gijs Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Okay, based on the topic title I could post this in the 'brand new 2011'-thread, but I have some more about the guitar that I would like to share with you. I had a 2009 Bird which had some issues (not soundwise), which made Gibson decide to give me a new Bird. As an extra service, my dealer had me choose between two Birds: one he had hanging in the shop for about a year now, and one that arrived fresh out of Bozeman last Friday (the serial dates it as being a late March guitar). To be able to make a good comparison, I played my 2009 Bird and the 2 new Birds for hours this day at the shop. Some findings: - the one from the shop was more comparable to my 2009 Bird, especially in the rich top end and sustain it had. - the new one had a bigger bass, which I liked very much. It lacked some richness in the top end though compared to the other 2 guitars. - the new one was lighter than the 2009 and the one from the shop . Eventually I went for the bigger bass, since I was missing that in my 2009 from day 1. So I brought home a great 2011 Bird fresh from the factory, but I do have some questions about the differences found: - The guitar has a little less sustain and little less top end than the one I had and the one in the shop, which I offered for the better bass. Will these however develop over time since the guitar still has to be played in? Funny was that the one in the shop had hardly been played the year it was hanging there, which would probably falsify my ´playing in theory´. Or does an unused guitar also develop in tone? - What might cause the weight difference of the newer guitar? A different batch of mahogany? Many thanks in advance for your thoughts. BTW: pics to follow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 . Pretty sweet they let you trade it. About the "play-in", you might want to check out this recent thread - http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/67199-tonerite-or-tonewrong/ Looking forward to the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g6120 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 You know there are those who say time and playing will make a acoustic guitar sound better in time and there are some who dont agree . Me Im not certain but If I had to lay a bet down on the table I would say yes it will . Congratulations with your Hummingbird . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 A very privileged situation – must have been exiting. I fully understand your bass choice. It's so reassuring with a strong bottom, not least on a Bird. Those differences might come down to the handcrafted wood work, the respective natures of the instruments and all that fascinating stuff we talk so much about here. No doubt the guitar will develop if played regularly. It will find itself as the different woods get into same groove and learn you ways. So go to it and don't offer it too many breaks. Let it know who you are and what you expect from it. Eventually it will begin to answer. Can't say if it'll grow more sustain, but give the guitar a healthy beating as well as the velvet touch. Experiment with strings and make every single note on the fretboard vibrate alone (like they were under the spell of a blues maniac) several times every week so the whole tone-potential is brought forward - that top is gonna prove it's more than a carrier of gorgeous burst and birds and bees. With these exercises on track, its almost guaranteed you will be able to hear/feel progress over the next 12 months. If you begin melting together, from then on it's just further up the road. Enjoy the ride and imagine the bonds be between you in a decade or 2. Good luck gijs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubee Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 The guitar has a little less sustain and little less top end than the one I had and the one in the shop, which I offered for the better bass. Will these however develop over time since the guitar still has to be played in? IME yes on the top end and thereby a 'maybe' on sustain. It is not a given but having owned some guitars from 'new' for periods of 8-20 years, I've noted those traits. These guitars were a Gibson early '70s Hummingbird from 1972 until 1990, HD-35 from 1990 until 2003, and an AJRI from 2003--brand new--until tonight. IME a guitar that sounds 'bad' probably will never sound 'great', but a guitar that starts out sounding pretty darned good can get better. I've never had a guitar that didn't have pretty good sustain to begin with so am offering this based only upon top end & cut. Bass & overall sound quality can get better too. I'd just play it a lot. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijs Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Thanks for the replies guys. What about the weight, the 2011 being lighter, any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uyasgali Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Thanks for the replies guys. What about the weight, the 2011 being lighter, any thoughts? You are either seeing a difference in density or it could just be humidity. I don't know where you are but I think it is pretty dry in Montana. If your climate is more humid, you may see the bird get a little heavier in a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 what is the official weight of a hummingbird? