A celebration of 100 years of Gibson flat-top acoustic guitars

It has been 100 years since the first Gibson flat-top acoustic guitars were introduced—the Gibson L-0 and L-1, which were released in 1926, set the standard for all Gibson flat-top guitars to follow. In celebration of that milestone and the introduction of these groundbreaking acoustic models, Gibson Custom is proud to introduce the L-1 Anniversary Limited Edition, a loving homage to those early Gibson flat-tops.

While it has been seen in the hands of numerous musicians, including Jeff Buckley, Scrapper Blackwell, Norman Blake, Hubert Sumlin, and Keith Richards, to name a few, the L-1 is probably most closely associated with legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, who, in one of the few authenticated photos of him, can be seen playing a sunburst L-1 with a 12-fret neck. With its small body, 12-fret neck, and distinctive tonal warmth, the L-1 is an ideal guitar for the blues. While it sounds great when played with a flatpick, it’s also an exceptional guitar for fingerstyle playing.

The L-1 Anniversary Limited Edition is crafted at the Gibson Custom Shop in Bozeman, Montana. It features the L-1’s distinctive body shape, crafted from solid mahogany for the back and sides, with a thermally aged red spruce top and scalloped x-bracing. The L-1 Anniversary Limited Edition is replete with cream binding, which appears on the top and back, along the sides of the ebony fretboard, as well as around the headstock perimeter. Even the sound hole edge features cream binding. The 25” scale mahogany neck joins the body at the 12th fret, has a Historic V profile, and is fitted with an ebony fretboard with 19 standard frets and dressed up with mother-of-pearl dot inlays. A quick note about the 12-fret neck: our current acoustic portfolio consists almost entirely of guitars with necks that join the body at the 14th fret for increased access, but when we invented many of our platforms 90-100 years ago, the necks joined the bodies at the 12th fret. Those instruments have become some of the most hallowed and collectible vintage examples, not because of their age or scarcity, but due to their sound. While the L-1 was offered with 12 and 14-fret necks during its original production run from 1926 to 1937, we selected a 12-fret neck for the L-1 Anniversary Limited Edition due to its outstanding sonic characteristics.

The L-1 Anniversary Limited Edition headstock features three-on-a-plate open-back tuners with cream buttons. It is equipped with a bone nut and ornamented with a vintage-style “The Gibson” logo inlaid in mother-of-pearl and a two-ply black and white truss rod cover that features the word “Anniversary” engraved in white. The rectangular, closed slot ebony bridge features carved pyramid wings and is equipped with a bone saddle and bridge pins.

With its abundant cream binding serving as a visual contrast to the deep, rich, and glossy Cremona Burst nitrocellulose lacquer finish on its distinctively shaped body, the L-1 Anniversary Limited Edition is sure to draw attention for its stunning looks as much as for its beautiful, 12-fret tone. But you’ll need to act fast to get one. Only 100 L-1 Anniversary Limited Edition guitars will be made as part of this very special limited-edition run, each packaged in an L-1 hardshell case, along with a Certificate of Authenticity.

SPECIFICATIONS

BODY

Back : Mahogany
Binding : Single-ply top and back
Body Finish : Gloss nitrocellulose lacquer
Body Shape : L-1
Side : Mahogany
Top : Thermally aged red spruce

NECK

Fingerboard Material : Ebony
Fingerboard Radius : 304.8mm / 12.0in
Frets : Standard
Inlays : Mother of pearl dot
Joint  : Dovetail, 12th fret
Nut Material : Bone
Profile : Historic V
Scale Length : 635.0mm / 25.0in

ELECTRONICS

Fingerboard Pickup : None
Preamp : None

HARDWARE

Bridge : Rectangle with pyramid wings
Bridge Pins : Bone
finish : Nickel
Pickguard : None
Saddle Material : Bone
Tuning Machines : Open-back

MISCELLANEOUS

Accessories : Anniversary truss rod cover
Model: MCSBL1BCCB
Case : Hardshell Gibson case
Strings Gauge : .012, .016, .024, .032, .042, .053