Introduced in 1947, the LG-1 was Gibson's least expensive acoustic guitar in their range and was marketed towards students and players on a budget. The addition of this model to the lineup alongside the LG-2 and LG-3 was also due to the need for a lower priced instrument after World War 2. Visually both the LG-1 and LG-2 models looked almost identical aside from the burst being slightly different. The biggest difference came from the bracing, with the LG-2 was x-braced while the LG-1 had the ladder bracing. Being from 1964, this guitar has most of the later changed to the model present. In 1955, the fretboard was lengthened from 19 frets to 20. In the early 1960's, Gibson started building these with the Gibson "Special Bridge" which was made of plastic and replaced the tried and true Rosewood rectangle bridge.
This particular guitar is in good condition with noticeable play and cosmetic wear. There is a lot of awesome looking vintage wear to the guitar including lacquer checking as well as some dings and some worn away finish. There are no cracks on the instrument and nearly all the wear is cosmetic, there is no major structural damage. The frets show some noticeable wear on them but it still plays well as it is, there is also enough fret height left that a fret dress can be done. The previous owners had the original plastic bridge replaced with a high quality Ebony bridge which, the original plastic bridge is still intact and inclued. The bridge plate was also changed out at the same time. Tuners are original and while some the buttons are now misshapen the tuners still work great. The truss rod is functional and has been tested by our techs. We have strung with guitar with Martin Monel MM12 strings and it is playing and sounding fantastic. A fitted hard shell case is included.
Here is a writeup from Gibson from an early 1960's Catalog
"Top value and low price make this Gibson flat top a popular seller. Quality materials and expert craftsmanship combine to produce its fine responsive tone and rich sunburst finish.
FEATURES: Gibson's slim, fast, low-action one-piece Mahogany neck with adjustable Truss Rod. Rosewood fingerboard and special bridge. Top is selected Spruce; back and rims Honduras Mahogany. Attractive trim, ivoroid binding and purfling ring, pearl dot inlays, tortoise shell finish finger-rest and Chrome-plated enclosed machine heads. 14 1/4" wide, 19" long, 4 1/2" deep, 23 3/4" scale length, 20 frets.