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 LOL! The weight of a Hummingbird: lighter than a Dove and much lighter than a Southern Jumbo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijs Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 Ok, here's an update guys. After an inititial period of getting used to each other, I was more and more happy about my choice to sacrifice some sustain (my previous Bird sustained for hours) and clarity for a better bass response. But the guitar would become near perfect for me with just a little more clarity and sustain. To clear things up I put on EJ16s instead of the standard Gibson strings, but even better: yesterday I switched to an ivory saddle (my luthier had an old ivory sculpture he uses for making saddles). The difference is subtle, but just enough to make my Bird the near perfect guitar for me. Now let's see how the guitar opens up over the coming months (really looking forward to that!). While I had the saddle replaced my luthier also replaced the ugly plastic pins with rosewood ones. Doesn't she look sweet now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I have got that same thing from all my guitars, electric and accoustic. When it comes to dialing in a particular instrument the way you want it, strings make a huge difference. I use different brands on nearly all my guitars for this reason. To me, Martin SP 80/20 are the brightest strings, they are real "sweet" as well. I also find that Dean Markley are brighter than most but sound more "rich" than "sweet". Also, I have found that with accoustics, they can be sensitive to string gauge. Having strings too tight actually can choke the guitar from vibrating. Not that heavy strings don't work or sound good, but sometimes a lighter gauge actually gives a little more volume for some guitars. And, it can affect the tone quite a bit. On the whole, heavier guitars usually sound darker, and lighter guitars usually sound brighter. If you have a lighter bird with great bass, you could have a potential tone monster there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Beautiful Bird. Time to fly. . . and let us hear how it opens - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Beautiful. I could stare at those Hummingbirds all day long. I would definitely go for the more bassier version, otherwise the HB's can sometime feel like thyre lacking in punch. Congratulations ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Looks amazing, congrats on the purchase. Hope you have many a happy year with your new guitar. All the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 . Great pic. Beautiful 'Bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_78 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Ok, here's an update guys. After an inititial period of getting used to each other, I was more and more happy about my choice to sacrifice some sustain (my previous Bird sustained for hours) and clarity for a better bass response. But the guitar would become near perfect for me with just a little more clarity and sustain. To clear things up I put on EJ16s instead of the standard Gibson strings, but even better: yesterday I switched to an ivory saddle (my luthier had an old ivory sculpture he uses for making saddles). The difference is subtle, but just enough to make my Bird the near perfect guitar for me. Now let's see how the guitar opens up over the coming months (really looking forward to that!). While I had the saddle replaced my luthier also replaced the ugly plastic pins with rosewood ones. Doesn't she look sweet now? Very beautiful, the Gibson bridge looks better with rosewood pins, I think I'll take a set for my Sheryl Crow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g6120 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Curious is your Hummingbird a honeyburst ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Beautiful. I could stare at those Hummingbirds all day long. One of the things I appreciate so much 'bout this Board : A comment like this from a person who already has 3 G's in the stall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijs Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 Curious is your Hummingbird a honeyburst ? Not it's not, but I understand you asking if it is. When I look at other Cherry Sunbursts, e.g. on Les Pauls, I see a totally different colour (more reddish) than the burst on these Birds. The brown-yellowish burst of my Les Paul comes closer to the colour of the Hummingbird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijs Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 One of the things I appreciate so much 'bout this Board : A comment like this from a person who already has 3 G's in the stall. So true that this is great about this board, makes me feel 'understood' Friends and family would say "hey that's a nice guitar", but they do not really get why I am looking at my and other people's guitars all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 with regard to the weight difference, are there electronics in both of them? and also, do they both have the grover tuners? I've played a few where whatever pickup system was in the guitar seemed to add a pound or more to the weight of the guitar. And if you had lighter tuners on the previous one the grovers could change the balance a little making it feel heavy and generally a little different. I changed the tuning machines in my norlin hummingbird from the originals to a set of waverlys a couple of years ago and i could feel it right away. beautiful guitar you've got! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijs Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Both had grovers and both had a pickup. But maybe the pickup system has had an upgrade since 2009 making the 2011 lighter. I guess I'll never know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyVader Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Looking sweet.. I want to replace my Hummingbird bridge pins with bone one's from Bob Colosi...but nobody knows the size!? Don't understand? if Gibson only make one size in Rosewood surely it's the size I need for bone? Come on experts....any help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Just send him the original pins and he will match them, thats what I did. Looking sweet.. I want to replace my Hummingbird bridge pins with bone one's from Bob Colosi...but nobody knows the size!? Don't understand? if Gibson only make one size in Rosewood surely it's the size I need for bone? Come on experts....any help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fermfs Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 I´m jelous!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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