1929 Gibson L-0 Mahogany, Very Good, Original Hard, $2,950.00

From the mid-twenties through 1930, Gibson produced flat top guitars in this body shape, taken from a Gibson arch top form. The flat top bracing went through various incarnations, until Gibson finally settled on the X-brace pattern. In '29, when this guitar was likely made, the bracing was a 'half-X' style, not quite the full X pattern. But for these 'peanut' body shape guitars, this bracing seems to produce the most sonically pleasing sounds. This shape is also the one immortalized in the now infamous Robert Johnson photo from the '30s.
The guitar is all mahogany: top, back, sides, neck. The headstock is overlaid in ebony veneer, and only a shadow the 'The Gibson' decal is visible in raking light. The fingerboard is Brazilian. The neck joins the body at the 12th fret. The original tuners are engraved like those on '28' series Martins. The body is bound in white, top and back, with a w/b/w rosette around the sound hole. These features, coupled with the attractive red-mahogany finish and an aged luster, make for a strikingly plain-but-geogeous curbside appeal. Old repairs include a few screw holes in the bottom from an old attached tailpiece, and a small glued hairline near the 'A' tuner, under the ebony overlay, very hard to see, but stable. There is much wear on the back of the neck, and some finish wear on the top, plus the nicks, dings and stains of a life long-lived. All components of this guitar are original but for the bridge, saddle and bridge pins.
Recent repairs include a fresh neck set, a new (exact) reproduction bridge, some side, back and top cracks glued, some braces glued, and the frets leveled and dressed. The guitar is very solid.
The neck measures 1 3/4" across at the nut, and action is set at about 6/64".
These were the days of ultra-light builds, and this one fits into that category; light as a feather, and very resonant. The guitar plays easily and the tone is sweet and resonant. Check the mp3 above. Comes with a period green plush hard case in excellent condition...fits like a glove!