1947 Gibson LG-2 Firestripe Pickguard

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Posted on August 05 2019

1947 Gibson LG-2-011The Gibson LG-2 was introduced in 1942 as the next iteration of their 10 year old L-00 model. The LG-2 featured a Spruce top with Mahogany back and sides, X style top bracing and a lower body width of about 14 and 1/4". As with most Gibson models during the war years, the LG-2 often received odd and mismatched features like Mahogany tops or necks without truss rods. Most of these manufacturing inconsistencies had phased out by 1946 when the men came back from the war and good materials supplies became available again. The golden "Only a Gibson is good enough" banner was discontinued but the script logo was still used until some time in 1947. These script logo guitars commonly have the factory order number stamped on the inside of the dovetail instead of the outside of the neck block. This 1947 LG-2 is one of the last Gibson guitars to have the FON stamped on the inside of the dovetail and one of the first to receive the block style logo still in use today. Gibson used the firestripe pickguard as the standard until sometime in 1942 with early LG-2s having the teardrop style firestripe guard. It's rare to see a firestripe pickguard on a Gibson flat-top after 1942 although it seems to happen on random batches throughout the 1950s. The logos on these early block logo Gibsons are usually applied a quarter of an inch lower on the headstock than the later guitars and this one is no exception. The nut width was decreased from 1 3/4" to 1 11/16" around this time period although the depth and girth are still fairly full compared to a 50s example. Other relevant features include solid Mahogany rims which were used by Gibson until 1951, tapered headstock profile which was also discontinued in 1951 and riveted open back Kluson tuners which were used until about 1949. This LG-2 is in gorgeous original condition with a few standard maintenance repairs. Repairs include a beautifully executed neck reset that is almost undetectable, some braces reglued, a bridge reglue and a new saddle. The neck is straight and the frets have almost their full life ahead of them. The setup is a dream with medium/low action and a proper break angle over the saddle. This setup is perfect for both fingerstyle and flatpicking play and would be comfortable to all standard players. There was a small bruise in the finish on the bass side rim that was smoothed out and is solid. There were two approximately 3" cracks on the same rim that were glued tight. I was amazed at the lightly braced top and full voice that this one has. I'm confident that you will feel the same way when you strum this one for the first time. Click the play buttons on the right to listen to some sound clips of this guitar. Call the number at the top of this page or use the contact form on the right to talk to me directly about this 1947 Gibson LG-2.

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