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"Iced Tea Burst" vs Heritage Cherry Sunburst?


Jesse_Dylan

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Okay, so I'm confused by all of Gibson's various bursts. I swear they have changed from year to year.

 

Specifically interested in the Gibson Hummingbird... I know they have a "honey burst," but to me, the standard Hummingbird burst looks more like the honey burst than it does the heritage cherry sunburst it's supposed to have (I know it various from one Hummingbird to the next).

 

And now they have this iced tea burst which, to me, looks more like a cherry sunburst! And their "heritage cherry sunburst" looks way more like iced tea to me than the iced tea burst.

 

I guess I would have to see them all in person, but what I really want is an actual cherry-looking sunburst. Maybe the iced tea just looks like a faded sunburst in person, but in photos, it sure looks like a cherry sunburst...

 

When I buy my Hummingbird I probably won't have much choice anyway, and I'll probably be happy, but I really have always wanted a darn cherry sunburst guitar.

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I'm with you Jesse - I like the dark cherry burst - the darker and more pronounced the better. Played a fine example H'Bird TV at Wildwood last spring, and like an idiot I did not buy it. In retrospect not buying was the right decision for other reasons, but it was a great looker, and really had a great sound. Ended up someone else here on the forum bought it a few days later - so it has a good home.

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I'm with you Jesse - I like the dark cherry burst - the darker and more pronounced the better. Played a fine example H'Bird TV at Wildwood last spring, and like an idiot I did not buy it. In retrospect not buying was the right decision for other reasons, but it was a great looker, and really had a great sound. Ended up someone else here on the forum bought it a few days later - so it has a good home.

 

Yeah, I think pretty much all the TV and NV Hummingbirds get it "right" in my opinion--though they are a little flat-looking to simulate age, which I could go either way on. Very pretty! For whatever reason (and maybe luckily??), I seem to like the sound of the standard Hummingbird better than the TV or NV. It just seems a little more robust. I have not played a TV or NV, though, so I might change my mind entirely!

 

If I could go to a shop and play everything side by side and look at everything side by side, it would be easy to figure all this out, but since I can't, I guess I just get obsessive. I just remembered that around Christmas I had a thread on here about the cherry sunburst too ha woops

 

I wish I could just get a custom burst, very cherry. Or maybe I will luck out and the Hummingbird I have access to will not just be the right one in tone but in burst as well.

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The new "ice tea burst" J-45 looks almost exactly like a very faded mid-late 1960's cherryburst. I don't see a lot of iced tea in it, which I think should be a bit more brown. To make matters more confusing, I have seen other modern Gibson bursts labeled as "ice tea" which seem more tan/yellow than these new versions.

 

You almost need to see these faded-type bursts in person to understand exactly what you are getting.

 

Remember that the original vintage cherrybursts on both the J-45 and Hummingbird generally also featured red-stained back and sides as well, so you got a lot of red for your money. Maybe more than you really wanted.

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1 thing you'll learn is not to take the names of the different bursts too seriously.

 

And that the differences and minor variations of the actual hues all add to the G-charm'n'wonder.

 

Sun- Cherry- Cobra- Honey- Tri- Amber- Tobacco- Tea- Caramel- even Clown-

 

See it as an enchanted cabinet you enter where everything changes over time, with the light of day, from season to season and mood to mood, , ,

for then to return and morph further into something third - 4th - 5th - 6th - 7th. . .

 

I think the idea of the burst-phenomenon is that it should be impossible to maintain, fixate and capture, , , not even in memory or on photos.

 

The aesthetic essence is the gearless glide from 1 place to another, from known zones over countless reflections to indefinable states of sublime bliss . . .

 

Yeah - bliss-burts, , , I have several of them. .

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The new "ice tea burst" J-45 looks almost exactly like a very faded mid-late 1960's cherryburst. I don't see a lot of iced tea in it, which I think should be a bit more brown. To make matters more confusing, I have seen other modern Gibson bursts labeled as "ice tea" which seem more tan/yellow than these new versions.

 

You almost need to see these faded-type bursts in person to understand exactly what you are getting.

 

Remember that the original vintage cherrybursts on both the J-45 and Hummingbird generally also featured red-stained back and sides as well, so you got a lot of red for your money. Maybe more than you really wanted.

 

That's definitely true! The Hummingbird Quilt is a little more red than I want, I think, although it is definitely red (which I do want) and definitely gorgeous! I guess I'll just have to see what Music Villa has in stock when I get there. And then hope that seeing it in that lighting is good enough because, like E-minor7 says below, it's never very static.

 

1 thing you'll learn is not to take the names of the different bursts too seriously.

 

And that the differences and minor variations of the actual hues all add to the G-charm'n'wonder.

 

Sun- Cherry- Cobra- Honey- Tri- Amber- Tea- even Clown-

 

See it as an enchanted cabinet you enter where everything changes over time, with the light of day, from season to season and mood to mood, , ,

for then to return and morph further into something third - 4th - 5th - 6th - 7th. . .

