❌SOLD❌ Gibson L7 Archtop Guitar Sunburst, 1941

Exquisitely proportioned and delivering on the promises of its appearance, the Gibson L7 Archtop was the instrument used by many professional players for several decades.

Introduced in 1932 as a mid-level but professional quality, the Gibson L7 was a full size 17 inch archtop guitar and was immediately popular. The last non-cutaway model, like this, was made in 1955. In its cutaway form the L7C, it was built until 1972.

The Gibson L7 was intended as an acoustic guitar, and at its introduction electrification was only beginning to appear. Consequently it’s built with solid woods including a solid, carved Spruce top, carved figured Maple back, and figured maple for the sides and neck. The bound fingerboard and the bridge are both Brazilian Rosewood, standard at the time. Position marker designs varied, and in this case, the double-parallelogram position markers start at the first fret and are Mother of Pearl.

Here we’re looking at a well preserved Gibson L7 built in Kalamazoo, Michigan during 1941, before the US entered WW2. It is in good and largely original condition; it has been refretted, so it’s very playable, and it has had a Kent Armstrong humbucking pickup mounted to the fingerboard tag. The controls are mounted on the original bound, faux-tortoise pick guard and the output goes to a standard Switchcraft panel jack passing through the original strap pin hole and the tailpiece hinge plate.

The nitrocellulose lacquer sunburst finish is entirely original and is in good shape, with expected wear and tear and some natural, expected lacquer checking. It plays well at a relatively low action, and there’s plenty of space to adjust the bridge for the player’s requirements. The refret was done with a larger fretwire, and there’s plenty left, providing a solid grip on the string and a clear, clean well defined tone.

The original Gibson hard shell case, in 6 out of 10 condition, is included.