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I've owned the 1929 sunburst Gibson for almost 30 years. I found it in a music store in Stamford, Connecticut which was closing down. The guitar was hanging on a rack, looking very neglected. I believe it had been stored somewhere very dry, as the back of the guitar had shrunk to the point where there was about a 1/8" (3mm) gap between the edges of the back and the bouts (sides) of the guitar. The price was right, though - $100! - so I bought it, and sent it back to Kentucky to Ed Rose, a gentleman, since passed away, I believe, who was a great guitar craftsman. He took the guitar apart, put a strip of walnut down the middle of the back to allow it to meet the bouts, made a few other functional repairs, and reassembled it. He found that there are actually two labels inside the guitar, one on top of the other - the one on top is marked "L-10" and the one underneath is marked "L-5", making this an interesting and unusual combination, especially given that it looks like it was refinished at Gibson in the late 1940's, as the sunburst it currently wears is much lighter than the dark brown sunburst that would have been typical of a Gibson in the late 20's. When it was made, guitars had yet to take over the dominant rhythm instrument role in jazz bands - banjos still occupied that spot.
This is a wonderful instrument, with great balance between the bass and treble strings. The neck is about my favorite of anything I've ever played. I used it a lot on my CD Marginal Street - you can hear it particularly well on "Getting Stronger" and "A Little Thing". It's not very valuable in financial terms because of all the trouble it's endured, but it was my first old guitar, with lots of sentimental value.
The natural-finish L-5 dates from 1937, and shows how this model guitar evolved over a very short period of time. Compared with the 1928 example, the 1937 L-5 is bigger all around, reflecting its popularity as a big-band acoustic rhythm guitar. By the mid-30's the guitar had taken over the role the banjo played in bands of the 20's, as the stand-up bass had replaced the tuba. Volume and "cut" were the main qualities guitarists like Freddie Green from the Count Basie band looked for in a guitar, as the instrument was asked to make its present felt - without amplification - through the sound of a dozen or more saxes, trumpets and trombones. It's a magnificent instrument - this L-5 at the time of its construction was arguably the most sought-after guitar for big-band players. This example is also unusual in that it predates by two years the introduction of the natural finish as an available option on production L-5's. From my conversations with Gibson, it's likely that it was a special order.
This is a 1929 Gibson L5/10 arch-top. It would normally have a pickguard similar to the one on the L-5 on the right.
1937 L-5 in natural finish. In eight years, the L-5 had grown, in both size and popularity.
