The Gibson L-00 is believed to have debuted in 1925 with a retail price of $25. It displaced the L-0 as Gibson’s least expensive flat-top.

Like the later L-0s, it measured 14 3/4 inches across, and had a mahogany back and sides, though it had a spruce top.

The L-00’s emergence almost coincided with the Wall Street Crash. It’s low cost and high quality helped Gibson to maintain production throughout the Great Depression, and the instrument had a particular appeal to bluesmen.

In 1937, a more favorable economic climate enabled Gibson to introduce a Hawaiian version of the guitar, named the HG-00. The L-00 itself was dropped at the end of WWII, but has recently been reissued.