The Jerry Jones Longhorn guitar was made by the Nashville luthier as a higher end version of the 1950s Danelectro guitars. The originals were made from masonite. Cheap and popular, they were played by Link Ray and even Jimmy Page. The Longhorn design is striking, but it also gives easy access to 3 octave range of frets.
We got a lot of reactions on a beautiful 1929 Gibson L-Series Guitar that was featured in Every Guitar Has A Story. Many reactions were filled with information or requests for information and , of course, some misinformation. “Help me identify the date’ was a common theme.
1902 L-1 introduction (acoustic archtop): single bound round soundhole with 2 rope pattern wood rings, single bound top, ebony fingerboard, dot fingerboard inlays, orange top finish, dark mahogany back and sides, 2 sizes.
1908 L-1 specs: 13.5" wide, narrower waist, trapeze tailpiece with pins anchored in tortoise celluloid plate, elavated pickguard, 13 frets clear of the body, bound fingerboard, slated "The Gibson."
1912 L-1 specs: No pickguard.
1914 L-1 specs: Pickguard added again.
1918 L-1 specs: Sheraton brown finish.
1920 L-1 specs: Double 5 ply soundhole rings.
1925 Discontinued.
1926 Re-introduced as a flattop. The L-2…tada
The L-3 was still the archtop.
The L-4 was introduced in 1911. It had an oval sound hole until 1928. The sound hole became rounded it went from 12 frets to 14 frets. In 1935, the round sound hole was swapped for f-holes.
In 1949, the L-4 was made electric and became the ES-175.
Gibson still makes the L-4 CES.
Good luck with old Gibson serial numbers. They have changed the system over the years, so you have to identify the specs of the guitar to get the right date from the system Gibson used during that time. The specs above should help, but one big clue is the Gibson logo.
“The Gibson” slanted across the headstock is the earliest version. That lasted into the late 1920s. Then “The Gibson” lost its slant. In mid 1930s, it became “Gibson.” Late 1930, “Gibson” got fatter. Mid-1940s, “Gibson” got the slant back. Later in the 1940s, the modern Gibson appears with the dot on the “I” touching the “G.” Late 1960s, the dot over the “I” disappears.
Hopefully this helps verify the age for your Gibson.
Please reply with any corrections.
Jim Ward brought a 1928 Gibson L-4 to the KC Guitar Show.
Aside from being in great condition for a guitar that is approaching 100 years old,
It gives us a chance to see the changes Gibson made over the years to an important model.
The L-4 tag was given to many Gibson archtops. The first one was introduced in 1911. It had an oval sound hole with 12 frets. In 1928, like the one we held, the sound hole was switched to the round shape with 14 frets. In 1935, they switched to F-holes.
This was about the time when “The Gibson” logo became “Gibson.”
We got to see one in person.
