Gibson L-37

[rollypolly]

I saw one of these in my local guitar shop and it played and sounded much better than I thought it would. It was pretty loud and responsive. But they were asking around $3k which I thought was steep.

On Reverb I've seen a few for around 1.5k and upwards. But there's also the L-30, L-48 and L-50. I think I know the differences, but these 1930s L-37s seem to be really nice and what I'd prefer over 1950s L-48s for example.

I noticed that the L-37 in the LGS had a higher fingerboard, like on a traditional archtop, not glued down directly to the top like on other L-37s I've seen.

So I guess my question is, was there a point where Gibson changed the way they built these guitars? Is one better than the other?

[Silly Moustache]

The ones with the raised fretboard were the "better" models - usually (but being Gibson, not always) with single numbers like L-5, L-4 etc.
The one's with double digits were usually with the fretboard joined into the top.
Again, being Gibson there are always exceptions.

[WmHulme]

The L-30 and L-37 I think are the same, just a price change. They are the smaller body ones, L-00 size I think. Initially, the L-50 was this size for just a few years in the early’30s I believe. It had the raised fingerboard and they go for much more than the L30 and L37 with the flush boards. I do t remember seeing any of the later small bodies w raised boards, but it’s entirely possible. I owned a late ‘30s L-37 for a while. It had a solid spruce top with kerfed tone bars (common for even L-5s during this time) , and the back was flat and made out of some sort of laminated material. It was a joy to play and sounded great I thought. These smaller archtops are much more lightly built than the L5 and L7 guitars and use light gauge acoustic strings (12s) best. The L-30 and L-37 go for below 2k.

I ended up getting an 1934 L75 which has a deeper body like an L-00 and actual solid flat mahogany back a raised board. It’s basically an L-00 with a carved top. It actually has solid tone bars. I love this guitar.

[onerevolution]

I've personally never seen an L-37 or L-30 with a raised fingerboard. Did it have an inlaid pearl Gibson logo or painted logo (like an L-00)? Most L-37 or L-30 have a painted logo (although I have seen two L-37 with a pearl logo).

My guess is that it probably is a 1934 Gibson L-50. While these do tend to go for a bit more than an L-37 or L-30, that does seem pretty steep.

[rollypolly]

Thanks for the clarification. The guitar must have been mislabeled or I misread the ticket. It was a nice guitar and I wonder if a cheaper L-48 or something would sound and play anywhere as good.

[onerevolution]

It's a particularly confusing era, even some of the better dealers aren't exactly sure what is what. If the FON (factory order number) is visible it can help identify the model using Spann's book...but most of the time they have faded away. Features are the next step, the elevated fingerboard like your example. But Gibson often made exceptions in the 30's with their "lower end" models like the L-30 and L-37 (L-00 as well). Maple/Mahogany substitutions for back and sides and hardware variances/changes in the same or close periods and apparently some L-37 with a pearl logo as some examples. The difference between a regular L-30 and L-37 can be even more difficult to determine. For a short period an L-37 had a bound pickguard but soon after it had the same as an L-30...and most often they are now missing their pickguard. The sunburst is supposed to be a little different between an L-30 and L-37 but I'm not clear about that distinction and whether it has been backed up by their FONs.

What I do know is that most of the L-30, L-37, the similar L-00-sized 1934 L-50 and the 1934 L-75 (with the deeper body) are all great sounding and unique archtops. Some do sound better than others though, I played my '35 L-37 (or L-30) back to back to two similar aged L-30 at a dealer and to my surprise mine was much more nuanced. Not really sure why, but these are nearly 100 year instruments.

A 16" L-48 isn't going to sound the same but there are some great sounding L-48, especially the early ones that have solid woods (and some with carved tops). Same with the L-50 models in the mid to late 40's.

Also check out the mid-30's to early 40's 16" L-50—these are particularly great archtops. The very early ones have flat backs like the L-00-sized models mentioned above and an elevated fingerboard. The arched back examples after that were carved (I'm not sure up until what point though).

This more golden era of L-50 often sell for $2500 and up, but some of the mid to late 40's sell for around the price of a L-30 or L-37, so it may be worth comparing. I'm not exactly sure what the solid wood, carved top L-48 would sell for today, but probably around that same range.

If a cheaper later L-48 or L-50 come up, it would still be worth trying, at least to compare. It may be the sound you're looking for. It's also worth trying some of the Gibson-made archtops from the 30's and early 40's: Kalamazoo, Cromwell, etc. The KG-21 is also L-00 sized, but has a deeper body, a pressed top (vs the carved Gibson models), and mahogany back/sides. There's a lot of great sounding 16" ones too, some even with carved tops and some that are x-braced. They are a little more hit and miss compared to the Gibson archtops but still worth trying.