained a fair amount of repair work over its storied history from the original owner, but stays in good working and playing condition.

This issue of the L-5 is designed with a solid spruce top with maple back and sides, showcasing a deep stunning flame. Two tone bar bracing internally, it has a nice sound acoustically that translates very well through these fine pickups. The middle position happens to be out of phase - something that may have been altered in its past, but is certainly not uncommon to see. That said, the original wiring has been replaced, including recent CTS/Dimarzio pots and wiring. The original Patent pickups are present with accurate gold covers, complete with stickers on their underside. The pickups are wired The solder joints from the baseplate have been touched up, implying the covers have been off in their past - their exterior showing a bit of oxidization from storage and off-gassing of the pickguard. That said, the knobs and various screws have been replaced - likely to replace ones that suffered corrosion. The top shows extensive checking present, and three repaired cracks - one at the center seam, one at the bass side F hole, and one towards the bridge pickup - all currently stable, cleated internally. The thick binding is in good condition showing no separation and only slight shrinkage.

The 5 piece maple neck is designed with the standard 25.4" scale length, the nut measuring 1 23/32" - this example having had its fingerboard replaced. The previous owner had its fingerboard professionally replaced with this nicely bound ebony example - complete with the point at the end of the extension, and a simple MOP dot inlay pattern. The fingerboard does show a repaired crack up by the extension (its a fairly old modification). The neck measures a comfortable but hefty .9" in depth at the first position tapering to about 1" at the ninth fret. Large frets, they show virtually no wear currently. The neck is nice and straight facilitating easy low action, currently setup with 12-54 gauge round wound strings, the action measuring a typical 6-5/64" in height at the twelfth fret. The tuners have been swapped around, seen here currently setup with an accurate Kluson Gibson Deluxe double line set original buttons in good condition. The original truss rod cover has been since replaced with a Gibson stamped "SG" issue matching the previous owners initials. The peghead overlay appears in good condition with some typical missing finish over the MOP inlay.

Weighs 7.5lbs

Listed2 months ago
ConditionVery Good (Used)
Very Good items may show a few slight marks or scratches but are fully functional and in overall great shape.Learn more
Brand
Model
  • L-5CES
Categories
Year
  • 1972
Fretboard Material
  • Rosewood
Body Material
  • Maple
Neck Construction
  • Set-Neck
Body Type
  • Hollow Body
Right / Left Handed
  • Right Handed
Number of Strings
  • 6-String
Body Shape
  • Single Cutaway
Neck Material
  • Maple
Model Family
Offset Body
  • Non-Offset Body
Finish Style
  • Gloss
Bridge/Tailpiece Type
  • Stop-Bar
Model Sub-Family
Pickup Configuration
  • HH
Color Family
  • Tan
Scale Length
  • 25.5"
Number of Frets
  • 20

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Bernunzio Uptown Music

Rochester, NY, United States
Joined Reverb:2014

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