The Gibson L-5 went through a number of modifications before it was relaunched in 1935 with a larger 17-inch ‘Advanced’ body. The most notable of these included the switch from a birch…
Introduced in 1912, the Gibson L-4 had a 16-inch wide body, an oval soundhole, a neck that met the body at the 12th fret and a 20-fret fingerboard (below, left). By 1928 the…
Nitro Nightmare One of the first thermoplastics, Celluloid – a material produced by combining nitrocellulose with camphor and added plasticisers – was widely used by Gibson and many other manufacturers for bindings, pickguards and other plastic parts.…
“The 1941 L-5 guitar pictured below (Serial Number 97291) was purchased at the Southern California Guitar Show in 1995,” says guitar historian and collector, Lynn Wheelwright. “It was in the condition shown here…
By George Gruhn and Joe Spann Today the Gibson L-5 guitar and F-5 mandolin are both recognized as visionary innovations in stringed instrument design. But in 1922 when Gibson first introduced their…
How many fakes are out there? British artist John Myatt created around 200 forged paintings in what Scotland Yard described as “the biggest art fraud of the 20th Century”. He faked works…
A few words to remember our friend Paul Hostetter, who died of cancer, on February 13th, 2019. Paul was an enthusiastic supporter of the project that would eventually become the Pre-War Gibson L-5 Owners’…
For a time in the 1930s, both the Gibson Super 400 and the L-5 models were available with a thick or a thin top. L-5 serial number 91774, a 16-inch model that…
Though the Gibson Custom Shop wasn’t officially established until 1993, it has been possible to order a one-off instrument from the company for almost as long as it has existed. A custom feature might…
The shipping dates quoted on this site are, for the most part, based on the serial number index included in Joe Spann’s book, Spann’s Guide To Gibson 1902-1941 (published by Centerstream). Joe…