peter l

This reviewer seems to think that the top is made of maple!

I own one of the newer SC Country Westerns. I’ve never been a Sheryl Crow fan - I don’t dislike her music but I don’t think about her often. I got the guitar because I love all of the ingredients. The newer ones have the thermally aged top, 30’s advanced bracing and a slightly wider nut. The “older” SC Country Westerns are very similar to the Standard Hummingbird which is a fantastic guitar. Good luck with your search!

By pointy, I mean the sharp attack in the mirange when strummed with a pick. The J-45 is an event, it has tons of character and is present in millions of successful recodings. I’m in no way arguing that it’s not good for recording because that would be stupid. Most hummingbirds that I’ve recorded have a very different EQ curve. The mids are a little less present maybe because of the different body shape? Some of the sonic information is shifted from the mid towards the lower end. To my ears, the h-bird is less of an event in the midrange. In a mix, the vocal usually lives in the midrange and there can be alot of competition in this range. If it’s a recording which calls for a strummed guitar, this strum has a very different role in the arrangement and the mix. It’s simply chords with rhythm that’s supposed to support a melody. It doesn’t necessarily take a back seat but it really shouldn’t compete. Of course this is a giant over generalization! Every handmade guitar sounds different. Every player has a different touch,. Every voice is different. There’s also microphones and mic placement. There are just countless variables. Luckily, with EQ you can successfully make room for all of the elements.

As an audio engineer, I’m not sure if a single acoustic guitar can cover every studio situation. With that said, the hummingbird is a pretty versatile guitar. What the hummingbird does very well is that it fits nicely with a voice. I find that there’s less EQ work needed to make sure that everything mixes well. Sometimes a D28 will sound so big that it leaves too little room for the voice. Sometimes a J-45 sounds too pointy. It all depends on the style, arrangement and performance, but I find the hummingbird works well very often.

Those are some handsome pens.

Glad to see that the forum is back on line?

There’s also a belief that as a guitar ages, the wood dries, making the top more flexible.

Craziness!

I think that this is kind of an annoying video. The host gives the impression that Gibson should be making their customers feel better about themselves. It seems like an odd perspective and a strange grievance.