Do Gibson Hummingbirds still have that sticky lacquer finish?

[fortyearspickn]

my mate had a gubson SG once , the neck of it went stivky after a while playing

 

I guess we'd have to take a survey to come up with a statistically valid answer to the sticky neck allegation. I've only had stickiness on my guitars when I had some foreign substance on my hands. Beer is one that comes to mind. A drop on your thumb will go a long way. Sweat or humidity will help spread it around on your neck. I always use my right hand to hold the longneck, so's I don't stickify the guitar neck.

[aliasphobias]

There are a lot of different Hummingbirds out there. Aside from the "pro" and "artist" model (which I don't consider to be 'birds at all except in name) there are standards, customs & re-issues. There are some with hog b&s, maple b&s, koa, rosewood, etc. Just as in the early days of the Hummingbird there are some with the a 25.5 scale and some with 24.75 scale. With that many options it would be difficult to say that each was made with the vocalist in mind. That said my '93, 25.5 scale seems to fit the bill just fine. To me it has a "lush" sound that does not get in the way of vocals but compliments them (I can't say my AJ does the same thing).

As for the sticky neck it may be a body chemistry thing. Try one of the older ones. They have been in production since their introduction so it should not be hard to find models from each era. If I am not mistaken, the early Bozemans (up to '97?) were long scale (hog and maple), after that short scale. Enjoy the hunt. It looks like you are on the right path.

[j45nick]

I am considering buying a new Gibson Hummingbird and I noticed that many top guitar makers no longer use lacquer finish on the necks because of staining and stickiness in heat humidity and sweated work outs on the guitars. I am also concerned that I have heard so many stories about inconsistent quality in both build and overly extreme varied top burst variations, as well as highly inconsistent tone quality between models, particularly on the Hummingbird model.

 

This is one of those "have you stopped beating your wife?" questions. There's no rational way to answer it. If you've heard Gibson has all these problems, why would you even consider buying one?

[J200_2013]

Can you imagine a guitar being built to compliment Keith Richard's voice?...lol... Keith is a lot of things, but a singer isn't one of them. One heck of a guitar player though.

I hadn't heard of Morrison playing a Hummingbird either, but who knows what went on in the hotel rooms and writing sessions? I wouldn't be surprised if Morrison played guitar. Mick Jagger plays. Hardly ever on stage, but he does play. Of course, with Richards and Ronnie Wood the bases are covered.

 

No,I can't, but...I still like Keith Richard's Cocaine Blues, owing much to John Hurt's version.

[E-minor7]

Why do you think the Stones named an album "Sticky Fingers"?

 

What were YOU thinking?

Hehe he, , , Kentucky Fried Chicks anno 1970. . .

 

Sticky neck ? My J-45 Standard became very greasy the first summer. Maybe a bit less the second. Look forward to see what happens within a month or 2.

Never had the issue with the TV Bird or the F-bird - Gibson inconsistency I presume.

 

 

 

 

 

[MissouriPicker]

Yeah, Richards is great at putting his own spin on the old roots/blues sounds. Sounds like he's been there and done that. Very real to my ears. You don't have to be a great troubadour to sound cool. You just have to be real and Richards is who he is and he makes no apologies.