Gibson L-4 (1925)

Description

While we love all vintage guitars here at the Denver Folklore Center, this gorgeous 1925 Gibson L-4 clearly stands head-and-shoulders above the rest based on its "cool factor", if nothing else. Built during legendary luthier Lloyd Loar's brief tenure at Gibson, this astounding oval-hole archtop features a spruce top, birch back and sides, and a big, dry sound that's broken in nicely over nearly a century of playing time. It even still sports a now-rare Virzi Tone Producer, a special secondary soundboard underneath the top, which Loar felt bolstered a guitar's higher harmonic partials and gave it a brighter sound. Visually, it's hard to get over the L-4's perfect sunburst finish, but other minor touches like the marquetry around the soundhole and the celluloid pickguard simply don't look the same on modern copies. This is one of our favorite guitars, and it's sure to become a favorite for its next owner, too.

Best of all, this guitar arrived in our store in excellent condition, with an already exceptionally good set up and no significant damage, cosmetic or otherwise. The only visible damage is some finish wear on the back of the neck, likely from a capo - but there are no cracks and only the most minor amount of dents, scuffs, and divots. Even the finish checking is fairly minimal. This guitar was refretted at some point in the past, but retains a faithfully vintage feel. All other parts are original. Included in the price is the original hard-shell case.