The holy grail of hollowbody archtop guitars returns

There is no denying that the Gibson L-5™ is a legendary model. Designed in the Lloyd Loar era and first released in the early 1920s, it is associated with everyone from seminal country artists to jazz titans, early rockabilly stars, and blues masters. Now, Gibson Custom is proud to bring the L-5 back to the core lineup with the introduction of the 1957 L-5 CES Reissue. Faithfully recreated from advanced 3D scans of rare, original late-50s L-5 models, it captures not only the look, but also the feel and sound of those vintage masterpieces.

The 1957 L-5 CES Reissue features a carved AAA spruce top, paired with a carved, bookmatched AAA curly maple back and solid AAA curly maple sides. Whether played acoustically or amplified, the solid, carved top and back deliver a richer, more resonant tone than laminated-body archtops. The 1957 L-5 CES Reissue responds perfectly to every nuance of the player’s touch, and the elegant Venetian cutaway eases access to the higher frets. The top is framed with seven-ply binding, while the back is three-ply. The amount of time and highly skilled effort involved in the construction of the 1957 L-5 CES Reissue is considerable, with many hours of sanding required for smoothing the various contours and binding.

The three-piece, 25.5” scale neck attaches to the body with a dovetail joint and takes hours to fit to the body compared to the 20 minutes it takes on a Les Paul™. Constructed from two pieces of curly maple with a walnut center strip, it features an Authentic 1957 L-5 neck profile, based on 3D scans of vintage originals. Solid and substantial in the hand, it delivers an authentic vintage feel and playing experience. The four-ply bound ebony fretboard is equipped with 20 medium jumbo frets and features beautiful fretboard purfling, along with a bird’s beak at the end of the fretboard. It also features mother-of-pearl block inlays, which further add to its elegant appearance.

The headstock is outlined with five-ply binding and features a mother-of-pearl flowerpot inlay and Gibson logo. A Corian™ nut works in conjunction with the gold Kluson® Sealfast® tuners to keep the tuning nice and stable. The headstock also features a stinger on the rear.

A gold Historic Reissue ABR-1 bridge is mounted on a rosewood base and delivers full adjustability for action height and individual string intonation. The vintage-style, gold L-5 tailpiece features silver inserts and screws and is engraved “L-5.” A five-ply bound tortoiseshell pickguard further contributes to the vintage-correct appearance.

The 1957 L-5 CES features a pair of unpotted Custombucker pickups with Alnico 3 magnets. These are paired with individual volume and tone controls equipped with True Historic gold Top Hat knobs with dial pointers. The 1957 L-5 CES Reissue comes from the factory strung with light-gauge (.012 - .052) flatwound electric guitar strings and packaged in a Custom Shop hardshell case.

The L-5’s heritage goes back to Orville Gibson’s early carved archtop guitars—an approach to guitar design that he invented. Lloyd Loar refined those ideas, introduced f-holes and other innovations, and in the process, invented the modern archtop guitar as we know it today. An electrified version of the L-5 appeared in 1951, and the original P-90 and Staple pickups were replaced by the new Patent Applied For humbuckers™ in the latter half of 1957, resulting in what many players feel is the ultimate version of this legendary model.

The 1957 L-5 CES Reissue is no ordinary guitar. It’s a statement piece that says, after countless hours of practice and hard work, you’re ready for the best. The 1957 L-5 CES Reissue was crafted for players who are unwilling to compromise; it’s the guitar you want when only the finest archtop ever built is worthy of your music and attention. Beautifully elegant, with rich, refined, and responsive tone, vintage-correct specifications, exceptional playability, and impeccable, heirloom-quality craftsmanship, the 1957 L-5 CES Reissue is the pinnacle of Gibson archtop design, and a guitar that will inspire and delight you for a lifetime.