The Gibson L5 was the premiere cutaway archtop for jazz guitarists – in fact it was originally named the Premiere – from its 1939 introduction. Close on its heels, though, the 1949 ES-5 offered three P-90 pickups but was built with laminates instead of solid woods for the body, all to reduce feedback. Here we’re looking at a Gibson L5 built during 1948, and some time later converted to an ES-5 configuration, with three P-90 pickups, but wired as other Gibson models – four controls and a switch – and not the six controls of the ES-5.

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