1959 Gibson LG-3, Natural

A wonderful 1959 Gibson LG-3, finished in Natural and presented in excellent, clean and crack-free condition. It's hard to imagine a nicer example!

The LG-3 is one of Gibson’s most loved small-bodied flat-tops, offering the same compact, comfortable feel and dry, immediate response associated with the LG-2, but with a natural spruce top.

This is a particularly clean and attractive example, with no cracks and a very tidy overall appearance. The Natural finish suits the guitar beautifully, showing off the tight grained spruce top nicely, while the mahogany back and sides provide the earthy midrange and focused projection these X-braced small-bodied Gibsons are known for. 

The neck is very comfortable, with a nut width of 42.5mm and a rounded profile measuring 23.1mm deep at the 1st fret and 25.2mm at the 10th. It feels substantial enough in the hand without being oversized, making it a very easy guitar to settle into. The saddle height remains healthy, measuring 5mm on the bass side and 3mm on the treble side, with the action currently sitting at 3.5mm on the bass side and 2.5mm on the treble at the 12th fret.

Tonally, this is a lovely LG-3. It has a bright, earthy voice with plenty of immediacy and note separation, making it particularly rewarding for fingerstyle playing. There is that classic Gibson dryness to the attack, with enough warmth and body to keep things full and musical without ever becoming overly boomy.

Overall, this is a very clean, crack-free late-’50s LG-3 with a great neck, strong saddle height and a really characterful voice. A superb small-bodied vintage Gibson acoustic, and one that would make a fantastic player’s guitar for anyone after a bright, articulate and inspiring fingerstyle instrument.