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Natural finished 1955 Gibson L-7CN. Great acoustic tone. The guitar has a few scratches and dings, but it's in very good shape for its age. It's been refretted with medium sized frets. There is a small hole on the top of the body (near the floating pickup) which is the result of a McCarty floating pickup, which the guitar previously had. The tuners are original, and could probably use some oil. The guitar comes with a modern floating Charlie Christian pickup made by Peter Biltoft at Vintage Vibe Pickups. Volume and tone controls as well as a 1/4" output jack are mounted to the pickguard. Also includes the original Lifton case (not in the best of shape) and an unmodified pickguard, so the guitar can be restored to purely acoustic if desired.
The neck is a large C shape. Depth is 0.92" at the first fret and 0.99" at the ninth. It weighs 5 pounds 6 ounces with the floating pickup.
I'm relatively new to this forum, but I've got over 100 five-star reviews on Reverb. I'm asking $6,200 USD including shipping to the continental US with payment through PayPal (for both buyer and seller protection). I'd be willing to ship international, too. Contact me for a quote. The guitar is also available through Reverb at a higher price, if one prefers purchasing through that platform. More photos available there:
1955 Gibson L-7CN - Natural - Charlie Christian | Reverb
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01-08-2024 09:14 PM
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a knockout !
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Wow, just wow.
This might just require a road trip.
Did I say, wow?
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And you have a great amp to go with it just out of picture on the right.
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Wonder if that back is solid or laminated? I’m guessing more than likely laminate.
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And you'd be guessing wrong. The back and sides are solid maple, no laminate.
Originally Posted by SlowJoeJones
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and you make this assertion based on what? Originally Posted by jazzshrink
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No guesswork required. Originally Posted by SlowJoeJones
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are you saying you believe this back is solid or laminate? Originally Posted by Hammertone
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It's solid. No offense but this is common, basic knowledge about Gibson archtops. No need to get argumentative with the people who are helping answer your question.
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I don’t see anything argumentative there. Just a question asked. If I were you I’d delete that ignorant comment, though Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
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Last edited by SlowJoeJones; 01-18-2024 at 12:13 AM.
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some prewar L-7s have lam backs but it's pretty rare to see a post war one.
that said, that one sure looks like it might be a lam.
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1. Question asked Originally Posted by SlowJoeJones
2. Question answered
3. Answer challenged
4. Challenge observed and noted
5. Challenge denied
The end result: one person less likely to help the other in the future.
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Clearly a 1 piece back. But not necessarily a lam. Originally Posted by wintermoon
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my thoughts exactly. I’ve read a number of times that it’s common for one piece blonde backs to be laminate. maybe the OP can clarify instead of the Internet, knowing it alls. Hah. Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Originally Posted by jazzshrink
in your case, I’d consider that a blessing. Now have a nice day!
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I've seen some post war examples w lam backs, relatively rare, but don't recall seeing one w a carved one piece.
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It would be easy to check the grain inside on the back. That said, if the back was laminated it still is quite a nice guitar and set up for real playing. The Biltof pickup and light weight suggest to me it is an acoustic guitar with some serious presence, but you can plug in if needed. Gibsons archtop tops have gone up quite a bit in price over the past year I think. I wish I lived close enough to check it out.
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A 17” one-piece solid carved maple back? Unlikely but not impossible.
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It's a solid back. Here's a photo of the back from the inside. Before now, the fact that it's a one-piece back didn't even register in my mind. Looking up close, I sure don't see a seam line.
I'm in the bustling metropolis of Pittsburgh, PA if anyone is interested in a road trip.
The only reason I'm selling this guitar is because the neck is just too big for me. Years ago, I had hand problems that finally went away after going down a couple of string gauges. After playing this L7 (with flatwound 12s) for a while, some of the numbness and tingling started to return to my hand. In an effort to make it easier to play, I tried monel 11s (which sound great on another archtop I have), but they don't do this guitar justice at all.
I know this is total sacrilege, but the idea of keeping the guitar and having the neck professionally shaved down did cross my mind.
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Originally Posted by andrew
It's a solid back. Here's a photo of the back from the inside. Before now, the fact that it's a one-piece back didn't even register in my mind. Looking up close, I sure don't see a seam line.
I'm in the bustling metropolis of Pittsburgh, PA if anyone is interested in a road trip.
The only reason I'm selling this guitar is because the neck is just too big for me. Years ago, I had hand problems that finally went away after going down a couple of string gauges. After playing this L7 (with flatwound 12s) for a while, some of the numbness and tingling started to return to my hand. In an effort to make it easier to play, I tried monel 11s (which sound great on another archtop I have), but they don't do this guitar justice at all.
I know this is total sacrilege, but the idea of keeping the guitar and having the neck professionally shaved down did cross my mind.
what makes you think it's solid?
just from the pic you posted it doesn't appear the grain pattern matches the back in that area.
I'd bet dollars to donuts it's a lam but would love to be proven wrong, I haven't had a donut in ages....Last edited by wintermoon; 01-17-2024 at 07:02 PM.
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Originally Posted by SlowJoeJones
Originally Posted by Hammertone
The guitar looks great! The back presents as one piece. Originally Posted by SlowJoeJones
IMO, Gibson did not put one-piece carved maple backs on 17" Gibson L-7, L-7N, L-7C or L-7CN guitars.
Furthermore, plenty of Gibson L-7 and L-7C guitars came with laminated backs in '38 and beyond. I have personally owned three of them, and handled many more. The ones I owned (two pre-war L-7N, one post-war L-7) were great-sounding guitars. These are the same backs as were used on pre-war and post-war ES-300, and post-war ES-350, ES-5 and ES-350T guitars.
If anyone can post pix and documentation of a post-war 17" Gibson archtop of any sort with a one-piece carved maple back, please do so. I look forward to being proven wrong.
While we're at it, if anyone can post pix and documentation of any post-'34 17" Gibson archtop of any sort with a one-piece carved maple back, please do so. My guess is that there is probably a special order L-5 out there with such a configuration, and I'd love to see it!
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It is a beautiful guitar, and I bet it sounds great too.
Sorry about your hands not liking it.
Someone's will, I expect.
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Actually, looking at the pic of the outside back and the inside back, the grain does kinda line up.
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I could see that if the label was high on the upper bass bout but they never are. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
the maple is on the plainer side where the label would be, which is a bit lower on the bass bout
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