In 1958 Gibson came up with a new twist t for the popular L-5 Jazz guitar. They slimmed the body depth by almost an inch, and reduced the scale to 24 3/4″. Gibson made only 43 of the Limited production George Gobel L-5. Making them instant collector’s items. Over forty years later, LA recording phenom Ritenour asked Gibson to revive the simmer L-5 with some personal touches, including a floating Johnny Smith pickup, fine-tuner tailpiece, full length scale, and compact 15 1/2″ lower bout. The result is a contemporary jazz guitar combining warm, singing tone with unprecedented playability.
The eye-catching neck is topped by a 20-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl block inlays and multi-ply black and white binding, then hand-fitted with Gibson’s traditional ES-rounded neck profile. The heel of the guitar has also been contoured closer to the body to allow access to the guitar’s higher register of frets. The pickup is attached to the pickguard, which conceals the wire that runs through the f-hole connecting it to the jack, and also features adjustable pole pieces as specified by Ritenour. Other appointments include Gibson’s traditional flower pot inlay on the headstock, and Schaller M6 tuners.
Serial# 21658004
Weight 7lbs. 4oz.
Model Year 2008
Features:
- Solid Bookmatched Handcarved Fine Grain Spruce Top
- Handcarved Solid Maple Back and Sides
- Venetian Cutaway
- Tiger Flame Maple Neck with Walnut Centerstripes
- Solid Ebony Fingerboard with Block Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Abalone Torch and Headstock Logo
- 5-ply Body and Neck Binding
- Bound F-holes
- Solid Bone Nut
- Gibson Johnny Smith Humbucking Pickup
- Bound marbled 5-ply Pickguard with Volume and Tone Controls
- Adjustable Gold Fine-tuner Finger Tailpiece
- Schaller M6 Tuners
- Compensated Adjustable Ebony Bridge with Inlaid Feet
- 15 1/2″ Body Size at Lower Bout
- 2 5/8″ Body Depth
- 25 1/2″Scale Length
- 1 11/16″ Nut
- Vintage Sunburst Finsh
Includes:
- Gibson Hard Shel Case
- Certificate of Authenticity