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1935 Gibson Advanced Model L-10

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Serial #: 92633 FON#: 255A-23

Body size at lower bout: 17". Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut Width: 1 3/4" Neck depth: .92/1.09, 1st/10th frets

Materials: Handcarved bookmatched solid spruce top, solid maple back and sides, solid mahogany neck, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, mother of pearl inlay fingerboard and peghead inlay, 5-ply bound fingerboard and peghead, checkerboard body binding, original endpin and solid bone nut.

Hardware: All original chrome hardware includes Grover Stat-Tite tuners and trapeze tailpiece, bound tortoise pickguard, compensated adjustable Brazilian rosewood bridge, adjustable truss rod.

Notes: Hmmm...it's the Great Depression. We got too many models, and not enough customers. Let's make one kinda different...

The Gibson L-10 is the firm's rarest prewar archtop, built in very limited numbers for a little over a decade. Though examples have been dated as early as 1928, the L-10 did not appear in Gibson's catalog until 1931, and was the first and only alternative to the L-5 for some years. Like its upscale counterpart, the original L-10 had a parallel braced 16" body, but was finished in a solid ebony lacquer. (Though $100 less than the L-5, the L-10 was still priced higher than Martin's most costly model, the ornate OM-45.)

Upsized to an X-braced 17" body in 1935, the 'Advanced Model' L-10 was distinguished with ornamentation utterly unique in the Gibson line. With its distinctive split-arrow fingerboard inlay, checkerboard body binding, three-tone cherry sunburst, and natural finish one-piece mahogany neck, the L-10 was also fitted with gleaming all-chrome hardware, unseen on other Gibsons until the mid-60's. While the later L-7 and L-12 models survived well into the prewar era, the Advanced L-10 was discontinued by 1939 after a scant four years of production.

This exceptional example is from the first full year for the Advanced body, and has been maintained in 100% original condition, right down to its lovely bound tortoise pickguard. All original hardware is intact, including the 20's style trapeze tailpiece and Grover butterbean tuners. The neck on this rare bird is noteworthy in itself: its generous 1 3/4" nut is unusual for 17" Gibsons, and its comfy 7" fretboard radius is similar in feel to an early '50s Tele. And most notably, both neck and peghead are trimmed with extravagant L-5 style 5-ply binding, rather than the single binding typically seen on this model.

The neck has a solid, gentle C profile, neither clubby nor veed, with smooth low action over fine recent fretwork, and a fresh high-precision setup. Both neck angle and bridge height are excellent, and the voice has the depth and sustain the X-braced body is renowned for, with wonderful clarity and detail. The gleaming sunburst finish is all original and remarkably free of pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, with some normal light checking and a few incidental finish nicks touched up on the back and sides. A special plus is the original plush lined striped tweed 'aircraft cloth' case, the most coveted of Gibson's prewar hardshells.

How rare is this baby? Well, in 30 years, this is only the third Advanced L-10 we've had in the shop, full stop. An eyecatching treasure from Gibson's greatest era, and one of the scarcest models the company ever created. One only: call now.

Setup: Trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridgewheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished. This instrument is strung with medium gauge 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 moderate relief for acoustic playing. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.

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