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1948 Gibson L-48
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Factory order #: 198(x). Body size at lower bout: 16". Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut width: 1 11/16" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .89/1.01
Materials: Solid carved spruce top, arched maple back, solid mahogany sides and neck, solid rosewood fingerboard, pearl dot fingerboard inlays; bound body and neck.
Hardware: All original nickel hardware includes three-on-a-plate open back tuners, compensated adjustable Brazilian rosewood bridge, contoured tortoise pickguard, trapeze tailpiece, and adjustable truss rod.
Notes: It's almost 70 years old. Did some little music store just forget to sell it?
Gibson's postwar L-48 model was introduced in 1946, and remained in production until 1970, becoming the firm's all-time most popular acoustic archtop. With its comfy 16" body, the L-48 has the same scale length and body size as the L-50, L-4, and the ES-175. Easy to hold and fun to play, the fast scale allows for nimble soloing and easier fingering of stretch chord voicings.
Unlike the all-mahogany bodies of earlier and later examples, this gleaming guitar boasts a solid, carved, parallel braced spruce soundboard, with an arched maple back, and mahogany sides and neck. Preserved in time capsule condition, this remarkable find appears to have lain comfortably in storage since the era of the Harry Truman administration. No playwear, no repairs, no issues, nothing. If it wasn't for a few scant wisps of checking in the sparkling Cremona sunburst finish, the guitar looks as if it could have come off the production line just about last Thursday.
At a scant 4lb 7oz, the instrument is phenomenally lightweight, and simply floats on the lap or the strap. The solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard has original fretwork in untouched condition, with smooth low action on a fresh high precision setup, over a classic gentle C profile neck, with a full 1 11/16" nut. All original binding is tight to the body, and both neck angle and bridge height are excellent. With its solid carved spruce soundboard now aged for three quarters of a century, the acoustic voice of this stunning guitar is bright and clear, with excellent volume and projection. All complete with a genuine brown Gibson logo plush lined hardshell case of more recent vintage.
If you'd like to find one in more pristine condition, you'll need to check in with the Twilight Zone. A best buy, in a true vintage Gibson from the golden era. One only, call now.
Setup: 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.
This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel roundwound strings. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
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