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Dove vs Hummingbird


JuanCarlosVejar

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The only answer is to own both! They’re siblings but very very different beasts. I have both, plus a Hummingbird 12. The Dove sounds huge (when it has all its frets!) and the Birds sound warmer and more intimate. They all record beautifully and fill different sonic niches in a mix when combined.

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Have to fly Dove here. So generous and embracing, , , , like Doves actually are. .

 

The featured ex has chrome tulips where the one on the Gibson-site has ditto Grovers, but the nut-width seems to be the same.

(Remember Bozeman made a narrow retro-version a few years ago)

And sure, the red'n'green guard-colours are fine and belong there, but please hold them down. See why while comparing video and site.

http://www.gibson.co.../2018/Dove.aspx

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This reminds me of how I feel about the Dove and my HBTV. I have to say the onger i own the Dove the more I love it, and the less I like the Bird. I love teh warmth, clarity and power of the Dove, its to me the perfect guitar from strumming and fingers. The Bird on the other hand now sounds muddy and lacking grit, but still has that inherent warm character. I must admit i dont play it much and behind the J-150 the Dove is now my 2nd fave guitar, while the Bird ...well, even thought about selling it, but i wont.

 

Maybe one way of saying it is that the Dove does everything the Bird can do, plus a whole lot more.

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This reminds me of how I feel about the Dove and my HBTV. I have to say the onger i own the Dove the more I love it, and the less I like the Bird. I love teh warmth, clarity and power of the Dove, its to me the perfect guitar from strumming and fingers. The Bird on the other hand now sounds muddy and lacking grit, but still has that inherent warm character. I must admit i dont play it much and behind the J-150 the Dove is now my 2nd fave guitar, while the Bird ...well, even thought about selling it, but i wont.

 

Maybe one way of saying it is that the Dove does everything the Bird can do, plus a whole lot more.

Don't sell it EA.

 

Sounds get cyclical sometimes and when we introduce something different we tend to dive into it 100%

 

But you will fall back in love with the bird when the time is right.

 

 

 

JC

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Very nice comparison video. They are definitely different beasts, but I would be hard pressed to say one sounds better than the other. I already have a HB. I wouldn't mind adding a Dove one day if the right one happens along.

 

Thanks for posting the link, JC.

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  • 1 month later...

Very nice comparison video. They are definitely different beasts, but I would be hard pressed to say one sounds better than the other. I already have a HB. I wouldn't mind adding a Dove one day if the right one happens along.

 

Thanks for posting the link, JC.

Yes, thanks for posting the video, JC and thanks to you Bozz for your post as well.

May i expose my opinion on that basis, please.

 

As regarding the video first: the video certainly is interesting, i mean it: it can give you either a clue or an idea regarding the difference between two brands. The fact is that sooner or later, the whole thing would look approximate and not much relevant. The most important thing is to try those guitars for yourself in order to get a proper idea regarding them, because the individual player is the last judge in the end. To look at a video and to try a guitar for yourself is as different as a comparison between a 10 x 15 centimeters postcard of Mona Lisa vs. the original painting made by Leonardo when you have the opportunity to look at it once at the "Musee du Louvre" in Paris, and so to speak. Being kept in mind that each guitar remains an individual guitar as well and two Dove's could sound quite differently although the guitar model remains the same.

 

As regarding the comparison between Dove & HB, the both guitars are very much different and am not quite sure that they'd have to be compared given their differences are quite a few. Once i tried a Dove and i was looking for a terrific experience and the one i played on this special occasion didn't sound that much, i was quite disappointed. Regarding the Hummingbird,she's the Queen of them all, as i previously wrote on this website.

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To me, they seem between the white lines for a mahogany and maple guitars.

 

JC ask me to chime in. Here is a relevant comparison between four 60ish Gibsons. There are five clips of four guitars played back-to-back-to-back-to back. These are very short clips.

 

The guitars are

 

65 F-25

65 Dove

62 Hummingbird

59 LG-1

 

They are always in that order -- so the Dove-Hummingbird comparisons are in the center of each clip.

