1937 Gibson L-30 Carved-Top Archtop Guitar

This cat's meow Gibson archtop is an L-30 which, in this case, means a guitar that shares an L-00 body outline and flat back but has a carved spruce top with tonebar bracing. It's a pure, cozy-feeling, acoustic jazzbox that can also happily fulfill country-blues, fingerpicking, and western swing-style chop chording just-so.

It's an especially-attractive version of the model with its wide sunburst and "dart" in the finish on the back of the headstock. A local fellow has this on hold so I expect it will be off the market in short order.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, many reglued braces on the back, some cosmetic work (filled jack hole, touchups to nicks on the top, cleaning), minor repair to the bridge base (from where an old transducer pickup had been fit), a replacement tailpiece and replacement tuners, and setup work. An endpin hole plugged (to allow for the replacement tailpiece mounts) and strap buttons were fit as well.

• Weight: 4 lbs 3 oz
• Scale length: 24 3/4"
• Nut width: 1 3/4"
• Neck shape: medium V/softer edges
• Board radius: 10"
• Body width: 14 5/8"
• Body depth: 3 5/8"
• Top wood: solid carved spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid maple
• Bracing type: tonebar
• Bridge: rosewood
• 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: low/small

Condition notes: it's missing its pickguard and bracket and its tuners and tailpiece. Replacements (including a '40s tailpiece) have been bit. There are scuffs and scratches and small nicks and dings here and there throughout but overall it looks quite nice. There's a filled jack-hole in the side.