If you love the sweet tone of a classic Gibson carved-top, but have never been comfortable with the large size, then the new L-5 Signature is the guitar for you. This beautiful instrument provides all of the tonal characteristics and appointments of the original L5, in a compact size that’s significantly easier to manage — on and off stage. Yea, verily, the body of the L5 Signature is smaller than that of the original L-5, yet it retains the same impeccable tonal properties. Construction details include that it is made from AAA maple for the back and rims with a carved spruce top; the hardware: gold; binding: 7-ply binding top, 3-ply binding on back, neck and peghead; bridge is an ABR-1 bridge with inlaid ebony base while the tailpiece is Gibson’s standard L-5 tailpiece – etched “L-5” with a starburst thereunder and featuring a center section of art deco in pewter with filigree. The pickups are twin ‘57 Classic Humbuckers. The controls (thank you for asking) include two volume rotaries, two tone, and 3-way selector switch.
The lovely fingerboard is ebony and inlaid with 8 large pearl block inlays starting from the first fret. Three sides of the fingerboard are inlaid with white-black-white-black, and then white binding outermost; the faux tortoise shell pickguard is four-ply purfled with white outermost; the sides and back are merely two ply. This guitar has considerable tiger stripe maple figure on the back, sides and neck. The neck, by the way, is five ply having twin strips of what might be walnut; and the back of the headstock is painted black and comes down to a point behind the first fret, as guitars were made in the ‘50s. Tuners are sealed back gold-plated Grovers with gold metal tulip buttons. Although in all other ways this guitar is 100% factory original, one interesting addition that was made to this guitar is the strap button that was added to the heel of the neck through the heel cap. It is gold-plated and formed into the shape of an Iron Cross. Another gold strap button occupies the case pocket.
This is a nearly faultless instrument – certainly one of the most desirable of modern jazz guitars, all solid wood, having a 15 5/8” body width, 2 5/8” body width at lower side, a standard nut width of 1 11/16th” and a string spacing at the bridge of an even 2”.
We feel that this is a guitar that any jazz guitarist would give his or her eyeteeth for, not that there is any requirement to sacrifice your cuspid, canine or dogtooth. No, indeed. Considering its beauty, fantastic finish color, unbelievable condition, incredible ease of use, and the pleasure it would give any itinerant or stationery jazzer, this soulful songbird is a fancy flight of very affordable fancy.