If you've ever wanted a 16-inch L-5, but didn't want to pay the five figure going price or even the $10,000 and up that most luthier built reproductions go for, here is a great opportunity. This guitar has now been traded back in after playing many gigs with a western swing player. The guitar only shows a little more wear, but hours and hours of playing time have really opened this one up. It's way punchier and louder than it was when it was here before. It also now has a pickguard on it, which is a new addition.
This guitar was built during the Hutch era of the Gibson Custom Shop, and his oversight of the build shows. The build quality is top-notch and the guitar has a big, punchy voice which is comparable to an above average pre-war, 16-inch Gibson archtop. These qualities would also make it great for someone who wants to play out with an acoustic archtop that looks and sounds the part, but is not nearly as valuable.
Gibson's reason for calling this model, built from 1995 to 2005, a 1934 reissue is a bit of a mystery. The general specs are the same, but it some ways this guitar has specifications that are generallyn considered superior to those of the 1934 model, most notably, these reissues have solid carved top braces. In contrast almost all of the 1934 issued examples had kerfed top braces.
The guitar is freshly set up with a 13-56 set of Elixir 80/20 bronze strings which seem to be a great match for driving the soundboard of this guitar. The playability is great with action currently optimized for a balance of playability and maximum acoustic voice. The medium-jumbo frets are in excellent condition with little wear. The guitar has plenty of bark for play with a band, but is also very good for solo play. A video will soon be available on our YouTube channel.
The guitar is in excellent structural condition with a straight neck, solid bracing, and free of cracks or repairs. It is cosmetically in very good condition, but does show some light finish wear and has scattered small dings.
Weight - 5.38 pounds
Nut width - 1.75 inches
1st fret depth - 0.95 inches
9th fret depth - 1.04 inches
The guitar comes with a non-original hardshell case which fits well.
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