Great Acoustics: Barney Kessel’s Well-Worn 1931 Gibson L-5 Helped Score Hits by Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis, and Others
If you look at photos from the Los Angeles studio scene of the 1950s and ’60s, it’s intriguing to note how many of the acoustic guitars used for recording were early 16-inch Gibson L-5s—the models built before 1935, when Gibson introduced the larger “Advanced” 17-inch version. While many of the guitarists in these photos spent