Description

Gibson L-1 from 1930 – a real cannon of a guitar. If you want a vintage flat top that none of your friends have – this is the one to buy.
The guitar was owned by Norman Hartnett, who also played it live for many years. We have linked a video recording of it below.

It’s pretty hard to argue with an old Gibson. They’re killer guitars. The good ones — like this one — have that classic Gibson “simplicity” to the sound. They’re woody, plainspoken, open-sounding, and are “hifi” in that you can hear every note you’re playing distinctly. They’re not cluttered with scooped mids, complicated overtones, or sweetened highs. These are cool straight forward guitars — they shoot back what you put into them, albeit through a “woody-old-Gibson” filter. There are good reasons for these instruments to be as popular and desired as they are.

This one is in pretty nice condition considering the age. Of cours you have the signs of play and wear on it, but there is no major repair. It has been refinished, true to the original finish. The pickguard is a newer one.

The FON has completely faded and that’s why we needed to date it from the specs … 12-frets to the body, old Gibson Logo, old tuners … 1929/30 is our guess!

It comes with a newer case.

This Gibson L-1 is an extremely rare and historically significant guitar.