 

I think the idea of the burst-phenomenon is that it should be impossible to maintain, fixate and capture, , , not even in memory or on photos.

 

The aesthetic essence is the gearless glide from 1 place to another, from known zones over countless reflections to indefinable states of sublime bliss . . .

 

Yeah - bliss-burts, , , I have several of them. .

 

I totally agree! I guess I am spoiled for choice, basically, but then when I go to the actual shop, I might not have much choice. I suppose what motivates my anxiety is the worry that I will get one, and then spend the rest of my life looking at a different one thinking, I wish mine looked like that one. Actually, all my life I've looked at Hummingbirds and thought, I wish my guitar looked like a Hummingbird!

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post-60535-020610500 1423181341_thumb.jpgpost-60535-059194100 1423181298_thumb.jpg

 

 

Here is the Iced Tea Burst on the right and The standard Model Hummingbird. Easy to see what Jesse is talking about. Also odd is the Iced Tea Burst is a Custom Shop Model yet they have it proceed $100.00 less than the Standard model. Also confusing.

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post-60535-020610500 1423181341_thumb.jpgpost-60535-059194100 1423181298_thumb.jpg

 

 

Here is the Iced Tea Burst on the right and The standard Model Hummingbird. Easy to see what Jesse is talking about. Also odd is the Iced Tea Burst is a Custom Shop Model yet they have it proceed $100.00 less than the Standard model. Also confusing.

 

Yeah, why in the heck is it $100 cheaper? So strange.

 

To be fair, the standard Hummingbird really varies a lot, and comparing the two photos, I think there can be as much variance between two heritage cherry sunburst guitars as between this heritage cherry and this iced tea. And I have to wonder if the iced tea perhaps looks less red in person (more like a faded tobacco sunburst) too. (Granted the standard Hummingbird pictured is a pretty light one.)

 

It sure is all confusing.

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Here is a "fairly" accurate picture. I tried my best. On my phone, it looks perfect, but once I uploaded, it looked a little wrong. In reality, both guitars are a little bit darker color with a touch more brown. The regular one is just darker, the ice tea is a LITTLE more brown and a LITTLE less red. but not too much.

 

 

-Keith

 

 

20150210_145153_zpsgc7bc8ep.jpg

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Great photo!! It's hard, because the Heritage Cherry Sunburst ones vary so much. That looks like a fairly light one, but maybe it's just from being photographed? On the other hand, one I saw in person did look that light.

 

If the Iced Tea Burst looked exactly like that photo (or at least exactly how it looks on my monitor with my eyeballs), I'd be pretty tempted to go that route. I'm worried it'll be a little too brown though. The regular one there has its own beauty, too, but to me, cherry sunburst should just be more cherry... a little less heritage... The heritage cherry sunburst Les Pauls usually look more reddish than that, I thought.

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Great photo!! It's hard, because the Heritage Cherry Sunburst ones vary so much. That looks like a fairly light one, but maybe it's just from being photographed? On the other hand, one I saw in person did look that light.

 

If the Iced Tea Burst looked exactly like that photo (or at least exactly how it looks on my monitor with my eyeballs), I'd be pretty tempted to go that route. I'm worried it'll be a little too brown though. The regular one there has its own beauty, too, but to me, cherry sunburst should just be more cherry... a little less heritage... The heritage cherry sunburst Les Pauls usually look more reddish than that, I thought.

 

 

Funny how hard they are to photograph accurately. the light just bounces around in that finish and does funny things. Here is one I took outside with sunlight. It IS actually accurate to real life in the sun. the first pic was taken under florescent lights and they looked a little different than real life in that room. funny enough, the camera made them come out similar to outside. the outside pic is accurate though.

 

20150211_154439_zpsbeg9opfo.jpg

 

 

-Keith

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I think I wish I could get the red without the brown. But the "bright cherry" they used on the Hummingbird Quilt was a little too bright for me. I guess I am impossible to please!

 

Truth be told, they are all absolutely gorgeous in their own way, but they each have to battle with the mystical Hummingbird in my mind, the one I've wanted for 15+ years, whatever that even is!

 

Hopefully I can just see/play them in person. Probably then I'll know for sure. By then, they'll probably have Hummingbirds with the "baked" tops, too. Will be interesting to see how that changes the tone.

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i feel the same about buying a Martin guitar... only with the sound. I have this sound in my head of what a Martin sounds like. I could swear that I have heard it directly... but every one i pick up is a little bit short of what I want in my mind. no matter how good. well, I played one prewar D45 at the Martin museum and IT had what I want! LOL not likely to happen though (in fact, the other prewar D45s I have played, didn't measure up). I guess I will keep looking too! I'm sure it's out there and NOT $250,000. I certainly hope so! :)

 

 

-Keith

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I had a long journey with Martins. I had a custom M-36 built, and it's great. I eventually realized it was the good old D-28 that was "it" for me (not a fancy version, just the standard), but then I happened upon a new old stock 2011 D-18, and... nope, it's that one. And then--nope, it's my M-36. And then--nope, it's a Hummingbird. :)

 

I did find that I didn't actually prefer the fancy versions, though. I think I heard too many standard D-18s and D-28s over the years, because that to me is pretty much "the sound." That and the Gibson sound.

