62burst

I often can't remember what day it is, but 'Bird details tend to stick a little bit better. . . I thought your Honeyburst quilt was a custom order. Or by custom order, it was a special run for GC, like the one GC did in 2007? Yours is a looker, IIRC, but you could always refresh our memories with a pic (hint). I'll start: oh, that quilt (from the 2007 GC run): a nice fine-grained top:

uh-oh. Be careful. You, or the tech should take some measurements first.

That is what some internet looking was saying. But as Emin7 was suggesting- specs could jump around. I thought I'd heard Mark Agnesi, or someone mention it, if not in that Norm's demo, maybe some other video. But in the above Norm's clip, he made it sound like Gibson made too many Doves (maple), so they put Hummingbird pickguards on them and sold them as HB's. Ok to do a bit of oversimplification for those who don't go into the weeds of guitar nerdom, but if that was the case, wouldn't these have the long scale Dove neck then, too?

✔️.

Now that you mention it, no, the position marker dots don't seem to be exactly centered on the neck binding. Wondering why. . . if the fretboard was to be resurfaced at some point, maybe there was a concern about shaving off the top of the dots? Nahh. . . couldn't be. But while discussing fretwork for a guitar with a bound neck, and if the binding complicates things, there's something else you might also want to think about - nibs. . . the small bit of binding that extends up to meet the fret ends. Some have 'em, some don't. Have a look at the pics already posted to your thread: the SJ-200's made in the 2000's have them. 'Hard to find images of a J-200 from 1989 showing neck binding detail. Broken Strings Guitars (searched) and the prototype '89 on currently on eBay might barely provide a clue. Just make it look nice. Unless someone was trying to prove a forgery, you should be ok.

'Was wondering the same thing. Is this the same '63 in this Norman's clip (maple HummingDove begins at 2:08): EDIT: . . . these are long scale? I didn't hear the bass response they were hearing, and thought with the square shoulders there should be some to be had. The ADJ ceramic saddle + maple = an acquired taste ? EDIT2: Mark A mentions how the Doves of that era had a darker burst on them. Certainly not an Iced Tea burst whose original burst has faded.

How long have you had the '200? Many people come over to acoustic guitars from electrics and find the acoustic is not quite as slinky as their electric. They then try to get the guitar setup as low as possible. Avoiding string buzz is one challenge, but there is also an ideal distance for string height above the soundhole to be mindful of. Is/was the scale length of your electric the same as the 25.5" on the J-200? Did you happen to have flat wound strings on the electric? As those who've mentioned above, just confirm that the action height is within specs, and proceed to put the time in. Your fingertips will harden with time. Have a look at this chart from Sweetwater. . . some manufacturers have setup specs for acoustics a good bit higher than for their electrics:

Be careful of what we ask for, huh, Mike?

That's a nice avatar- partially decomposed calabash? From a non-imgur upload? remember Photobucket? they ended up taking the photos hostage. I really don't see any ads on imgur. At ALL. EraSer EDIT: oh, upon further inspection- garden gnome, right?

and . . . From what I hear, yes (though I really don't care terribly much unless I'm trying to harden or soften the sound of the guitar, . . . . . . like sculpture, it is easier to remove more, than to add more. and yes, the headstock stamping is lightly stamped to begin with, then becomes filled in a bit more when finish is applied. And lastly, it is hard to believe that this thread has gone to 10 pages.

It's fine. Like Jalex said it could be bear claw, or some other sort of irregularity in the grain that affects how the finish reflects light. Google some images of bear claw, bear claw + Gibson sunburst guitar, etc. Your guitar is unique, and should that Hummingbird disappear on you, it would be easier to spot it online should someone try to resell it. It's more likely that people new to nitro-finished guitars with pointy pickguards, like those that are on the H-bird, would get flustered when the pickguard starts to lift a little at the "points". Any chance you could share a pic of the guitar that is less zoomed in? If you upload to imgur.com using "Direct Link", it could be imbedded here without running up against the forum's meager image data allowance. Enjoy your new Hummingbird.

Yes, I was thinking small touchup spray gun, shooting through a stencil held a few inches off of the MiniBird to get the fade for the burst (?)

When is a Dove not a Dove? When it is played as skillfully as that. 'Had to grab a guitar to see (just into the 3rd minute), as I was sure it was another case of "I can't hear the true nature of the guitar, 'cause it's in an alt tuning". Not the case here. Yes, the sound had "Gibson" written all over it, but personally, that sound was more about the guitar's operator. Glad to see the Dove lend a hand.

Well I did say I was looking to scale down. And although some of the details might come up short, that is a nice 'burst. Earlier, the MiniBird was showing as sold out, but now = "in stock". Cute, but I'd rest easier if it was still unavailable. It would be almost as interesting to see how these are finished as it would be to see the real deal.

'Did that before, and it works for a surprisingly long time. But it wasn't a J-200. Fairly sure. But OP Antonio is talking '80's Gibson, so who knows.

Fixing a hole where the tone goes in? D 'Don't know if there's any fill around the dots, though.

well, that glass of tonal Koolaid was only half full. 'Should've said that putting adirondack top on a maple guitar might take things a bit off in one particular direction. EDIT: a tasty example- The (dramatique) Toasted Bird :

It could just be another feature used to justify the increase in the cost of the guitar. Boyd- you’d have to take a look at some photos of natural topped guitars to see how the torrefication process would change the appearance of a guitar like a J-50, but on a sunburst guitar, the ‘burst finish takes on a more dramatic appearance. . grain lines more noticeably darkened. Something about curing that wood in the absence of oxygen.

What JCV was speculating regarding how maybe maple b & s might not be a good match with a torrefied top sounds like a fairly good guess- just as adirondack might be redundant, too- maple bodied guitars will more than cover much of the tonal real estate gained by a guitar w/ adi/red spruce. if anything, I’d want to warm/soften some of that maple bite with some tight grained Sitka.

Yeah, that was nice. The '45 sounded glassy smooth. Your 9-tenths vocals are always fun and felt.

The toasted tops still need some time to open, just not a matter of years. The Hummingbird Vintage did change noticeably. . . in one year.

My mistake. . . got my Smecks and Nicks confused. Nick Smeck? Roy Lucas? nahhh.

Good to hear. And it sounds like an interesting build. Is your deeper bodied rosewood Smeck a 12 fret, as well? ps: 'Burst-minded minds want to know. . . 'burst or natch?

Definitely. Difficult to monitor your progress. . . cutting into the top or bridgeplate would not be the desired result.

Very interesting. . . and congrats on getting that time machine dialed in for travel back to '64- As they say (~?) , modern Gibson finishes are not your grandfather's nitro' . And the same most likely goes for the tortoloid teardrop.