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1938 Gibson L-5

1938 Gibson L-5

A vintage L-5 used on Hank Williams, Chet Atkins, and Patsy Cline albums.

This guitar has an unusually rich and significant musical history. You heard it on Hank Williamsā€™ ā€œIā€™m So Lonesome I Could Cry,ā€ ā€œLovesick Blues,ā€ and ā€œCold, Cold Heart.ā€ It was used to record ā€œBlue Eyes Crying in the Rain,ā€ one of Chet Atkinsā€™ earliest recordings for Bullet Records. And it was featured all over Patsy Clineā€™s debut album, Patsy Cline. It even toured the Pacific with Frank Tennilleā€”yes, that Tennilleā€™s fatherā€”and Bob Crosbyā€™s band during WWII. The battered and bruised guitar showcased here is a 1938 Gibson L-5 used extensively by Nashville session and radio guitarist Jack Shook.

Shook was a pioneer of the Nashville session scene. He was one of the first to make playing the guitar in the studioā€”on both radio and record datesā€”a full-time and decent paying job. Besides having his mainstay gig as WSMā€™s acoustic guitaristā€”which included playing on the Grand Ole Opry weekly programā€”for 45 years, Shook used his L-5 in his singing group the Missouri Mountaineers, on the Teddy Bart Noon Show and countless other country recordings and radio programs. In addition to the aforementioned legends Shook worked with in the studio, he also recorded with Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Hank Snow, Eddy Arnold, and Ray Price.

Shookā€™s L-5 has a carved spruce top complete with bound f-holes, carved figured-maple back and sides, a blonde finish, and multi-ply binding. The guitar features a figured maple neckā€”ebony necks were also availableā€” thatā€™s matched with a bound ebony fretboard. It has an adjustable ebony bridge and a gold-plated tailpiece with an engraved silver insert that was new to the model in 1937. The multi-bound blackface headstock sports a pearl flowerpot inlay and Grover Imperial tuners. The guitar was originally equipped with a raised multi-bound pickguard, but that became a casualty from years of radio gigs, studio sessions, and worldwide traveling.


As you can see, this L-5 has some unusual wear and tear above the low-E string. This looks similar to the wear pattern on some of Dave Matthewsā€™ Taylor acoustics thatā€™s caused by his unusually heavy upstrokes. To our knowledge, Shook wasnā€™t a heavy-handed picker, but instead this wear resulted from him playing the guitar upside down. Though his L-5 was strung up normally, Shook played his guitar left-handed (as shown above).

A special thanks to Cheryl Offutt and her husband Jeff Offutt for the opportunity to feature her grandfatherā€™s fine instrument.

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