NGD and I am out of town!

[Neal]

It will be late Saturday before I can get my hands on this beauty, a 1936 X-braced Gibson L-7. My wife was kind enough to open the box and send me some photos.

I have been wanting one of these for a very long time. The only thing missing from this one is the pickguard, probably a crumbling mess by now.

(Moderators, if this is posted in the wrong forum, please move it to a more appropriate place.)

 

[fronobulax]

Moved. This is where Gibsons belong

 

[walrus]

That looks to be well worth the wait! Congratulations!

walrus

 

[Neal]

Thanks, Frono. I realized my error after posting.

 

[Teleguy61]

Wow, good luck!

 

[GGJaguar]

Very exciting! I love Gibson archtops.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Love it. I bet it sounds incredible. 1936, wow, those were the days.

 

[Uke]

Love it. I bet it sounds incredible. 1936, wow, those were the days.

Not to veer, but WW it appears you have your offspring reading the Bible right off the bat! Great avatar.

 

[Neal]

Love it. I bet it sounds incredible. 1936, wow, those were the days.

Thanks, Woody. They were only made with X-bracing from 1935 to 1939, and only with a short-scale (24.75”) and 19 frets from ‘35 to ‘37. So, this is a pretty rare combination. Gibson went back to parallel bracing on all four of their 17” carved archtops in 1939 (L-5, L-7, L-10 and L-12).

I have been looking for the right one for the better part of the last decade, but for one reason or another never pulled the trigger until this week.

This one checks all the boxes for me, and the original case is the icing on top.

 

[Neal]

One additional observation. This guitar would have sold for $125 in 1936, plus another $20 for the redline case.

That was a LOT of money during the Depression, the equivalent of over $3000 in todays dollars.

The L-5 went for an astounding $275, or nearly $7000 in today’s money. It was $100 more expensive than Martin’s most expensive guitar, the D-45.

By comparison, my flattop 1934 L-00 sold for under $30. That shows how expensive hand carving was (and still is!), compared
to making a nice-sounding flattop.

In the never-ending battle between Gibson and Epiphone for archtop supremacy, Gibson offered the Super 400, an 18” carved arch top so named because it cost $400 in 1937!

 

[Westerly Wood]

Thanks, Woody. They were only made with X-bracing from 1935 to 1939, and only with a short-scale (24.75”) and 19 frets from ‘35 to ‘37. So, this is a pretty rare combination. Gibson went back to parallel bracing on all four of their 17” carved archtops in 1939 (L-5, L-7, L-10 and L-12).

I have been looking for the right one for the better part of the last decade, but for one reason or another never pulled the trigger until this week.

This one checks all the boxes for me, and the original case is the icing on top.

This would be an archtop I could totally dig. Short scale too. I love the wood grain of that top in the pics. I would NOT bother with a pickguard, but I get it if you want to restore it to "original" specs.

 

[Neal]

The original pickguards were prone to gassing off and crumbling to dust.

A nice repro would set me back $110. But I would know it was non-original every time I picked it up.

So, yes, I totally agree. It will remain naked.

 

[D30Man]

Wow that is a super cool looking L7! That headstock is superb.
I hope it sounds amazing. I bet it well atop that old rosewood bridge with a fresh coat of oil.
I'm excited for you! I know what its like to be out of town when a guitar arrives!! That happened recently with my new SFII and several time before!

 

[D30Man]

The original pickguards were prone to gassing off and crumbling to dust.

A nice repro would set me back $110. But I would know it was non-original every time I picked it up.

So, yes, I totally agree. It will remain naked.

I'm with you.

 

[Neal]

Wow that is a super cool looking L7! That headstock is superb.
I hope it sounds amazing. I bet it well atop that old rosewood bridge with a fresh coat of oil.
I'm excited for you! I know what its like to be out of town when a guitar arrives!! That happened recently with my new SFII and several time before!

The guitar came from Arizona, so it will need some time in the Virginia humidity and some attention to the rosewood fretboard and bridge. What would be the best product to oil them with?

 

[Maguchi]

Wow, awesome! Congrats and enjoy. Looks to be in good shape.

 

[bobouz]

The guitar came from Arizona, so it will need some time in the Virginia humidity and some attention to the rosewood fretboard and bridge. What would be the best product to oil them with?

Neal, I've seemingly tried them all & would highly recommend Fret Doctor, which is bore oil - results have been superior to anything else. As for your new guitar, it is a flat out beauty! In the '70s, I purchased a 1930s Ward at a flea market that turned out to be made by Gibson - solid carved spruce & X-braced, so most likely from the same window of production. It had a tone I absolutely loved, but eventually I sold it because the V-neck was just too large for me (Gibson didn't put truss rods in guitars contracted out - such as Ward, Recording King, Cromwell, etc). Regardless, that unique tone stuck in my head & for decades I missed it terribly. When Guild released the X-braced & solid spruce pressed-top A-150B in the first wave of the Newark St series, I ordered one, hoping to fill the hole left long ago by the Ward guitar (not the same of course, but tonally satisfying & excellent playability). My guess is that you will be very pleasantly rewarded when your Gibson is strung up & ready to go. Many congrats on a very special find!
Edit: Found an old Polaroid of the 30s Ward archtop, alongside a ‘50s Gibson LG2-3/4, and my first Guild, a ‘70s D-40. Geez, I now regret letting all three of them go!

 

[davismanLV]

The guitar came from Arizona, so it will need some time in the Virginia humidity and some attention to the rosewood fretboard and bridge. What would be the best product to oil them with?

Another vote for Bore Oil here. It's all I use. I buy it just plain from music supply stores. No color, no scent, no additives, just good oil. It works really well.

 

[D30Man]

I've used mineral oil and bore oil. Like them both. Mineral oil can be found at the grocery store pretty easily. Works well for me.

 

[Rich Cohen]

I owned an L-7, and loved it too. Here's a pic of it.