Questions About a 1948 L12

[Rob W]

This guitar is being offered for sale to me. It has a recently repaired back crack (very well done) and some repaired binding. There is some sag to the fingerboard extension and the bridge sits high on its screws although the guitar's action is quite low (perhaps it was shaved down at some point?) Other than that, the guitar appears to be in very good shape. It is very loud and strident. Although it lacks warmth in the lower registers, the trebles are amazing for solo work and I suspect the guitar has not been played for awhile and possibly warm up as it reopens. Very fun to play.

My concerns (and the reasons for my post) are as follows. Although the owner claims the finish is original, it looks a bit less subtly shaded than other L12s I have seen online. Also this particular example has the least figured wood of any L12 I've seen, although I've seen a few with the birds-eye maple. But the big question is.....is the back laminated? I cannot see a center seam, nor can I find any inside grain to match that of the outside. Granted, there are very few wood features and the inside is not stained. Does anyone know of examples of laminated L12s or L7s from the '40s? Anyway, If y'all can have a look at the photos and give me your impressions I'd certainly appreciate it!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...3v?usp=sharing

[Fathand]

Look at the F holes for evidence of the top sinking, which might explain the high bridge. I had a mandolin once that did that, the outer edges of the F holes were higher than the inner edges.

The fact that the back cracked makes it seem less likely that it is laminated. Anything can happen when materials are in short supply during a war though.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Fathand

Look at the F holes for evidence of the top sinking, which might explain the high bridge...

The fact that the back cracked makes it seem less likely that it is laminated. Anything can happen when materials are in short supply during a war though.

I recall a '43 L-7 - true wartime issue with the wooden tailpiece bar and cheap 3-on-a-strip tuners - that I checked out in the mid-70's: while the sunken top put me off, I absolutely loved the tone - thick, creamy, and full in a way typical 17" comp boxes aren't (and only better 18-inchers are), almost a best-of-both flattop-jumbo/archtop hybrid, and if could find a structurally-sound archtop with that tone I'd grab it in a minute...