The Sharp Dressed 1932 Gibson L-00 Tuxedo

The Sharp Dressed 1932 Gibson L-00 Tuxedo


In our first revival of the Garrett Park Guitars blog, we'd like to review a (sold) vintage guitar from our "Hall of Fame"; the 1932 Gibson L-00 Tuxedo.

This and other pieces in our hall of fame have the distinction of being a rare vintage guitar for various reasons including number produced, color/finish, and originality of the Gibson guitar. The Gibson FON number (Factory Order Number) of 442 puts this guitar in the first year of production of the L-00 models. The L-00 models were a popular choice due to their affordability. It was the most affordable vintage guitar to buy due to the top binding only (no back binding), flat tops (no carving involved), and minimalist hardware. We see many of these old vintage Gibson's come to our shop and one thing that never surprises us are the tuners; the open-back tuners were made for a lifetime and you can tell because they almost always work (even almost 100 years later!).

See the original listing on our website:  https://gpguitars.com/collections/hall-of-fame/products/1932-gibson-l-00-tuxedo

Why do we call it a "Tuxedo" model? Because of the colors on it; it's got a nice smooth black finish with the bright white pickguard. It was the only year that Gibson produced the guitars in the black finish. Like other vintage Gibson's produced from the time, you'll see a pre-banner logo (script logo) on this one that was the precursor to the "Banner" era of guitars where you start to see the text "only a Gibson is good enough" below the logo.

The original vintage guitars purchased came with a case that was purple-lined and had a nice velvety touch to it. The L-00's stopped production in 1945, but Gibson has made some reissue versions.

We purchased this cool old L-00 in sort of rough shape but our on-site luthier, Taras Andre, brought this 1932 Gibson back to life. He gave the guitar a neck set, reglued the bridge, cut a new saddle, filled three holes just above the endpin, where someone had installed a trapeze tailpiece, reglued a brace, and fixed a side crack.
The end product is a guitar that sounds just as cool as it looks.

We had a lot of fun chasing down this old "Tuxedo model" L-00. It is one of the few that had an elevated fingerboard.

We are always buying vintage Gibson guitars, amps, and more. Please email us (info@gpguitars.com) to discuss buying your vintage gear. We also offer appraisal services, consignment options, and same-day service.

 

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