Guitar
Maker
Gibson, Inc.
Maker
Gibson
Date1957 ca.
Place MadeKalamazoo, Michigan, United States, North America
ModelL-48
Serial No.29744
SignedGold-silkscreen on peghead front: GibsonMarkingsStamped into back of peghead: 29744
Stamped inside guitar in black ink, visible through sound hole: L48
Inside in pencil: RUSS PIKE / 195[last digit of year not legible]
Also inside in pencil: CLAY JOHNSON JR / O'NEILL, NEBR / 1974
DescriptionThe L-48 was an inexpensive arch-top guitar that was marketed to the "aspiring student." It featured the carved top and f-shaped soundholes of the Super 400 for only $85 about 1955, rather than $400 for Gibson’s fanciest arch-top in the mid-1930s.
Top: Pressed mahogany arched-top with two vertical braces under bridge for support
Sound Hole: F-Style sound holes
Back: Pressed maple arched-back
Sides: Mahogany
Neck: Mahogany
Peghead: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Rosewood with twenty nickel-silver frets
Heel Cap: None
Nut: White plastic
Tuners: Inline tuners with enclosed gears and white plastic knobs, stamped: Deluxe
Bridge: Rosewood, two piece adjustable
Tailpiece: Trapeze style, three screws through mounting plate with strap button in center
Strap Button: White plastic with metal screw
Pick Guard: Plastic, tortoise shell decoration, free floating
Decorative Elements:
Sunburst finish on top with light orange brown fading into deep chocolate tone around outer edges. Top and back are bound in simulated ivory. Mother-of-pearl dot inlays at frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, and 15. Plastic dot position markers on bass edge of fingerboard. Front of peghead is painted black to simulate veneer. Diamond shape stamped onto tailpiece front. Tortoise shell pickguard.
DimensionsOverall Instrument Length: 1050 mm (41-1/4 inches)
Vibrating String Length: 624 mm (24-3/4 inches)
Length of Fingerboard: 435 mm (13-1/8 inches)
Width of Fingerboard at Nut: 42 mm (1-11/16 inches)
Width of Fingerboard at Body: 54 mm (2-1/16 inches)
Width of Upper Bout: 296 mm (11-5/8 inches)
Width of Waist: 241 mm (9-7/16 inches)
Width of Lower Bout: 409 mm (16-1/8 inches)
Depth of Body at Heel: 84 mm (3-3/8 inches)
Depth of Body at Endpin: 84 mm (3-3/8 inches)
ProvenancePurchased new by Russell Pike, Ainsworth, Nebraska.
Credit LineGift of Clay H. Johnson, 1976
Object number01467
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