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1976 Gibson Byrdland

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Serial #: 00101236

Body size at lower bout: 17". Scale length: 23 1/2" Nut Width: 1 10/16" Body depth: 2 1/4"

Materials: Solid carved bookmatched spruce top; solid carved maple back and sides; solid 3 piece maple neck; solid ebony fingerboard; L-5 style block mother of pearl fingerboard inlay and flowerpot peghead inlay; 7 ply top binding, triple bound back and neck, bound f-holes.

Hardware: Original gold hardware includes Kluson Sealfast tuners with tulip keys; loop style trapeze tailpiece with engraved crossbar; compensated ebony bridge with inlaid foot; original Gibson Pat. # humbucking pickups with recent gold covers; 3 way control switch. Correct hand bound 5-ply tortoise pickguard and gold bell knobs installed, original black bonnet knobs included.

Notes: It was a disc jockey convention in Nashville, and the year was 1955. Gibson, Inc. had a booth demonstrating their new offerings, and ace session guitarists Hank Garland and Billy Byrd were sampling the merchandise. Then, according to Garland, Gibson rep Clarence Havenga asked the fateful question: "What would you like in a guitar that we don't already have?" By the time the three had finished brainstorming, a new guitar was born.

Christened the Byrdland after its co-creators, this innovative guitar started life as an L-5CES, with its solid carved spruce and maple body, block and flowerpot inlay, and multi-ply binding right down to the pointed end of the ebony fingerboard. But Hank and Billy wanted more. First, both the scale length and nut width were shortened, to create Gibson's fastest neck ever, specifically tailored to facilitate stretch chord voicings and lightning fast lead runs. Special pickups had to be fabricated to accommodate the narrower pole spacing as well.

And finally, Hank had been playing a custom Stromberg with a slimmer body depth, and he asked Havenga to match it. The traditional body depth of Gibson archtops had been unchanged since the Loar era, but by April 4th 1955, Gibson ledgers recorded the creation of four L-5CES guitars with the handwritten designation 'special thin model'. Thus did the Byrdland become Gibson's first ever thinline guitar, pioneering one of the most popular and influential body designs of the modern era, and Hank and Billy's brainchild has remained in the catalog to this day.

This gleaming example comes complete with original gold hardware including the engraved Byrdland tailpiece, Tunematic bridge, and genuine Kluson Sealfast tuners, now long unavailable. The deep sunburst finish is all original as well, and free of pick, thumb or fingerboard wear, with the true nitro lacquer absent even the usual weather checking one expects in an instrument of this vintage. Apart from a bit of tarnish on tailpiece, the guitar shows few signs of age, and virtually no playwear to speak of.

The recent medium jumbo frets are in pristine condition, with a fresh high-precision setup on the comfy light D neck with a solid ebony fingerboard. The tone is warm and rich, and the compact scale fingerboard is perfect for lightning runs and stretch voicings. Versatile and highly playable, the Gibson Byrdland is a landmark in the evolution of the modern electric guitar. One only: call now.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished as required; 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 wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel flatwound 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.

Case: Original deluxe black arched Gibson logo plush lined hardshell case.

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