The last surviving guitar in Gibson’s lineup that retained the original Lloyd Loar sized 16” body, the Gibson L-4 evolved from an equally as sought after oval hole archtop top to a higher end version of the L-50, retaining the all solid spruce and maple construction, but adopting the L-50’s shorter neck joint that usually doesn’t allow for a floating pickup. It does, however, allow for a pickup to routed into the top, which is exactly what Gibson did to the L-50 in the 30’s to create the ES-150, which went on to inspire players like Charlie Christian, Pat Metheny and more.

This example, from 1951, is in excellent shape, with the solid, hand carved spruce top being nice and resonant, and though the slab cut maple back and sides are plain, they are super nice looking and sounding, with this guitar having much more resonance than the “lesser models” in the 1950’s usually have.

The rosewood fretboard, with its split parallelogram inlays, is in excellent shape, though this guitar most likely had a re-fret sometime in the distant past. The bridge, tailpiece, and pickguard are all original as well.

The tuners look to possibly be a mix of vintage and more modern single line Klusons, though there’s a distinct possibility of them being just exceptionally clean originals.

The only foible is an ebony armrest that has been double sided taped on, which we’ve left in place to avoid damaging the finish.

Comes with a hardshell case, possibly original.