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Gibson 2002 L4 CES Left Handed Archtop #23152002 - Used From Gibson Guitars

Left handed version of Gibson's Iconic Archtop in wine red

Our product photos are the actual, specific serial number for sale!

This specific item was photographed by us here in Durham, North Carolina. We are a very small team dedicated to providing you the most accurate photos possible, through our obsessive focus - individually photographing nearly everything that comes through the door. Questions about what you see? Want more information, photos, or just a friendly conversation with someone that cares and who has actually had their hands on this exact item? Contact us now!

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What We Think

Condition: Used, Good

Guitar has some dings on the horn as well as on the headstock, pictures of these blemishes are in the gallery.

We always enjoy playing Gibson's solid wood archtops, and this L-4 CES is a fantastic blend of acoustic and elctric sounds with excellent playability that is specifically here for our left handed customers. The short scale and 1 11/16" nut width really help with feel for those who don't like "fighting" their guitars everyday and this L-4 really lets the music flow without the instrument getting in the way. Tonally you'll notice a warmth in the midrange that is a throwback to archtop guitars' acoustic beginnings but also an overall clarity that will highlight and reward your clean playing. If you're a lefty stuck somewhere between flattops and archtops or looking for a warmer sound than your maple jazz boxes please consider this Gibson L-4 CES while it is available!

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Manufacturer's Description from Gibson Guitars

The Gibson L-4 archtop became jazz’s greatest rhythm instrument in the hands of six-string innovators like the virtuoso Eddie Lang in the 1920s and assured the company’s dominance of the guitar market even before the outbreak of World War I. But the L-4’s story - how it evolved from an acoustic guitar to the dynamic L-4 CES Mahogany Archtop of today - is perhaps the best illustration of Gibson’s historic dedication to endlessly refining and improving instruments that are already world class.

The L-4 was developed as a louder, bolder update of Gibson’s popular L-1 and L-3 designs, advertised as a “grand concert size” model with 20 frets, one more than its predecessors. The L-4’s top changed radically in 1935 when, under the direction of the company’s famed designer Lloyd Loar, the round sound hole was replaced by a pair of f-holes to enhance tone and projection. During the ‘40s, many elements were added including crown pegheads and parallelogram inlays on its fingerboard, but the biggest innovation in the guitar’s design came in 1949 with electrification.

To meet the demands of the dawn of popular music’s electric age, Gibson first created the laminated top ES-175 in 1948 based on the construction of the acoustic carved top L-4. But players still wanted a genuine electric full-bodied L-4 with a carved top. The first wave of these guitars were built in small batches throughout the 1950s, but were perfected late in the decade. Along the way the guitar’s body traded its rounded edges for a single cutaway horn to allow easier access to the high notes – a sign of the L-4’s evolution from rhythm to lead-and-rhythm instrument. Finally, in 1958, the design reached a pinnacle with a run of 20 guitars bearing the Gibson L-4 CES name. Some had Charlie Christian pickups, others Alnicos, and a few sported humbuckers. Over time the humbuckers proved the most versatile and practical, and thus today’s graceful mahogany L-4 CES model reached maturity.

About Manufacturer

Today's Gibson electric guitars represent the history as well as the future of the electric guitar. The models whose designs have become classics-the ES-175, ES-335, Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, SGs and Les Pauls-are a testament to Gibson's wide appeal, spanning more than four decades of music styles. Gibson's close relationship with musicians is manifest in endorsement models from King, Atkins and jazz greats Howard Roberts and Herb Ellis, plus new Les Pauls made to the personal specifications of rock stars Jimmy Page and Joe Perry. In 1994, Gibson's Centennial year, the new Nighthawk model won an industry award for design, setting the stage for a second hundred years of Gibson quality and innovation.