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2004 Slaman 1923 L-5

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Serial #: 18804, signed and dated by the maker

Body size at lower bout: 16". Scale length: 24.9" Nut Width: 1 11/16"

Materials: Handcarved bookmatched solid spruce top; solid bookmatched AAA tiger flame maple back and sides; solid three piece maple neck with walnut centerstripe; solid ebony fingerboard; mother of pearl block fingerboard inlay and torch peghead inlay; abalone script logo; grained ivoroid bound fingerboard, body, peghead and pickguard.

Hardware: All original-style hardware including compensated ebony bridge; gold trapeze tailpiece; triple bound tortoise pickguard; Waverly 16X1 Sta-Tite style open back tuners with butterbean keys. Kent Armstrong 2D floating humbucking pickup with thumbwheel volume control under guard and endpin jack; John Pearse ebony contoured armrest on lower bass bout.

Notes: Dutch luthier Daniel Slaman has been building guitars since the late 70's, and has focused his talents on custom archtop construction over the last several decades. Slaman has been passionately inspired by the seminal guitars of the Golden Age, and his New Vintage series offers an impressive range of models including a Stromberg tribute, ES-150 and 250 "Charlie Christian" style models, and no less than three prewar L-5 models.

The Slaman 1923 captures the spirit of the guitar that started it all: Lloyd Loar's breakthrough L-5, the very first commercially successful archtop guitar. Signature details include the snakehead headstock with flowerpot logo, the slim 20's style f-holes, the shorter triple bound tortoise guard and dot fingerboard, the simple gold trapeze tailpiece and butterbean tuners. Parallel braced like the original, the 16" body is constructed of handsome hand carved tiger flame maple with a classic dark 'teacup' sunburst pattern in the vintage style nitrocellulose finish.

Bending traditional design to the demands of the contemporary guitarist, Slaman has not hesitated to use modern technology where it serves the player best. Smooth 16X1 gold Waverly tuners offer precision performance with true vintage looks. A state of art truss rod permits a neck profile that Loar himself would have envied; still full and pleasing, but without the challenging hard V ridge of the original. Contemporary medium profile frets are easier to play and more durable than their 20's counterparts, and the Armstrong 2D floating humbucking pickup amplifies the voice with peerless clarity and warmth.

For a photo series on the making of the 1923 L-5, visit here and click the link for Building.

With output a handful of instruments a year, Slaman's individually crafted guitars are rarely found on the vintage market, and his pricing now starts at well over $10,000 at current exchange rates. This lovingly maintained example is in exceptional condition, without cracks, pick, buckle thumb or fingerboard wear, and available at a fraction of the price.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished as necessary; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

Case: Original plush hardshell case.

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