GIBSON L-5

We take a look back at the history and evolution of Gibson’s seminal f-hole jazzbox, the L-5, with archtop historian Thomas Van Hoose and examine how this watershed design set a benchmark in guitar building

- Rod Brakes

In the beginning of rock ’n’ roll, the archtops were king,” acknowledges Texan archtop historian Dr. Thomas A Van Hoose. A clinical psychologist by profession, Tom is perhaps better known in more guitar-centric circles as the author of The Gibson Super 400: Art Of The Fine Guitar and has recently finished writing the definitive biography of celebrated archtop luthier John Monteleone. “Until the Super 400 came out in 1934, the L-5 was Gibson’s top-of-the-line guitar. It’s the predecessor to not just the Super 400 but to D’Angelico, D’Aquisto, and Monteleone. From a historical perspective, it’s quite something.”

Recognised as the world’s first f-hole archtop, the Gibson L-5 story begins just over a century ago with Lloyd Loar – a talented musician and acoustic engineer whose revolutionary designs left an indelible mark on Gibson’s history. “Lloyd Loar worked for Gibson from 1919 to 1924,” says Tom. “Originally, he was hired as what we might refer to these days as a design consultant. He came up with a very primitive pickup that he tried to amplify a couple of guitars with, but he didn’t do much with it at Gibson. He was a visionary, and I think he saw the future in electric guitars. He was always looking to improve and innovate throughout his career, either with Gibson or afterwards. He designed a number of things and experimented quite a bit until he came up with the Gibson Master series of signature instruments. The F-5 mandolin was first, followed by the L-5 guitar and H-5 mandola, then the K-5 mandocello. Those four instruments form what’s called the ‘Loar quartet’ and they were voiced to be played together.