The L5 has gone though maybe more iterations throughout its storied history than any guitar in Gibson’s lineup. The original 16” archtop designed by Lloyd Loar had, by the 1950’s, long given way to much more modern designs, including, around 1958, the first Thinline L5, a still fully hollow archtop but with a nearly halved body depth. The “T”, or as it was most often, the “CT” (Cutaway Thinline) was as popular as it was attractive, giving rise to many a modified or signature model in the L5 lineup.

This example from 1998 carries on that lineage of innovation, with a gorgeous transparent Cherry Red finish, as well as an extended 21 fret fingerboard, leading to a more Rock’n Roll sound than most, with a pickup spacing much more similar to a Gibson Byrdland than anything, though without the short scale: this one features the common 24.5” Gibson scale length, as well as a 1 11/16 nut.

The carved spruce top and maple back and sides give this guitar a fairly robust acoustic sound for a thinline guitar, much like an unamplified ES-330 or Epiphone Casino. Plugged in, obviously, is where this beauty shines, with its 50’s spec Gibson pickups as lively and woody sounding as you’d want from a jazz guitar, with plenty of tonal variation from the tone controls.

This guitar is in amazing condition for being 27 years old, with just a little bit of checking around the inlays, common for this period.

Comes with the original Gibson hard case.