Gibson Custom Introduces The L-5 Doublecut

Classic arch top re-imagined   02-May-14

Gibson Custom describe their new  L-5 Doublecut as an elegant and iconic instrument reimagined for the player of the 21st century. Here's the details in their own words...

Orville Gibson invented the archtop guitar in the 1890s, but most aficionados will tell you that the form achieved its zenith in 1922 with the Lloyd Loar-designed L-5, a glorious carved-top guitar with a subtly elegant look, a huge tone, and the first violin-style f-holes seen on a six string. But Gibson didn't stop there. The premier archtop continued to evolve throughout the century, adapting to amplification, gaining a cutaway and humbucking pickups in the '50s, and landing in the hands of legendary players such as Wes Montgomery, Hank Garland, and even Scotty Moore along the way. Now the L-5 Doublecut sends it soaring once again, in a stunning marriage of tradition and innovation.

Hand-crafted by Gibson Custom with a view toward all the essentials of the finest archtop acoustic-electric guitars, the L-5 Doublecut has a carved Sitka spruce top matched to a back and sides made from highly figured maple, all rendered in a graceful double-cutaway body with a depth of 2 3/8". A five-ply maple and walnut neck is topped with a one-piece ebony fingerboard, while two Custom Bucker humbucking pickups purr with all the mellow warmth and defining clarity of the finest late-'50s PAFs.

Equally known for its understated elegance as for its superior tone, the Doublecut continues in the L-5 tradition, with 7-ply top binding, 3-ply back binding, 5-ply fingerboard and headstock binding, and a multi-ply-bound pickguard. Inlays include a mother-of-pearl logo and floral emblem on the headstock, block fingerboard markers, and petite floral inlays on the ebony bridge base. All hardware is gold plated, including the Schaller™ M6 tuners and engraved L-5 bridge with silver insert, and the guitar is available in your choice of two classic finishes: Slow Iced Tea Fade, or Vintage Sunburst. Includes a hardshell Custom Shop case and Custom Crimson Certificate of Authenticity.

Pricing and Availability:
$10,449

More information:

• L-5 Doublecut