1943 Vintage Gibson Banner L-00 Owned by Don Guess & Played by Buddy Holly


$19,800.00 SGD

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Overview

An all original Banner made by the amazing "Kalamazoo Gals". This a well worn player's guitar that one can just imagine the battles it has seen. And literally born in the thick of WWII, every wrinkle and patina on it's aged and seasoned top just presents itself as the true relic that it is. 

Owned by Rockabilly singer/songwriter/guitarist Don Guess was associated with Buddy Holly and Bob Montgomery from the time they were just school kids. By the age of 13, Don Guess, Buddy Holly, Bob Montgomery and jack Neil were performing together, playing bluegrass and and country, but after 1955, when they saw Elvis Presley in Lubbock, Texas they switched to rock & roll.

"We suspect the secret of this L-00's tone is that it was built in 1943 - a time of model transition at Gibson, and when material shortages and changes in workforce demographics significantly affected the instruments coming out of Michigan. This L-00 is built, most noticeably, with a Kalamazoo top (notice the bound sound hole and lack of rosette). What you won't see in the pictures, though, are the top's scalloped braces, carved identically to those on a Banner LG-2. Earlier L-00's were built much more robustly than this 1943 model, with untapered braces and heavier soundhole reinforcement. Couple this with the guitar's chunky round neck and absence of truss-rod and the tonal outcome is spectacular. The instrument resonates through every surface with a dry and defined warmth."

(This is by far the best description on the L-00 courtesy of Folkway Music)