 

F-25 Dove Hummingbird LG-1

 

Let's pick,

 

-Tom

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To me, they seem between the white lines for a mahogany and maple guitars.

 

JC ask me to chime in. Here is a relevant comparison between four 60ish Gibsons. There are five clips of four guitars played back-to-back-to-back-to back. These are very short clips.

 

The guitars are

 

65 F-25

65 Dove

62 Hummingbird

59 LG-1

 

They are always in that order -- so the Dove-Hummingbird comparisons are in the center of each clip.

 

F-25 Dove Hummingbird LG-1

 

Let's pick,

 

-Tom

 

 

Tom,

 

Thanks for the video.

All those guitars are beautiful ans great sounding.

The Dove sounded like thunder if you ask me.

 

Does it have a mahogany or a maple neck on it?

 

 

 

Keep Picking

 

 

JC

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Tom, that Dove is sensational-and all with a Tune-O-Matic too! Just goes to show that there are great examples of the T-O-M bridge working well.

 

The best new Dove I ever played was at Rudy’s in Manhattan back in ‘06, a ‘60s Reissue with a Tune-O-Matic. That thing was unbelievable.

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Always interested in comparisons and various reactions from folks☺ Guess if I were limited to one or the other, it would be the Dove. The H'bird does very well, but - for me - the Dove is able to do the same and then go beyond that if you're looking to be versatile. Own one of each and love 'em both, but my Dove gets played more😒

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I'm i the only one who , while often admiring the sound of them , think that they look like they were designed in a drug addled state ?

They're .. really odd looking.

I couldn't have one about me

 

Strong words in March - wonder where you see the J-200.

 

Apart from that I think most gibsonites has gotten used to the sight of these fliers.

Still you're not alone. For some the decoration steals too much attention and betrays the idea of the puristic acoustic folk-guitar.

And yes, the guard-sceneries are quite loaded : A garden of buzzing bliss and a paralyzed pigeon sitting in a blooming bush.

I lOVE them both.

But prefer them in dampened versions. Bird-top turned towards caramel and the red'n'green bush around the MOP dove held down.

 

Someone whispered the Dove-bridge was carved by one of the 7 dwarfs to impress Snow White. It surely made her sing and her voice lingers in the way the wood-work transmits vibes over the spruce. Listen and you'll hear it there, , , wouldn't miss that, would you. .

 

In my perception the guards land in the magikk cross between folklore and pop-art.

A touch of kitsch, , , well, maybe, but totally out-shon by musical mountains these creatures overflew the last 58 years.

Both guitars are mytho-phenomenons and nothing can take that away. Bring on a Hummingbird or a Dove and everybody hold their breath, , , w h a t w i l l h a p p e n !?!

 

Wasn't it wild of Gibson to start the decade by making such flamboyant squares those many summers ago, , , and wasn't it larger than life to see them turn into hits.

Where would we be without them, , , including ceramic, rosewooden and tune-O-matic adjustments. In a brown'n'brown-black fairy-tale, , , with no wings.

 

So thanx to you H. Snider and Kalamazoo. The feather-fest continues. Please serve the painted Easter eggs. .

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Strong words in March - wonder where you see the J-200.

 

Apart from that I think most gibsonites has gotten used to the sight of these fliers.

Still you're not alone. For some the decoration steals too much attention and betrays the idea of the puristic acoustic folk-guitar.

And yes, the guard-sceneries are quite loaded : A garden of buzzing bliss and a paralyzed pigeon sitting in a blooming bush.

I lOVE them both.

But prefer them in dampened versions. Bird-top turned towards caramel and the red'n'green bush around the MOP dove held down.

 

Someone whispered the Dove-bridge was carved by one of the 7 dwarfs to impress Snow White. It surely made her sing and her voice lingers in the way the wood-work transmits vibes over the spruce. Listen and you'll hear it there, , , wouldn't miss that, would you. .

 

In my perception the guards land in the magikk cross between folklore and pop-art.

A touch of kitsch, , , well, maybe, but totally out-shon by musical mountains these creatures overflew the last 58 years.

