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Swapping HD28 for a new Hummingbird Standard


MorrisrownSal

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I have a nice HD-28 - listed for sale by the way. It has a K&K, gigs great, and I like it fine. I do love my Martins and Gibsons. The problem is - especially Gibsons.

 

I have the opportunity to exchange straight up (a buyer for my HD28 locally, and yet the opportunity to buy a floor model Hummingbird Standard Heritage Cherry - with full warranty at a killer price. KILLER). I was going to bank the cash in anticipation of a D18 I am getting later this year. But man.... a Bird again. What to do?

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I KNOW three guitars are my core. My D15. My J50. And I know in advance this D18 will be there too. I have an Eastman, a Farida (worth squat but I like it), and the HD28. I really dont care what happens to these, although they are each great guitars.

 

Yeah I have to chew on it. It would be a complete wash. And if I dont like the Bird, the price is right. Id be shocked if I couldnt sell it for within a $100 bucks of the price I buy it ... if I in fact do...

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I am one of those who has a real problem with making a decision about whether to spend anything over a couple of hundred bucks. I mean I will pace back and forth muttering to myself. My wife though has saying about spending money - in a couple of months you will never miss it. While it is just another in a long line of rationalizations darn if she ain't right.

 

More than the money though, the real issue with me is the accumulation of guitars. I do own a lot of the pesky things. So I do constantly think about cutting the number down. In the past year I have lost three. But I now have picked up two - the CF-100E and that busted up Harmony Sovereign (which while costing me nothing will end up running $400 to $500 for the headstock repair and neck reset). I just cannot seem to get this thinning the heard thing down.

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Would like to chime in, but can't. Don't think I have the code to the turns'n'choices in your experimentarium, Sal.

I understood why you would give the first Bird away (to your son ?) and then upgrade to the better looking themissally cured Vintage. Then I lost track.

 

From afar, but in the cans, that guitar sounded so good that I would have judged it a keeper. Never the less away the Bird flew.

When I asked if it had to do with the (in one perception phony) fried top, you replied, no.

Then it must be the model, I quietly thought, , , and your affection for the different J-50 supported this theory.

 

But now a new flier is on the wings - and as I get it, the straightest Bird there is !??!

 

Next move in the fall, , , may I suggest a smooth 1:1 switch with your son, , , followed by a burned one for X-mas. .

 

Apart from that, 'ave a happy landing, , , will await the clip.

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EM7 - I dont have the code.

 

and if i did it would be too deep and illogical to post anyways.

 

It was really silly punting the Vintage. I even knew it at the time, and was powerless to stop it (not really).

 

Anyways, I know how you love and understand and know Birds. Selling the Vintage, and playing Musical Birds in your presence is kind of like talking about how you hooked up with a hot lady in front of your priest.

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EM7 - I dont have the code.

 

and if i did it would be too deep and illogical to post anyways.

 

It was really silly punting the Vintage. I even knew it at the time, and was powerless to stop it (not really).

 

Anyways, I know how you love and understand and know Birds. Selling the Vintage, and playing Musical Birds in your presence is kind of like talking about how you hooked up with a hot lady in front of your priest.

 

😂

Post of the week

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I'll just add that this might be a distraction from what you really want. I do that sometimes. How many times have I been saving up for a piece of gear when "the deal of a lifetime" pops up. "Honey, I'd be a fool to pass that up!!!" Sigh. I don't know how much you want a Bird but I do know we, as GAS sufferers are like fishermen with nets, not rods. We throw out our nets and things get pulled into the boat. Sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you drag up a dolphin. Personally, I would not trade a short scale guitar for a long scale guitar but that is just my preference. I like HD-28s. In fact it is one of my favorite Martins but sitka/rosewood dreads are not important to me so I fill that slot with a Guild dred. For me, it is close enough.

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EM7 - I dont have the code.

It somehow feels relieving that neither you know what's goin' on. Though a paradox, it makes more sense.

