Unfortunately I'm forced to part with my faithful musical companion of the last 25+ years my 1969 Gibson L-5 CES.


I acquired this instrument sometime around 1981 (I don't remember exactly when) and have been playing it regularly ever since then. The guitar has a great 'classic' jazz tone; warm and woody, with definition and clarity. It sounds great both when playing chords and when playing single note lines.


The guitar's serial number is 558001, with an orange label, no volute and no 'Made in USA' stamp on the headstock, round (Venetian) cutaway, all of which would indicate a 1969 manufacturing date. The guitar also has the slim (narrow) neck which Gibson was using at around this time. I'm not normally a fan of narrow necks - as a matter of fact I tend to prefer wide necks - but I never had any difficulty at all playing or adapting to this neck. This guitar has always been extremely comfortable to play. Even on gigs where I was switching back and forth between nylon string guitar and the L-5 it was never a hassle for me to immediately feel right at home on this ax.


I had the neck refretted by luthier George Swallow some time in the mid to late 80's with stock Gibson fret wire (the wide stuff that matched the original wire). The guitar has basically been strung with LaBella 20PM flats (.013 - .053) ever since then, so there's not much visible fret wear. The neck plays great over its entire length - no buzzes, rattles, dead notes, etc. I've set the action at the 12th fret at 5/64 on the bass side and 4/64 on the treble. The intonation is also excellent.


Aside from the refret, which was badly needed at the time, the only other non-original (though I personally don't consider a properly done pro quality refret to be a non-original modification) modifications are the truss rod cover (the guitar arrived without one - the one on there now is an American-made Schecter black metal cover) and the neck pickup. Sometime around 15 years ago the original neck pickup began losing power and crackling. I had the pickup checked out and it appeared to be on its way out. I decided to replace the pickup with a Bartolini Tuck Andress model, and I've never regretted the decision. The Bartolini sounded better that the original and definitely enhanced the sound of the instrument. I've also elevated the pickguard a bit using cork spacers, but that can be easily reversed.


The finish on the instrument is 'Iced Tea Sunburst', the standard Gibson 'burst of that era. I would consider the guitar to be in very good to excellent condition. It would never be mistaken for mint, but it's been very well cared for. The vast majority of the wear and finish checking on the guitar were there when I first got the instrument. I'm careful with my instruments and I treat them with respect and care.


Speaking of finish checking, the most visible checking visible on the guitar is on the lower bout on the top. I've seen almost no instruments of this age that don't exhibit some checking, especially here in the Northeast where it can be absolutely tropical in the summer and pretty Arctic in the winter (The previous owner of the guitar lived almost at the Canadian border in northern NYS). There are some checking lines running across the top in the vicinity of the bridge and tailpiece.


Also, as is clearly visible in the photos, the binding at the tip of the fingerboard (the L-5/Super 400 fancy fingerboard 'point') is separated. This is a fairly common problem that I've seen on several L-5's. It was that way when I got the guitar, and it just never bothered me enough to get it fixed, since it is strictly cosmetic and not structural. A good luthier with the right tools and understanding can restore it without too much difficulty.


The top is a nice looking piece of (solid carved) spruce. The back is the one piece back which Gibson seemed to use on most 60's era L-5's. The back has light figure which I did not do a great job of capturing in my photos. The sides are relatively plain, with sparse figure. The neck is the stock five piece neck of most all L-5's from the 60's onward, with nice figure in it.


The tuning machines, tailpiece, bridge, and knobs are all stock. The gold plating is still in pretty fair condition. I added a strap button on the heel of the neck and later changed both strap buttons to gold Dunlop Straplocks, which will be included with the guitar.


The case is the original late 60's model with black exterior and gold interior. Structurally the case is in great shape. The outside has its share of nicks and dings as you would expect, but it's really not too bad looking at all. The interior is in excellent shape, although it's had a slightly musty odor that was there when I got the guitar. The handle is a replacement leather side buckle handle which also was there when I acquired the instrument - it's actually a little easier on the hand than the original equipment plastic handle.


I hope that between my description and my photos most of your questions are answered. If not, e-mail me and I'll elucidate further as needed. If you feel that you need to hear the guitar let me know and I'll make a short mp3 of some solo stuff which will demonstrate the guitar's sonic qualities.


B/T/W the photos don't upload to tripod with very good resolution. If you would like sharper photos just e-mail me and I'll get them to you.


I'm asking what I believe to be a fair and reasonable price for what I consider to be a pretty wonderful guitar. E-mail me if you're interested. I'll be happy to get back to you with price, etc. By the way I am willing to ship internationally.


Drop the 'nospam' from my e-mail address when replying.


Thanks,


Sam

rear view

body front

neck

headstock

back of headstock

side

tailpiece

orange label

fingerboard tip