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they're likely reissues of late 50s knobs, not metal capped bonnets.
Originally Posted by nopedals
Hank Garland had a custom L-7 w/Christian pickup, and dot inlay like Kessel's famous ES-350.
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12-08-2015 12:45 PM
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I had the seller on the phone, he told me that the previous owner ordered that guitar to gibson and that they added the charlie christian. This is not a work of a random luthier and no braces were cut. Really looking forward to trying it!
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Lovely looking guitar! Reminded me of this video of a Dutch gentleman playing with Roni Ben-Hur:
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Interesting to see the gauze reinforcement around the F holes. Triggs does that on his New Yorkers. Wish more did it. There'd be a lot less cracking going on.
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no matter what you do, the braces on any L-7 will have to be cut to install a CC as they're all parallel braced post 1939
you might get away w/minimal damage on a Gibson Johnny Smith as they're X braced
the last 2 pics icr posted are the same guitar, though w/added x brace, to strengthen the top.
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Is it me or the 2 knobs on the L7C have a strange position for a 'Gibson factory installation' ?
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The tone control looks lower than it would be on an ES-250.
Here is a quote I found in the A.R Duchossoier book Gibson Electrics. Of course, one can read as much as they want, but it won't replace peeking inside that guitar.
It is, however, to be noted that if Gibson dropped the bar pickup [CC Pickup] from its stock models, it was practically always possible for a guitarist to have one mounted on his guitar "on a special order" basis. Indeed, the Gibson factory always kept at its disposal the parts needed for their assembly. In the 1940s and 1950s and even 1960s, a certain number of acoustic modes such as L-5s or L-7s were thus "electrified" with a bar pickup, even then this was no longer officially proposed as an accessory. Moreover some electric models lost their original pickup for a bar pickup salvaged from the factory or taken apart from an older model. In each case, it would not be a "stock" model, but rather a unique, guitar modified by a customer or made on a special order basis by the Gibson factory.Last edited by icr; 12-09-2015 at 12:18 PM.
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Doesn't seem right to me. On other models the tone control is much closer to the end-hole of the f-hole. Originally Posted by nopedals
( "The end-hole of the f-hole." try saying THAT in public. )
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Another weird detail for me: the strap button. Never seen before in such a position. Anyone ?
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I've seen that strap position many times, pretty silly. Originally Posted by Fred Archtop
I bought an old Super 400 once that had one there, couldn't remove it fast enough.
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I'm remembering that Ed Cherry plays, or has played such a guitar. Have to go check and see if I'm remembering correctly.
MD
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1949 L7 with with pickup and cutaway added in the '60s. Originally Posted by mad dog
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No, Doug played L7's. The later one (after the first one wore out) was a '68, and the P90 was mounted later. I played it a few times. It had the narrow neck, but Doug didn't mind. That said, I've seen just a few L7 models custom ordered with mounted pickups. I missed a ridiculously cool '62 model with a CC pickup two years ago, still can't forget that one.
Cheers, Mads
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Well never say never...
1966 Gibson L-7 Special
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Although that guitar is definitely a “special” with the beautiful sunburst back and sides, the pickup is certainly a recent addition. Those Kent Armstrong floating pickups weren’t even around in 1966. Originally Posted by Ken Olmstead
My father had a late 1950’s L7C “electric” and it had a McCarty fingerrest pickup, which I believe was the only way Gibson amplified L7’s. I have seen a few L7’s with Johnny Smith pickups, but they also appeared to have been added later. Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gibson would have shipped the occasional L7 with a JS pickup if a customer ordered it that way.
Keith
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I saw a thread yesterday on FB with a link to Hank Garlands guitars, he played an L7 custom built by Gibson, with a CC pickup on two or three of his albums apparently. See below.
The Hank Garland Legacy Guitar Collection - Home
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That is very interesting. The certificate seems to suggest that Gibson made it with the CC pickup. Hank must have liked CC pickups. I recall he had a Byrdland with a CC in the front position. Originally Posted by bananafist
Keith
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The Jason Lollar Gold Foil single coil is a nice pickup on my '44. Didn't have a pickup for over 66 years. A very sweet guitar.
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This one is on sale right now at archtop.com . 1936 Gibson L-7, Factory Electric Conversion
It was a Gibson factory installation from the 50s. If only the pickup were a few inches further north.
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I guess there were a few “one-off” L7’s built with pickups. I’m sure they would build custom guitars for customers so who knows what might be out there. An L7C with a single p90 (like an ES350) would sure be a nice guitar. Anyone ever see one? Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
This one is on sale right now at archtop.com . 1936 Gibson L-7, Factory Electric Conversion
It was a Gibson factory installation from the 50s. If only the pickup were a few inches further north.
Keith
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Since asking about non-floating electric, that would mean a hole in the guitar (to fit most other types of Gibson pickups). Pickup hole in an L7 usually means cutting through the top braces.
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I added a reissue DeArmond RC1100 to my 1937 L-7. That model wasn’t released until 1954 so it’s not exactly authentic, but it works well on it.
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The ES-300 had, as far as I know, the same construction as the L-7 but with laminated top and a P-90.
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