Gibson Hummingbird

[zzmoore]

My 19 year old son came to visit a few months back. I picked him up at the train station and he was carrying his old acoustic hard case. We get home, he opens the case and Holy S### He has a 1968 Hummingbird that a girlfriends father let him borrow for the weekend. Unbelievable. My wife fell in love with the thing and now she wants one real bad. Do you guys have experience with or an opinion on the modern day versions? Aren't these about a $3,000.00 item? I have never purchased a guitar in this price range. Not even sure if my local music guy can get these or not. Are they kind of worth the money?
Thanks For Your Help

[ssimon64]

I've played a few of the newer ones. Nice guitars. I have always wanted one. I think they're around $2000 though.

[dazco]

I always wanted one too, and about 10 years ago i decided to buy one. Every new one i tried sounded very small and not good at all. I know how acoustics are when new, but these obviously weren't going to bloom to the extent they needed to in order to sound really good. I've heard more than a few others say the same about them. I don't know about the vintage ones, but at those prices i wasn't about to even look at them. Ended up with a Larrivee that in 3 years opened up to sound amazing and after 7 years no i realize i finally found my life mate and will never sell it. My advice would be don't compromise and buy one if you aren't sure about the sound just because they look awesome. It'll just become a temporary room mate if the sound never grabs you. They do have a nice voice, but then i'm partial to gibson's acoustic guitar's unique voice. I'm just saying while the bird has that voice, it's not a very good one as far as all the required details like fullness, balance, etc. My larrivee was far superior when new and now is so good it may be the only guitar or any kind i've ever owned i'd consider calling perfect. Buying guitars for looks usually ends up bad. Been there done that many many times !

Try one and maybe you'll find me full of it, but you asked, so theres my opinion. Buying guitars for looks usually ends up bad.

[buckwild]

I always wanted one too, and about 10 years ago i decided to buy one. Every new one i tried sounded very small and not good at all. I know how acoustics are when new, but these obviously weren't going to bloom to the extent they needed to in order to sound really good. I've heard more than a few others say the same about them. I don't know about the vintage ones, but at those prices i wasn't about to even look at them. Ended up with a Larrivee that in 3 years opened up to sound amazing and after 7 years no i realize i finally found my life mate and will never sell it. My advice would be don't compromise and buy one if you aren't sure about the sound just because they look awesome. It'll just become a temporary room mate if the sound never grabs you. They do have a nice voice, but then i'm partial to gibson's acoustic guitar's unique voice. I'm just saying while the bird has that voice, it's not a very good one as far as all the required details like fullness, balance, etc. My larrivee was far superior when new and now is so good it may be the only guitar or any kind i've ever owned i'd consider calling perfect. Buying guitars for looks usually ends up bad. Been there done that many many times !

Try one and maybe you'll find me full of it, but you asked, so theres my opinion. Buying guitars for looks usually ends up bad.

This is an amazing piece of advice. I bought a sunburst J-200 Gibson and I admit it was in large part due to the looks. I was hoping it would open up and the wood would dry out. It never did. I love Gibson's but this one was a bit on the constrained side. Anyways, I now own two Larrivees and I don't plan on ever buying another acoustic. I'm sure there are some amazing new Gibson acoustics being made but just try every last one before you make your decision and don't be swayed by the seductive looks:)

[ssimon64]

Yeah, they definately vary. Some of the ones I've played have been really good, some are just... meh.

['70 RS]

I've played several new ones and have always put them down within a minute or two. They have all been tight, stiff, constrained, and uninspiring. Like dazco said, they just didn't have the feel of a guitar that would eventually open up.

It really is a shame, I'm a huge Gibson acoustic fan, but the inconsistency coming out of Montana is pretty amazing. I did play a new SJ-200 last week that blew me away. Definitely "The One".


Your results may vary.

[soulohio]

i played a 70's "dove" back in 2000 and while it sounded very nice flatpicking, it was somewhat lacking....somewhere....nice looking but not enough of "something"

[buffalonickle]

I've owned scores of J-200's, Doves and Hummingbirds over the years, vintage and the new Montana made instruments. The new ones need a lot of playing in. What you need to consider is that a new guitar is stiff, the top has never flexed, the braces are stiff and freshly glued and you need to give it some good old fashioned hard strumming to get that top moving and the air shifting. They eventually free up after years of playing and will end up as good guitars straight out of the case but you have to work them to begin with. Heavier strings will help. When shopping for a new guitar you need to play it for a good half hour so you can 'imagine' where the guitar is going soundwise.

Old Hummingbords are my favourite guitars. The guitars built before 1965 have the best necks and are very lightly built and sound immediately pleasing if they are correctly maintained. One of the secrets to the sound is the ceramic adjustable saddles. Quite a few old Hummingbirds have had the bridges changed to 'improve' the sound but for me the ceramic saddle is essential to the Hummingbirds character. The ceramic saddle should have a piece of sprung steel underneath it and this contributes to the sound - a lot of these old guitars have the sprung steel missing from previous owners removing them to get the action as low as possible - this also is a major factor in the tone as a higher 'medium' action will produce a bigger fuller sound. There's nothing like a good Hummingbird.

My current favourite - 1963 Hummingbird

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n314/buffalonickle/TEXASHUMMINGBIRD014.jpg

[Bricktop]

Great thread, and pretty much spot on. However, I found a good one - a real good one - about two years ago.

I had been looking for a dreadnought acoustic for probably six months at the time, checking out all the usual suspects (Martin, Larravee, Taylor, others, etc.) looking for kind of a late 60's / early 70's Stephen Stills vibe. Think CSN / CSNY and even some of the Zeppelin I-IV acoustic stuff.

Anyway, after just about pulling the trigger on a used Martin D-35, I grabbed a brand new Hummingbird off the wall and found exactly the sound I was looking for. There were two other Hummingbirds in the store that didn't sound good at all - just this one. Coincidence or not, it also had the most subdued faded orange color in the sunburst, kinda like I'd expect from a much older instrument.

I got out of there for $1900, invested in a quick setup with my local luthier, and haven't looked back. Great guitar. GREAT guitar.

Now if I can just find a 12-string with the same vibe and playability...

:)

[Bulldog]

Personally, I've never played an acoustic that could come close to a Vintage Gibson J-45 in tone. It to me has the fullest sound. Im not sure on the year, but mine's early, like 68-72 J-45 ADJ that's been reworked to be a standard 45, and it's the best sounding acoustic I've ever played.

[thefishingline]

I have two of them a 76' and a 73' and I love them both. The 73' is actually on the trading/selling block since I have J45's as well. Here is a clip of my 76' and my 73' for you to listen to

www.thefishingline.com/videos/GuitarTracks/76Hummingbird.wma (http://www.thefishingline.com/videos/GuitarTracks/76Hummingbird.wma)

www.thefishingline.com/videos/GuitarTracks/73Hummingbird.wma (http://www.thefishingline.com/videos/GuitarTracks/73Hummingbird.wma)