The 1988 Gibson L-4 CES Spruce Top Master Series is a rare, high-end hollowbody jazz guitar. It belongs to the Master Series — essentially Custom Shop-level instruments built with great attention to traditional archtop craftsmanship.

Specifications

• Model name: Gibson L-4 CES (Cutaway Electric Spanish)

• Year: 1988

• Series: Master Series (Custom Shop / high-end production)

• Top: Solid carved spruce

• Back & sides: Mahogany

• Neck: Mahogany 

• Fingerboard: Ebony with split-block inlays

• Scale length: 24.75"

• Binding: Multi-ply on body, neck, and headstock

• Finish: Nitrocellulose lacquer, Vintage Sunburst

• Hardware: Gold-plated

• Pickups: Two Gibson humbuckers Tim Shaw PAFs 

• Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way toggle switch

 Tone & Character

The spruce top gives this L-4 CES a tone that’s:

• More acoustically responsive and open than the later maple-top models

• Warm, woody, and harmonically rich — ideal for jazz, fingerstyle, or chord melody

• Less compressed and more dynamic than the ES-175

• Slightly less sustain and punch at high volume, but far more nuance

Essentially, it bridges the tonal space between a carved L-5C and an electric ES-175.

The guitar has newer tuners and there is some discoloration on the back of the headstock.

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