Description
The Gibson Custom 1957 L-5CES Reissue in Antique Natural brings one of Gibson's most prestigious archtops back to the core Custom lineup, recreating a pivotal late-1950s version of a model whose history reaches back to the Lloyd Loar era. Gibson developed this reissue using detailed 3D scans of original late-'50s instruments, with the goal of capturing their construction, feel, and voice. For jazz players, traditionalists, collectors, and anyone drawn to the response of a fully carved electric archtop, this is an especially significant return.
At its heart is fully carved construction, with a carved AAA spruce top joined to a carved, bookmatched AAA curly maple back and solid AAA curly maple sides. Unlike a laminated hollowbody, this construction allows the instrument to respond dynamically to the player's touch while producing considerable acoustic depth and resonance before an amplifier ever enters the picture. The Venetian cutaway opens access to the upper register, while the Antique Natural VOS nitrocellulose lacquer finish puts the figured woods front and center.
A pair of unpotted Custombucker Alnico 3 humbuckers translates that acoustic foundation into a warm, articulate electric voice. Their vintage-inspired response makes the L-5CES equally comfortable delivering rounded neck-pickup jazz tones, more defined bridge sounds, or the complex middle-position blend of both pickups. Independent volume and tone controls for each pickup and a traditional 3-way toggle provide the familiar control scheme, while the unpotted construction stays true to the vintage-minded character of the instrument.
The three-piece neck is built from two sections of curly maple surrounding a walnut center strip and joins the body with a dovetail joint. Gibson shaped its substantial Authentic 1957 L-5 profile using information gathered from vintage scans, while the 25.5-inch scale gives the guitar a distinctly different response from Gibson's shorter-scale solidbody designs. A four-ply bound ebony fingerboard features 20 medium jumbo frets, mother-of-pearl block inlays, purfling, and a traditional bird's beak extension. The 12-inch radius keeps the playing surface familiar and accommodating across both intricate chord voicings and single-note work.
The visual details are every bit as considered as the construction. The headstock receives five-ply binding, a mother-of-pearl Gibson logo and flowerpot inlay, plus a traditional rear stinger. Gold Kluson Sealfast tuners complement a Historic Reissue ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge mounted on a rosewood base and a vintage-style gold L-5 trapeze tailpiece engraved with the model name. A five-ply bound tortoiseshell pickguard completes an Antique Natural presentation that feels appropriately elegant without obscuring the highly figured woods underneath.
The L-5 has spent more than a century evolving alongside American guitar music, and this 1957 L-5CES Reissue represents one of the model's defining electric configurations. Its carved woods, long scale, Custombuckers, ornate appointments, and historically informed construction make it much more than a dressed-up hollowbody. This is Gibson Custom archtop building at its most ambitious, and it's exactly the kind of instrument we're thrilled to have at Cream City Music.
Specifications:
- Body Style: Hollow Body
- Body Shape: L-5
- Top Material: Carved AAA Spruce
- Back Material: Carved, Bookmatched AAA Curly Maple
- Side Material: Solid AAA Curly Maple
- Weight Relief: None
- Binding: 7-Ply Top, 3-Ply Back
- Body Finish: VOS Nitrocellulose Lacquer
- Color: Antique Natural
- Neck Material: 3-Piece Curly Maple and Walnut
- Neck Profile: Authentic 1957 L-5
- Neck Joint: Dovetail
- Fingerboard Material: Ebony
- Fingerboard Radius: 12"
- Scale Length: 25.5"
- Nut Material: Corian
- Number of Frets: 20
- Frets: Medium Jumbo
- Inlays: Mother-of-Pearl Block
- Fingerboard Binding: 4-Ply
- Tuning Machines: Kluson Sealfast
- Bridge: Historic Reissue ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic on Rosewood Base
- Tailpiece: Vintage-Style Gold L-5 Trapeze
- Hardware Finish: Gold
- Pickguard: 5-Ply Bound Tortoiseshell
- Control Knobs: True Historic Gold Top Hats with Dial Pointers
- Neck Pickup: Unpotted Custombucker Alnico 3
- Bridge Pickup: Unpotted Custombucker Alnico 3
- Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone
- Switching: 3-Way Toggle
- Strings: Light-Gauge Flatwound, .012-.052
- Case Included: Custom Shop Reissue Hardshell Case
Sku: 57L5CESVOANGH1