 

I guess I'm just saying you probably won't have to spend a whole lot, and don't forget about the standard models either :) Or maybe your mind's ear really is tuned to those "golden era" Martins, in which case, you might be in trouble!

 

My Martin 00-18V is probably my "best" guitar and "best-sounding" instrument. It is pretty fantastic. I think it's probably also my most expensive. Was my first, and I love it, but I just like big guitars best, and I love my little 7-28 and play that when I want to play something small. (I tend to avoid playing my 00-18V because I don't want to change my mind and decide I need to keep it! Need to sell/trade it so I can get a Hummingbird this summer.)

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I guess I'm just saying you probably won't have to spend a whole lot, and don't forget about the standard models either :) Or maybe your mind's ear really is tuned to those "golden era" Martins, in which case, you might be in trouble!

 

 

 

 

That's what I'm afraid of! HaHa i get to play plenty, so i do try them all... and there are plenty that i would LOVE to have.... but i haven't bought one yet. every time i have the cash in hand, it's a Gibson that has just "spoken" to me!

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I bought my dream guitar, a 2013 Hummingbird MC a few months ago, thinking at the time it was a "honey burst". I've since seen pictures of both "honey burst" and "heritage cherry burst" and I'm not sure which it is. Not that it matters, it is drop dead gorgeous. I particularly love the way it changes in different lighting conditions, sort of like the ocean, it changes moods with the slightest change in light. Brilliant ! My question is, and I hope I'm not missing something obvious, how do you know what color it is supposed to be ?

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I bought my dream guitar, a 2013 Hummingbird MC a few months ago, thinking at the time it was a "honey burst". I've since seen pictures of both "honey burst" and "heritage cherry burst" and I'm not sure which it is. Not that it matters, it is drop dead gorgeous. I particularly love the way it changes in different lighting conditions, sort of like the ocean, it changes moods with the slightest change in light. Brilliant ! My question is, and I hope I'm not missing something obvious, how do you know what color it is supposed to be ?

 

"Fifty Shades of Hummingbird", in other words, as you noted - it doesn't matter. Whether it's called Sunset, Iced Tea, Honey, Tobacco, Cherry or shades in between - if it is attractive to you and (most importantly) plays and sounds great.

You should be able to tell from this thread that people's color preferences can change. And, as you noted - even the colors themselves can change based on the lighting. "A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet." Congrats on your new H'bird !

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I bought my dream guitar, a 2013 Hummingbird MC a few months ago, thinking at the time it was a "honey burst". I've since seen pictures of both "honey burst" and "heritage cherry burst" and I'm not sure which it is. Not that it matters, it is drop dead gorgeous. I particularly love the way it changes in different lighting conditions, sort of like the ocean, it changes moods with the slightest change in light. Brilliant ! My question is, and I hope I'm not missing something obvious, how do you know what color it is supposed to be ?

 

 

Do you have the original paperwork? it should have the model number on it. in the middle is the color code. it will either be HC or HB. or call Gibson CS and give them the serial number.

 

 

-Keith

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Do you have the original paperwork? it should have the model number on it. in the middle is the color code. it will either be HC or HB. or call Gibson CS and give them the serial number.

 

 

-Keith

 

I do not have the original paperwork, but I may call Gibson and give them my serial number. Thanks for the idea. It would be just out of curiosity, it really makes no difference 'cus whatever it is called, it is a thing of beauty to look at, to play and to hear.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Funny how hard they are to photograph accurately. the light just bounces around in that finish and does funny things. Here is one I took outside with sunlight. It IS actually accurate to real life in the sun. the first pic was taken under florescent lights and they looked a little different than real life in that room. funny enough, the camera made them come out similar to outside. the outside pic is accurate though.

 

20150211_154439_zpsbeg9opfo.jpg

 

 

-Keith

 

 

How does the iced tea sound compared to the standard? Yes I know each guitar sounds different even within the same models. My problem is that they are limited and I can't get my hands on an iced tea to hear how it sounds. I'm worried because of the price that it will be more "pro" than "standard" in the build quality and sound.

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How does the iced tea sound compared to the standard? Yes I know each guitar sounds different even within the models. My problem is that they are limited and I can't get my hands on an iced tea to hear how it sounds. I'm worried because of the price it's more "pro" than "standard" in the build quality and sound.

 

I think you'd be pretty safe. Theoretically, there should be no sound difference, other than the variance between individual guitars you mention. I don't think the iced tea burst will be any thicker or thinner of a finish than the regular heritage cherry sunburst anyway.

 

At some sites, the iced tea is actually $100 less expensive than the regular. I really don't think there is going to be any difference as far as build quality. They all come off the same line; it's just that some go for the iced tea burst instead of the standard.

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