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2019 Zimnicki '28 Dot Cutaway
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Serial #: 355
Body size at lower bout: 16" Body depth: 3 1/4" Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut: 1 3/4" Neck depth: .90/1.00, 1st/10th fret
Finish: Cremona sunburst finish, nitrocellulose lacquer.
Materials: Solid bookmatched handcarved fine grain Sitka spruce top; solid handcarved bookmatched AAA tiger-flame maple back and sides; tiger flame maple neck with walnut centerstripe; solid ebony fingerboard with dot mother of pearl inlays; abalone torch and headstock logo; 3-ply body binding; solid bone nut.
Hardware: All gold hardware includes Gotoh 18:1 tuners; vintage style trapeze tailpiece, compensated adjustable ebony bridge; bound dark tortoise pickguard; adjustable truss rod, floating Kent Armstrong Handwound Single Coil pickup with volume and tone controls, coil tap switch, and endpin jack.
Notes: As the venerable Gibson L-5 approaches its 100th birthday, we might pause to reflect: how is it possible that the first commercially produced archtop guitar remains state-of-the art to this day? The enduring popularity of the original Lloyd Loar L-5 shows just how right the visionary Gibson designer got it, right out of the box. The comfy 16" body. The generous 1 3/4" nut. The powerful parallel-braced soundboard; all more popular than ever, almost a century later. It's as if Ford Model T's were smoking Teslas out on the Interstate.
The flashy fretwork of Eddie Lang notwithstanding, the debut version of the L-5 was initially designed to optimize volume and projection for chord comping in big band and orchestra settings. So Loar could hardly have anticipated the explosion of solo playing more than a decade later, in the wake of Charlie Christian's innovative lead work. Even so, it took Gibson almost 20 years to put the final piece of the puzzle in place, with the introduction of the cutaway body, at the very close of the 1930's.
It took Gibson yet another decade to finally issue a 16" cutaway in the late '40s, the L-4C. But that model wasn't fully carved like the L-5, and lacked its gracefully sculpted Venetian cutaway. To remedy this oversight at long last, archtop.com is pleased to introduce the new '28 Dot Cutaway. Working in collaboration with master luthier Gary Zimnicki, the '28 Cutaway is meticulously faithful in design: hand graduated from dramatic AAA Northern Michigan maple in the back, sides and neck, with a soundboard of tap-tuned, fine grained Northwest Sitka spruce, the same tonewoods used in the late '20's originals. Heck, it's even built in Allen Park, Michigan, just down Highway 94 from Gibson's original factory in Kalamazoo.
Built with the traditional fast 24 3/4" scale, the '28 Cutaway has the finger-friendly 1 3/4" nut, tap-tuned parallel-braced soundboard, and the famously comfy 16" body. At a featherweight 5lb 1oz, the guitar is extraordinarily light, and nimbly balanced on the lap or the strap. The Armstrong Handwound Single Coil floating pickup is an agreeable marriage of prewar tone with 21st century technology. Its adjustable polepieces welcome both nickel and bronze strings, the epoxy body resists microphonics and feedback, and its coil-tapped wiring offers tonal versatility, with variable impedances switchable at the mini-toggle on the pickguard.
The neck has a classic vintage C profile, full but not clubby, with smooth low action over a fresh high-precision setup. A lustrous vintage nitro Cremona sunburst finish is masterfully shaded in an accurate prewar palette, highlighting the chevron bookmatched curly maple back, sides and neck. The acoustic voice is clear and detailed, with a bark and projection far outstripping its compact size, and excellent balance across the entire fretboard. And she simply sings through the amp, with warm, deep resonance and excellent sustain.
Brand new with builder's warranty, the '28 Dot Cutaway is the guitar Gibson should have made, but didn't. Classic tone, with modern performance: a match made in, well, Michigan. One only, call now.
Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge phosphor bronze strings (.013-.056). 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 light relief. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
Case: Deluxe TKL black arched plush lined hardshell case.
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