Serial Number 90207

Year Shipped: 1934

FON 612

Serial Number seems to be 902X7 (possibly 90207 or 90227)

Headstock: Horizontal ‘Gibson’ script logo

Neck/fingerboard: 19 fret fingerboard with square end and wide block inlays from the third fret

Body: Maple back and sides. Solid top braces

Hardware: Gold-plated metal parts including regular tailpiece

Notes: The fingerboard has been refretted and there is extensive playwear to the back of the neck, which has not been over-sprayed. The fingerboard binding has been replaced. Holes cut in the top for a pickup and control knobs have been filled and the lacquer restored to blend with the original finish. The back and sides of the body have the original finish. The tuners, bridge and mounting bracket are reproductions, as are the nut and truss rod cover. The pickguard is a period-correct reproduction.

This L-5 was converted to an electric guitar but has since been returned to its original acoustic form. This involved fitting a piece of spruce near the fingerboard end where a pickup was installed. Small holes for knobs and a jack socket were similarly filled with matching wood and touched up. The work is visible on close inspection. The original sunburst lacquer finish has been retained as much as possible but there is clear overspray to the top and some heavier touch-up has been applied to the darker areas in order to cover the repaired sections. The back and sides retain their original finish, with an area of touch-up to the lower side where the jack socket repair was effected. There are a few small screw holes on the side of the fingerboard and neck heel from previous pickup and strap button installations. 

The finish on the headstock face is untouched but the back has been over sprayed to cover marks from a previously fitted set of tuners.  

Retrofret describes the tailpiece bar as “the earlier ‘string-over’ style, but mounted backwards’. The body is apparently slightly larger than many early L-5s with a width of 16 3/16 inches.