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 their entire professional lives in the studio, the steady work and good pay also attracted high-profile jazz artists.
Barney Kessel, originally from Muskogee, Oklahoma, was one of them. After getting his start in the swing-era big bands of Charlie Barnet and Artie Shaw, Kessel made a series of acclaimed LPs and became a perennial winner in jazz magazine polls. Though best known for his electric playing, he was also a sought-after acoustic guitarist in the studio. He had a close friendship with George M. Smith, a prominent studio guitarist and author of a well-regarded book on guitar technique.
In July 1948, Kessel purchased this early Gibson L-5 from Smith and went on to use it for two decades of studio sessions. The guitar appears on recordings by Sarah Vaughan, the Righteous Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sonny and Cher, and the Beach Boys; in four Elvis Presley films; in the Barbra Streisand comedy On a Clear Day You Can See Forever; and on TV shows like The Hollywood Palace and The Judy Garland Show. At some point, Kessel engraved his Social Security number on the back of the headstock.
Though the instrument shows its age—with finish wear and a few repaired cracks—it remains the finest-sounding example of this model that I and many other players have encountered. Its balance from string to string is exceptional, and its tone has little in common with the more metallic quality of many later archtops. Highly responsive and beautifully voiced even with light-gauge strings (despite being built for heavier ones), it retains its original spirit-varnish finish—Gibson switched to lacquer in the 1930s—and its Master Model label, a feature introduced during Lloyd Loar’s tenure and phased out around 1930.
The older serial number lists would date this L-5 to 1928, but historian Joe Spann’s more thoroughly researched reference places it in 1931. Either way, it’s a transitional instrument that carries many of the earlier (though post-Loar) design features beloved by vintage enthusiasts: dot inlays, three-on-a-plate Waverly tuners with pearl buttons, a shorter pickguard, and the distinctive “under and over” tailpiece.
Playing this guitar, you can’t help but feel the weight—and the warmth—of the music it helped bring to life in Kessel’s hands.