thegreatgumbino

😂 I am just a funny name! Funny looking too, thus the reason I keep my anonymity in the video! Thanks for the kind words, 62. I appreciate you taking the time to listen.

The AGF songwriter threads have been pretty cool to check out folk's versions of songs. I posted my version of Bob Dylan's "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" played on my 2018 J45 Vintage and recorded on an iPhone 11. Figured I would share it here too.

Man, I wish I could have pulled one of these off. I love the look of the J150 with the unbound neck and headstock. I'm also not 100% sold on the torrefied tops, so the thin finish on a traditional top is very intriguing to me.

Congratulations! I'm jealous. Would love to grab one of these. How much did it end up costing?

Thanks for sharing! I’m glad to see it’s not torrefied. I wish they’d put out the cost on it. What did they charge for your pre-order, and who did you place it with? The anthem is a step up over the VTC included in the SJ-200 Original. I was unaware the original models didn’t come with the anthem, as my 2019 SJ-200 standard has one.

Congratulations. Can’t wait to see pics and hear about the specs. Interesting that it’s so close to delivery and Gibson hasn’t published any information about it.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I’ve had the same happen as well, and they took excellent care of me. Made me a Gibson fan for life.

I agree with you, Sal. His performance gave me chills. Simply amazing.

I tend to agree with you. I’m not completely sold on torrefication, yet ( and I have a J45 Vintage).

I don't know how you can make that blanket statement without seeing the specs on the NG? It's well known the J150 is a dressed down J200. Some folks don't need/want the neck/headstock binding. Additionally, we do not know if the NG has a torrified top (like the Love Dove) or not.

I wish they’d post specs for it.

I had a Gibson with the dreaded tuner impression in the headstock. It can be buffed out by a competent repair guy. Mine was hardly noticeable after being done. To clarify, my understanding is they used micro mesh level it out and then buffed it.

The bad nut was on the Epiphone "IBG" J45 I played previously. No issues with the nut on this 'Bird. I'm quite happy with the setup on it.

Thank you! Vertigo is gone, thankfully. I've had a couple extended opportunities to play this new 'Bird and can say the tone and playability is fantastic. It's incredibly fun to play. I'm amazed how great this guitar is for the price and re-iterate my desire that Epiphone will issue an "Inspired by Gibson" Dove and J185. I would be all over those in a heartbeat if they're anywhere close to this 'Bird. I tune my guitars to standard D and am currently using the the stock strings. Will switch them to Martin Retro mediums in the near future. The rough binding issue appears to be caused by portions of the lacquer that weren't fully removed in the clean up. Running my fingernail over them has smoothed them out.

Correct, I bought it. Spoke with Gibson warranty support today and they’re sending me a new pick guard. A local authorized repair shop will install it for me. Sorry for the delay. I’ve been dealing with insomnia and vertigo and haven’t been checking in much or playing it much since pick it up. Will post some more thoughts, pics and hopefully a recording soon.

I picked one up at Guitar Center yesterday. Been keeping an eye out for one in town since they were announced and this was the first "Inspired by" Hummingbird I could get my hands on. I've played plenty of Hummingbirds and the new Sheryl Crow CW Supreme in the past and knew I wanted to add one to my herd (have a Gibson J200 and J45 Vintage) but it's been cost prohibitive. Sal's review and song postings did me in. First impressions are it's well built with nice fit, finish and playability. I dig the aged gloss finish. My only nitpicks at this point are there are several rough spots on the binding around the body that could have been easily smoothed out. Also, the binding at the neck is choppy where it meets the fretboard up and down the full length of the neck. I recognized these issues at the store but it didn't stop me from purchasing because the tone and playability is great. I agree with what Sal has shared about them having "a little treble shaved off compared to a real Bird". I was able to A-B this one against a Gibson Hummingbird Standard. The Gibson was definitely smoother, more refined, more treble, better attention to detail, better setup, better pickup and lighter than the Epiphone. But the real deal is $3,000 more than the $800 Epiphone too. I would estimate the Epiphone gets you 70% of the Gibson at a fraction of the price. It's just a fun guitar to play and sing with. I like the rounded C neck on it, which seems a little fuller than the Gibson (a good thing IMO). Unfortunately, when I got it home and played it for a bit, I noticed the pick guard is lifting under the strings near the bridge. Not sure that I'll keep it at this point due to this. Need to call customer service and see what they can do to remedy it. If nothing, then I'll return it and look for another. One "Inspired by" J45 popped up a couple weeks ago, which I was able to play as well. The J45 was very well built with nice fit, finish and playability as well. It didn't have the binding issues that the Hummingbird does. I would have walked out with it if not for a poor setup. The nut slots were too low and there were a couple high frets which caused some rattles and sitar sounds on the treble strings. These are very nice guitars and I'm hoping Epiphone will continue the trend with an Inspired by Dove & J-185. I'd grab one of both in a heartbeat if they sounded as good as the two examples I've been able to play.

I sure wish they’d announce the specs and release it. Hoping it’s a reasonable price.

Not saying it doesn't work for some. I read it worked before trying and was surprised it didn't for my guitar. It was more surprising I didn't find anything about this issue in a google search. Just $0.02 update to make folks aware of my results.

Just a heads up, I tried replacing the gold tulip buttons on my Grover Rotomatic Keystone 102 tuners with the "pearl" Hipshot buttons to try to recreate the green tulips without changing tuners. Seemed like a no brainer for $20. It didn't work out for me. The Hipshot screws are longer than the stock screws to accomodate the longer Hipshot buttons. For whatever reason, this change creates an issue where the black part of the sealed Grover tuner is forced out of the tuner when turned past a certain point, at which time the purchase length of the tuner shaft changes and there isn't enough for the Hipshot button to grab. This results in the Hipshot button twisting around the tuner shaft without adjusting the tuner. Also, if you use gold tuners, the Hipshot buttons only come with chrome screws, which isn't a deal breaker, but it did take a minute to get used to.

I noticed that too. Cracks me up.

Thanks for posting this! I'm excited to find out more on it. Looks to be a VOS type finish, no? Curious to see what they price it at. The SJ200 studio walnut is $3,150 and the rosewood is $3,649. Hoping it's affordable.

I agree with your take. It’s the primary reason I posted it. It’s par for the course in today’s society, in my opinion. A portion of our society is unable to do for themselves any longer, and they cast blame when things aren’t going their way.

I get it. You're not a Gibson fan boy, but this video doesn't make sense to me on many levels.

LOL I love Noel. He and Richard Ashcroft are the reason I own my J200. I'm curious to see how they price his J150. I'm curious to see the Tom Petty J200 as well.