Gibson L-00 Special Wine Red
All about the Gibson L-00 Special
The L-00 in Gibson history
The Gibson L-00 was first introduced in 1932 and remains the best-known and most popular small-bodied acoustic model in Gibson's illustrious history. The new L-00 Special is built by Gibson's experienced luthiers in Bozeman, Montana, and offers guitarists a US-made Gibson acoustic at a very affordable price.
Tonewoods and construction of the L-00 Special
The L-00 Special features solid mahogany back and sides. The guitar has a solid Sitka spruce top. Gibson's traditional Scalloped X-Bracing ensures a balanced tone with excellent dynamic range. Both the top and the back are finished with a single-layer cream binding. The narrower L-00 body shape provides a focused and nuanced tone and gives it a tighter, more focused bass response. The sound is ideal for fingerstyle and blues, but is also very suitable for other genres and playing styles.
Neck construction and fretboard
The slim Utile neck is joined to the body with a dovetail joint and, as with all Gibson acoustic guitars, is glued with hide glue. It has a comfortable and fast-playing SlimTaper profile. The rosewood fretboard has a 12" radius and is fitted with simple mother-of-pearl dot inlays and 19 standard frets.
Features and design details
The classic rosewood bridge is fitted with a TUSQ insert. The nut and the bridge pins are also made of TUSQ. Smooth-turning Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners provide solid tuning stability. The L-00 Special is finished in satin nitrocellulose lacquer in the colours Vintage Sunburst or Wine Red. The acoustic guitar is fitted with an active L.R. Baggs Element Bronze piezo pickup under the saddle and an active preamp with an easily accessible volume control in the soundhole.
Matte nitrocellulose lacquer finish in Wine Red
Classic rosewood bridge with TUSQ saddle and bridge pins
Simple tortoise pickguard in classic Gibson design
- Back / Sides: Mahogany
- Binding: Cream
- Body Shape: 00
- Body Shape: Folk/smaller sizes
- Body finish: Satin
- Bridge: Rosewood
- Bridge-Pins: White Plastic
- Color/ Finish: wine red
- Colour: Red
- Construction / Acoustic: Solid
- Controls: 1x volume
- Country of Origin: USA
- Cutaway: no
- Factory Stringing: D'Addario EXP
- Finish: Nitrocellulose
- Finish: Matt
- Fretboard: Rosewood
- Fretboard Inlays: Mother of Pearl Dots
- Fretboard radius: 12" (305 mm)
- Fret material: Nickel silver
- Frets: 19
- Fret size: Standard
- Headstock: Open Book Headstock with Gibson Logo
- Includes: Softcase
- Neck: Utile
- Neck Mount: Dovetail
- Neck Profile: SlimTaper
- Neck finish: Satin
- Nut Width: 43,815 mm / 1,725 in
- Pickguard: Black
- Pickup Details: L.R. Baggs Element Bronze
- Pre-amp system: L.R. Baggs Element Bronze
- Rosette: Black/Cream ABS
- Saddle/Cross piece inlay: Tusq
- Scale Length: 24,75" (629 mm)
- Strings: 6 string
- Strings thickness ex factory: .012 - .052
- Top: Sitka Spruce
- Top Bracing: Scalloped X-Bracing
- Translation: 1:18
- Tuning Machines: Grover Mini Rotomatics
The L.R. Baggs Element Bronze pickup system for amplified sound
All Gibson Special models are equipped with an active L.R. Baggs Element Bronze piezo pickup under the saddle and an active preamp with an easily accessible volume control in the soundhole. This makes the guitar immediately stage- and studio-ready. A Gibson Premium-Softshell-Case is included.
Unlike typical bridge pickups for acoustic guitars, which mostly develop their sound depending on string compression, the L.R. Baggs Element System was designed to capture the actual movement of the guitar top.
The heart of the pickup is a flexible sensor foil just two thousandths of an inch thick, which captures even the subtlest nuances of the guitar.
About the Gibson Special acoustic guitars
The Special models make the famous Gibson tone accessible to guitarists who, despite a smaller budget, don't want to do without the distinctive Gibson logo and the "made in USA" label. With the new models Hummingbird Special, J-45 Special and L-00 Special, Gibson presents reinterpretations of three classic models that are inseparably linked to Gibson history. Price-wise these guitars sit below those of the Standard series but above the visually much simplified Studio models.
About Gibson
The American Gibson Guitar Corporation, founded in 1902 by Orville Gibson in Kalamazoo, Michigan, first became known for the production of mandolins and banjos. Today the company’s headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee, and Gibson is one of the world’s most renowned and respected manufacturers of electric guitars.
The model Les Paul, named after its creator Lester William Polsfuss, is one of the most famous and best‑selling electric guitar shapes of all time and established the single‑cut guitar form, which has been copied, adopted and reinterpreted by numerous other manufacturers. The Les Paul is mainly prized for its sound, characterised as warm and full. The humbucker pickup largely responsible for that sound, in its now common design, was developed by Seth Lover at Gibson.
In the early 1960s the Gibson SG appeared as another solid‑body electric from Gibson. Originally intended as the successor to the Les Paul, it became — helped by Angus Young of AC/DC — another rock‑history icon and is the basis for the double‑cutaway guitar type.
With the Flying V and the Explorer Gibson is responsible for two body shapes that, although they were far ahead of their time when introduced in the late 1950s, have over the years also achieved legendary status. They still serve as the foundation for a host of heavy guitars today, for example from makers such as Jackson or ESP.
The Gibson Custom Shop produces custom orders, high‑quality one‑offs and precise replicas of famous models and legendary instrument years. These are often subjected to an artificial ageing process called relicing.
Almost as long as the company has existed, acoustic guitars have also been produced. The J‑45, the Hummingbird, the L‑00 and the SJ‑200 are among the world’s most beloved steel‑string acoustics and were the instruments of choice for Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and John Lennon.
Besides the instruments already mentioned, you can of course also buy picks, bags and cases or merchandise from Gibson with us.
We are particularly proud to host a Gibson Flagship Store in our Frankfurt branch. There you’ll find not only a large selection and exclusive models to try out in person, but you’ll also benefit from the expertise of our Gibson‑trained and certified staff when choosing the perfect guitar.