 

I would be that first to recognize that there is an undeniable and unparalleled psychological factor to dealing with Birds, , ,

and wrote about it more than once here.

 

They are mesmerizing items and as such rise to be more than instruments. Could say the same about other acoustics, but the Bird takes the prize.

You're right, I been trying to understand the Hummingbird and in all modesty came a long way. Still there is a certain dimension, which just can't seem to be grasped.

 

My Birds may not be the 'best' guitars in this temple - but they are the most played. Seems I'm addicted to the sound'n'sight on an alternative level.

The other 6-strings might be bigger, richer, more projecting, fatter, more raw and syrup-dripping. They might offer warmer finger-picking response and general depth.

 

Yet the Birds call me above that and keep me there daily. We need to meet each other and exchange moods. No sure I wanna know why. .

 

Selling the Vintage, and playing Musical Birds in your presence is kind of like talking about how you hooked up with a hot lady in front of your priest.

Hahe he, , , actually did that not long ago.

No harm, , , think he could take it. .

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I had to double check and make sure this wasn't an old thread from a couple of years ago. Sal, I say this time you keep the 28, or history is gonna repeat itself next year. Get the bird, or better yet a vintage like you had(or else you might just end up chasing that one that got away). Have them all instead of just rotating them out, and I will live vicariously through you.

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Have you had a chance to play the Heritage Cherryburst guitar that you're considering? If so, and you heard and liked the sounds that it could conjure, then you should bring it home. ’Sounds like many of us have had great guitars that we let get away; I went back for that banged up Standard ‘Bird days later, and it was gone. Then we are haunted by a guitar, and a sound.

 

Of all the Gibsons I’ve been through- Little Guys, big Super Jumbos, Slopes and Squares, the Hummingbird occupies a special place, and its been a long time getting to that place. Just such a comforting vibe about them. If the J-45 were a German Shepherd, the Hummingbird would be a Golden Lab.

 

Even with a dead set of strings, a J-45/Slope can strum, fingerpick, or bang out some obscure Dylan song, the resulting guitar’s quick decay only serving to allow the lyrics to stand out better. But as far as the box itself, you are well aware of what the Hummingbird is a perfect fit for- arguably, it’s one of the best strummers out there. We know where the long scale rose’ Martin's strengths lie, but we’ve also seen your set list. Depending on how you plan to use it (and as E had mentioned, it might not be the loudest tool in the shed, {but do you do much banjo slaying?}), I think a nice, comfy Hummingbird with a sunburst would be a fine and fitting companion for you.

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Cheers all.

 

Confessing sins/mistakes here is therapy. Selling that Vintage was wrong. And the gentleman even gave me the right to buy it back. I didnt take him up on it.

 

We do illogical things - unrestrained things - impulsive things.

 

Best I can make of it - maybe if we allow insanity in one part of our life, it allows us to stay sane in the other parts.

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Cheers all.

 

Confessing sins/mistakes here is therapy. Selling that Vintage was wrong. And the gentleman even gave me the right to buy it back. I didnt take him up on it.

 

We do illogical things - unrestrained things - impulsive things.

 

Best I can make of it - maybe if we allow insanity in one part of our life, it allows us to stay sane in the other parts.

 

I totally agree with that, Sal. I've traded away guitars that's i've kicked myself for afterwards. My '05 OM18V, my '06 Hummingbird MC, my '14 00DB Tweedy. But in the heat of the moment it's "right" and we're creatures of impulse and excitement when it comes to beautiful instruments.

 

I say spend some quiet time with your HD28 and ask IT the question, ask it (metaphorically) if it needs to go to a player who will love it and play it every day, really bond with it and treat it as "the one".

 

Some years ago I swapped my '02 AJ for a '67 J45 with a great songwriter who is a friend of mine. He never bonded with the 45 and, try as I might, I could never fully jive with the AJ. However, the AJ has now been his number one guitar for four years and he plays it at every show...he loves it. I adore the 45 too. Sometimes this kind of thing is meant to be!

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