1962 Gibson Byrdland w/ Vibrola prototype tailpiece

Essentially a short-scale (23-1/2″), thinbody version of the L-5CES, the Byrdland—named for both Billy Byrd and Hank Garland—is one of the more interesting electric archtops Gibson ever produced. It's body is 17" wide like an L-5, but even though it's fully hollow, it's only 2-1/4" deep. This makes it comfortable and approachable on your lap. Plus, the short scale makes big stretches on the fingerboard less of a reach. The lower tensionfacilitates easier bends, and it also provides  airy, blooming resonance and sustain. As if that interesting combination wasn't interesting enough on its own, this particular Gibson Byrdland is probably one of the more interesting Byrdlands we’ll ever see. This Byrland was made in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1962. When we first opened the case, our first question was simple: why does this one have a Vibrola tailpiece? Well, sometimes simple questions have simple answers. The original owner of this guitar was a gentleman named Paul Butts. Paul was the inventor