Andrew, thats my friends name too, is your last name belski ? kinda weird seeing his name on the internet. : My uncle gave me a Gibson L6-S and i was wonderin if there was any way i could easily find out what year it was made in and who much its worth? : any info would be helpful. : thanks, : andrew

The L6S was introduced in 1973. The dot inlay was started during the 1975 production year. It was renamed the L-6Custom in 1975 and discontinued in 1980. the L-6 deluxe features small block inlay and string through body design. The value would depend on the year and the shape. The best way to tell the year is by the serial#. If you post it and breif accurate description I could probably get you an estimate. Don’t forget to check out http://pickin-n-grinnin.com : My uncle gave me a Gibson L6-S and i was wonderin if there was any way i could easily find out what year it was made in and who much its worth? : any info would be helpful. : thanks, : andrew

I haven’t played one or seen one for sale (although I’ve wanted to and have a very interesting copy of one, made by Bradley, evidently–but that’s another story), but here’s what I DO know about the Gibson L6-S… Ads for it pop up regularly in mid to late ’70s Guitar Player magazines–Al DiMeola endorsed it for a while–so it most likely dates to around then, when everyone and their dog was either hot-rodding Les Pauls or making a wide variety of "interpretations" of them. Price or value (however you phrase it) is very subjective. Being a fan of the humbucking sound, the L6-S would be an appealing buy for me, especially with the 24 frets and 6-way "variomatic" (or whatever they call it, like on BB’s "Lucille", I believe) tone knob. Unfortunately, since neither Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoades, nor any of the Allman Brothers (etc, etc…) was famous for playing one, value will likely be entirely dependent upon how badly the person looking to buy it wants it for it’s specific sound and playability. It’s one of those that is probably an excellent instrument but has never become a household name–certainly not with the Gibson "experts" I’ve met. For some sort of estimate of value for insurance purposes, try a local Gibson dealer. Good luck, and please post what you find!