My Gibson L4 C.

[GuildD40]

A few guys asked me to post it. I grew up with this in my house and it was mine by the time I was about ten. It’s a 54’ and the pickup is a guild. It plays great and is definitely my favorite. I havnt had this out since my dad died. After a couple of early years of learning he said I’m going to have a friend give you lessons. Turk Van Lake taught me early on and this was my guitar and has been since. Turk was a friend of my dads and lived near us. My dad purchased this new on 48th street in Manhattan. I miss that strip a lot. I use to hit canal streets, “radio row” anything electric, guitar and amp components and tubes, speakers and semi conductors and parts for ham radio then head to 48th in midtown for guitars and stuff. Miss my Dad and the L4 always brings back memories. I wish he was here to see my first Guild, he always wanted one. Enough said here it is.

 

[Stuball48]

Love stories like that and bet I would have liked your Dad.
And love that old Gibson.

 

[GGJaguar]

Great memories, great guitar.

 

[WaltW]

It's nice to hear of parents passing along a talent to their children and a heirloom to continue the generational connection.
What a lovely connection to your Dad. Thank you for sharing your story with him and starting my day in such a great way.

 

[Rich Cohen]

I've had several archtop epis and gibbys from the 30's, 40's and 50's and loved them all. Great story. We need those stories.
THANK YOU.

 

[walrus]

Thanks for the great story! Very cool guitar!

walrus

 

[chazmo]

A few guys asked me to post it. I grew up with this in my house and it was mine by the time I was about ten. It’s a 54’ and the pickup is a guild. It plays great and is definitely my favorite. I havnt had this out since my dad died. After a couple of early years of learning he said I’m going to have a friend give you lessons. Turk Van Lake taught me early on and this was my guitar and has been since. Turk was a friend of my dads and lived near us. My dad purchased this new on 48th street in Manhattan. I miss that strip a lot. I use to hit canal streets, “radio row” anything electric, guitar and amp components and tubes, speakers and semi conductors and parts for ham radio then head to 48th in midtown for guitars and stuff. Miss my Dad and the L4 always brings back memories. I wish he was here to see my first Guild, he always wanted one. Enough said here it is.

Wonderful story, GuildD40.

Your Gibson looks like a real beauty!

 

[bobouz]

Gorgeous!

 

[Maguchi]

Great story and beautiful guitar. Is that Guild pickup an add on? You said Gibson L4 C and not L4 CES, so I'm guessing your '54 was originally an acoustic archtop without pickups. I have a 2013 L4 CES (came with 2 HBs) and I love it.

 

[GuildD40]

Great story and beautiful guitar. Is that Guild pickup an add on? You said Gibson L4 C and not L4 CES, so I'm guessing your '54 was originally an acoustic archtop without pickups. I have a 2013 L4 CES (came with 2 HBs) and I love it.

One of my regrets is never asking my dad the history of the pickup. I would have loved the CES but I’m also totally cool with the Guild pickup. The pickup has been on since before I was born and it’s part of the history and heritage of the guitar. I’m in my early 60’s.

 

[zizala]

Thanks for sharing this....and love the family ties and memories.
I have some old guitars where I learned the back stories from sellers that were related or friends of the original owners.
Knowing some of this adds a value to me that's hard to describe., and I can only imagine how it would be for you.

I have a 1950 Gibson L-4c with an added McCarty pickguard /pickup of the period and appreciate how comfortable it is to play.
Mine has a large neck that suits me well.
The acoustic archtop sound is very good with adequate, but a forward not so deep bass...(I prefer my '17" 49 L-7c a bit more for this ).
That said it's quite good amplified with the McCarty or a floating DeArmond.

I acquired a couple early '60's Guild CA-100's just to compare them to each other and to my L-4c.
They have a similar 16" cutaway shape....(but a shallower body).......same scale length, similar construction with laminated backs and carved tops. This has lots to do with the sort of acoustic sound one hears from these.
So they're lively, forward sounding and with the shallower bodies, even less bass than the L-4c, comfortable to play but with slimmer Guild profile necks of the period.
As a fan of the electric CE-100 it seemed having an acoustic version like the CA-100 was the thing to try.
Adding a floating pickup like a DeArmond is a great equalizer for amplified sound.

Enjoy those guitars!