1934 Gibson L-30 Carved-Top Archtop Guitar

It's hard to argue with these cool old L-30s with their L-00 body shape, flat backs, and black finish. They sound gorgeous, have classic lines, and have plenty of volume and cut. Some will say that the flat backs make these sound a little warmer than their carved-back archtop cousins. I'm not sure if that's true, but this guitar definitely sounds like it's a bigger than it is as it has a cozy, velvety bottom-end (for an archtop).

Ironically, this guitar features flamed maple in the back and sides but it's been painted at the factory. The back, in particular, has some excruciatingly-figured stuff that you can see hiding on the inside when you peek through the f-holes. It has a #1315 factory order number inside that suggests a 1934 manufacturing year.

Work was straightforward on this guitar and now that it's done, it plays spot-on and is ready to serve.

Repairs included: crack repairs to the top, a fret level/dress, side dots install, dead pickup removal/endpin jack hole fill, brace reglue to the back, replacement truss rod cover, cleaning, and setup.

Weight: 3 lbs 15 oz

Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

Neck shape: medium V

Board radius: 10"

Body width: 14 5/8"

Body depth: 3 1/2"

Top wood: solid spruce (carved)

Back & sides wood: solid flamed maple (ironically)

Bracing type: tonebar

Bridge: ebony -- a replacement

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 54w-12 lights

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-lower

Condition notes: it has a couple of uglier cracks on the treble lower bout of the top (repaired) and one coming off of the same f-hole at the top of the f-hole (also repaired). There are a few tiny, very tight little hairline cracks on the back but all are drop-filled and stable. The bridge is a replacement and has a mildly-wonky cut to its bottom. It serves, though! The pickguard and bracket are missing. There used to be a pickup installed in the guitar but it was nonfunctional so we removed it and it has a filled-in 1/2" hole at the endblock. The truss rod cover is a replacement. The finish shows weather-check throughout and it has small scratches, nicks, dings, etc. throughout the body and neck. There are a few larger spots of finish muck-up on the back -- one looks like the classic "strap in a hot case" melt-in of the finish. There is an added strap button at the heel and a filled strap button hole at the back of the heel -- the heel cap area.

It comes with: a flight-style rigid/foam case.

Consignor tag: JW