Both guitars are mytho-phenomenons and nothing can take that away. Bring on a Hummingbird or a Dove and everybody hold their breath, , , w h a t w i l l h a p p e n !?!

 

Wasn't it wild of Gibson to start the decade by making such flamboyant squares those many summers ago, , , and wasn't it larger than life to see them turn into hits.

Where would we be without them, , , including ceramic, rosewooden and tune-O-matic adjustments. In a brown'n'brown-black fairy-tale, , , with no wings.

 

So thanx to you H. Snider and Kalamazoo. The feather-fest continues. Please serve the painted Easter eggs. .

 

I enjoy playing out the Dove. Its so outragous in its artwork that it becomes as much as a prop as a guitar on stage. All part of the show .....rock n' roll !

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Don't sell it EA.

 

Sounds get cyclical sometimes and when we introduce something different we tend to dive into it 100%

 

But you will fall back in love with the bird when the time is right.

 

 

 

JC

 

btw: thanks for the advice JC. I didnt recently fall for the Bird again. Its such a distinct tone, like no other guitar out there, that sometimes it can get a bit on your nerves, other times you love that sublime sound of a Hummingibrd.

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It's not so much the difference between the Dove and the Hummingbird, though there is some. It's that unmistakable Gibson sound. The Dove is a little louder and less subtle than the Bird, but they both have that quality that I hear as, "this is what an acoustic guitar sounds like". It's that sound I hear in my head when I think of an acoustic. All the Gibson Js and "dreads" have it. That's why we're here in this forum I suppose! I have a Hummingbird but I wouldn't say no to a Dove if one came along at the right price.

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btw: thanks for the advice JC. I didnt recently fall for the Bird again. Its such a distinct tone, like no other guitar out there, that sometimes it can get a bit on your nerves, other times you love that sublime sound of a Hummingibrd.

'Xactly - good to hear you didn't let the birdy fly.

I recall when you got the craze, warmed up to it and finally saw it land. Grinning all day, , , just by looking at it, , , yea, I know what U mean. .

Then the gigs, the long back ding, the guitar opening up givin' more bass, etc.

You 2 got history together. Would be a shame to see it go. For you, , , and for the m-cave wall.

 

 

An H-bird and a Dove under the same roof is a fantastic scenario. Hover on Prague

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I am encouraged to hear I'm not the only one whose ear sometime gets jaded playing the H'Bird. But, as JCV states - you soon long for that sound again. The most addictive sound I've experienced.

BBG - Maybe it was the tone that was a drug induced thing, and not the look. And, - you have to forgive the bling - remember, the 60s were replete with tie-dyed, gaudy, bell bottomed Halloweenie costumes. Until then, only 'cowboy guitars' got the rhinestones.

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Folks,

 

 

I like both but if I had to pick one ...The dove would go home with me.

 

 

 

I agree on that one. The 'bird seems subdued, almost quiet, while the Dove is a bit brash and open. I wonder if they have the same strings on them?

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I agree on that one. The 'bird seems subdued, almost quiet, while the Dove is a bit brash and open. I wonder if they have the same strings on them?

The 'quiet' comes across to me as muffled in many H'birds. Took a while for me to locate one that pleased my ear for that reason. The Dove, on the other hand, usually sounds like it "has a pair" as they say in the USMC😂

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'Xactly - good to hear you didn't let the birdy fly.

I recall when you got the craze, warmed up to it and finally saw it land. Grinning all day, , , just by looking at it, , , yea, I know what U mean. .

Then the gigs, the long back ding, the guitar opening up givin' more bass, etc.

You 2 got history together. Would be a shame to see it go. For you, , , and for the m-cave wall.

 

 

An H-bird and a Dove under the same roof is a fantastic scenario. Hover on Prague

 

Geez, you do have a good memory Em7, probably better than mine ! Dont worry, its not goign anywhere. The great thing about the Hummingbird, is that even if you get a bit frustrated with the tone and dont play it for a while, its still great to look at hanging on that wall. Its a cunning bsckup plan.

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