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1960 Gibson L-4C Carved Top Cutaway Vintage Archtop Acoustic Guitar Blonde w/ Case, Hangtag

$6,749.99

+ shipping

Out Of Stock
Up for sale, a 1960 Gibson L-4C in exceptional, crack-free condition, complete with the original hangtag and hardshell case. This vintage Gibson archtop shares the dimensions of its electric brother the ES-175, boasting a solid, hand-carved spruce top, maple back and sides, and a one-piece Honduran mahogany neck capped with a bound slab Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. And while the serial crosses over into the 1960 model year, the substantial neck profile carve is representative of the larger shapes from 1958-59.

A lively and dynamic golden age Gibson archtop, this L-4C delivers a vibrant, broad sound with exquisite midrange chop, and sparkling, punchy trebles. The wound strings have a dry, woody quality with ideal clarity for complex chording, while also retaining an underlying sweetness. Notes are remarkably even in their response across all strings and in all registers. The guitar weighs 5lbs 2oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with fresh flatwound 11-50 strings, easy-playing action and accurate intonation.

The Honduran mahogany neck has a substantial C-shaped profile carve with round yet not overt shoulders at the nut, with fractionally more overall heft as you travel up the fretboard, measuring .880" deep at the 1st fret and .965" at the 9th. The bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard features pearl split parallelogram inlay, refretted with flawless medium jumbo fretwire. The guitar plays cleanly up the 24 3/4" scale with a straight neck and responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The original nylon nut is intact, measuring 1 11/16" in width. The headstock is fitted with a set of brand new Kluson Deluxe vintage reissue tuners that perfectly match the footprint and appearance of the original gears with single line gear housings and sharp-edged keystone buttons. The headstock was at one time fitted with a different tuner set, with faint halos of larger washers around the vintage-spec push-in bushings.

The neck meets the body at an ideal angle, and the original Brazilian rosewood compensated floating bridge is intact, offering room for further adjustment on both thumbwheels. The original nickel-plated diamond tailpiece rounds out the hardware, and plastics include the original multi-ply black wide bevel pickguard which is extremely clean with sparingly little warpage. The orange oval label is visible through the F hole with its cleanly stamped A-prefix serial number.

The original Blonde nitro lacquer gloss finish is notably well-kept with no touchup or overspray, exhibiting some minor marks on the lower bout on top, a few faint finish scratches and small dings on the back, and a couple spots of light rack rash through the clear coat on the lower bout body edge. The smooth nitro gloss intact on the neck shows just a few small dings on the profile length.

The original hardshell case with black "large pebble" tolex is included, retaining the original latches, handle, and small Gibson badge on the exterior. The original hangtag is also included.