Gibson L7C, Cherry Sunburst (1957)
Hollow-Body/Archtop · H (Single Humbucker) Pickups · Vintage
This is one of the more unique old Gibson archtops we've come across. Starting life as a true 1957 acoustic L7-C archtop, the guitar appeared to have suffered some sort of damage or issue that Gibson was employed to resolve in the 70s. The guitar appeared to have been refinished in Cherry Sunburst at the factory, whilst being electrified with an embossed stamp mini humbucker a la a Johnny Smith model.
Gibson "buttoned" up an old input jack on the side of the lower bout by way of a pearl insert, which we thought was pretty crafty! They also installed a new "Custom" truss rod cover. At its core, though, it remains a 50s build. The neck features a 1 11/16" nut width and a nice late 50s neck carve along with some beautiful figured Maple used for the neck and body. It certainly plays and sounds like a 50s Gibson!
The guitar came in from the relative of a family member who'd had it in his possession for decades in its current incarnation. The original 1950s Lifton still remained with the guitar as well, and is included with the sale.
At the end of the day, it's essentially a Johnny Smith-adjacent archtop from Gibson's Golden years, and if you don't mind the quirks and old factory repair work, it's quite the deal!
| Style | 17" Archtop |
| Body | Carved Spruce top w/ Solid Maple back and sides |
| Finish | Nitrocellulose |
| Color | Cherry Sunburst |
| Pickups | Floating Gibson Mini Humbucker | Rewind by Fralin |
| Electronics | CTS Volume Knob and mini jack |
| Controls | Volume |
| Bridge | Rosewood floating bridge |
| Tuners | Vintage Style Repro |
| Pickguard | Repro |
| Neck | 3-Piece Maple w/ Mahogany strip |
| Binding | White |
| Carve | 50s C | .86-.97" |
| Fingerboard | Rosewood |
| Radius | 12" |
| Inlays | Parallelogram |
| Frets | Original |
| Nut | Replacement |
| Scale Length | 25 1/2" |
| Serial # | A 26345 |
| Weight | 5lbs 11oz |
| Case | Original Lifton Hardshell |
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