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Retirement Present, Hummingbird???

Geebson

By Geebson
in Gibson Acoustic

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Geebson

Geebson

Posted
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This is my first post so I will briefly tell you a little of my story. I Retired last November after 30 years working as a Design Engineer for a major Military Aircraft Manufacturer. Hows that for brief?

 

Anyway I come to the forum to research my Retirement present from me to me. I have fooled around with Guitar for over 40 years and I am looking to spend no more than $2500.00. BTW I have a J-45 in fact my 5th one since I was 14. I don't need another one of those and $2500 is my drop dead maximum. I say drop dead because my wife is and will be looking over my shoulder until I am done buying this. There are so many seemingly nice Guitars on the market these days I figured I needed help, so here I am. I see a lot of used Hummingbirds in my price range and I've wanted one since I was a kid but didn't have the bucks. For those of you that own them are you happy with it? Would you buy it again? I only get one shot at this so I want to be sure, you see my wife doesn't like the pick guard (Female Logic escapes me) so if I have to return it I will never hear the end of it.

 

I like to play the Blues, Southern Rock, some Country and Bluegrass.

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EuroAussie

EuroAussie

Posted
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Hi, and welcome to the forum !

 

What a wonderful idea for a retirenment present.

 

The Hummingbird of course is an iconic guitar, unique in the way it looks and sounds.

 

I have two of them a late 60's version which has a dry and rusty tone and a Hummingbird True Vintage which has a the nectar, honey come tone that they are famous for.

 

My recommendation would be to play a few of them as I found the Bird's to be somewhat inconsistent.

 

However given your style of music preferance, I sort of wonder if the Bird would be ideal for that style ?

 

The J-45 is the obvious choice, but Im thinking the Advanced Jumbo or J-200 might be a little more suitable ?

 

Either way, this will be a lot fun for sure !

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JuanCarlosVejar

JuanCarlosVejar

Posted
Posted

This is my first post so I will briefly tell you a little of my story. I Retired last November after 30 years working as a Design Engineer for a major Military Aircraft Manufacturer. Hows that for brief?

 

Anyway I come to the forum to research my Retirement present from me to me. I have fooled around with Guitar for over 40 years and I am looking to spend no more than $2500.00. BTW I have a J-45 in fact my 5th one since I was 14. I don't need another one of those and $2500 is my drop dead maximum. I say drop dead because my wife is and will be looking over my shoulder until I am done buying this. There are so many seemingly nice Guitars on the market these days I figured I needed help, so here I am. I see a lot of used Hummingbirds in my price range and I've wanted one since I was a kid but didn't have the bucks. For those of you that own them are you happy with it? Would you buy it again? I only get one shot at this so I want to be sure, you see my wife doesn't like the pick guard (Female Logic escapes me) so if I have to return it I will never hear the end of it.

 

I like to play the Blues, Southern Rock, some Country and Bluegrass.

 

where do you live ? or plan on living in retirement . I would advise you to visit a 5 star gibson acoustic dealer in your area so you can try different hummingbirds in that price range and pick the one you enjoy best . you can check out what 5 star gibson acoustic dealer is closer to you here : http://www2.gibson.com/Support/Acoustic-Five-Star-Dealers.aspx

 

 

if you are wondering what a 5 star dealer is here is what gibson says :

 

Gibson Acoustic Five Star Dealers are the world's finest destination for the Gibson enthusiast or those looking to handpick a new Gibson acoustic guitar. These dealers are experts in their field, have a full-selection of Gibson acoustics in the store and certified Gibson Acoustic specialists on staff to help you find the guitar that was handmade for you. Our elite dealers also have access to exclusive

Five Star models.

 

These unique and highly-prized instruments are a mix of historic and innovative models created only for this special dealer network. They are constructed with the expertise and close supervision of the master builders in Bozeman with only a limited number available worldwide. Find a Gibson Acoustic Five Star Dealer, and find a dealer with a reputation for having the best Gibson acoustic guitars, the most knowledgeable staff, and the greatest selection so you can find the Gibson acoustic guitar

that's meant for you

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hope this helps

 

 

 

 

 

 

JC

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Dave F

Dave F

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I just bought a new one from a five star dealer last month for $2,398.

It's quickly becoming one of my favorites. Very comfortable and a nice balanced sound.

I'm mostly fingerpickin' lately so I don't know how that fits into your style.

I agree with the others that if you can get to a five star dealer that carries what your looking for try them out.

I'm not in that situation so if I want to try something out I usually have to buy it. Most of your good dealers will accept returns withing 14 days as long as it's returned in new condition and you absorb the shipping which is okay with me.

Good luck and congratulations on your retirement.

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Geebson

Geebson

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I play Bluegrass on my J-45 and have been for years. I could never get used to the Martin sound although I bought 2 D-28s over the years just to turn around and sell them, sometimes I'm a slow learner. The last time I looked at the Hummingbirds they were approaching 3k and there were none in the used market, now there are lots in the used market and I just saw one for $2400 that was less than 2 months old. As far as dealers in my area, I wish. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the closest music store is over an hour away and all they have is Asian Imports like Eastman and Blueridge. I haven't seen a real music store since I moved here last year. Chances are I will be buying without trying from the Internet which I can live with because I do good setup work and have all the tools I need to do it right. Us Engineers never get over the need to tinker...

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RichG

RichG

Posted
Posted

whats confusing ?

Maybe just a typo, but on the AGF site a poster with a different name but the same story looking for a new guitar, except there he is a D28 owner and here he is a J45 owner. When a J45 was suggested on the other site, there was no indication he owned one. Maybe it's just a parallel universe thing or a time warp. I never trusted the Internet anyhow. [rolleyes] In any case he has got good advice on both forums.

 

 

Rich

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Mojorule

Mojorule

Posted
Posted

Maybe just a typo, but on the AGF site a poster with a different name but the same story looking for a new guitar, except there he is a D28 owner and here he is a J45 owner. When a J45 was suggested on the other site, there was no indication he owned one. Maybe it's just a parallel universe thing or a time warp. I never trusted the Internet anyhow. [rolleyes] In any case he has got good advice on both forums.

 

 

Rich

 

Well clearly it's a political correctness thing. On AGF it's offensive to utter the term J45, so people just call it a D28 instead.

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iwalktheline

iwalktheline

Posted
Posted

This is my first post so I will briefly tell you a little of my story. I Retired last November after 30 years working as a Design Engineer for a major Military Aircraft Manufacturer. Hows that for brief?

 

Anyway I come to the forum to research my Retirement present from me to me. I have fooled around with Guitar for over 40 years and I am looking to spend no more than $2500.00. BTW I have a J-45 in fact my 5th one since I was 14. I don't need another one of those and $2500 is my drop dead maximum. I say drop dead because my wife is and will be looking over my shoulder until I am done buying this. There are so many seemingly nice Guitars on the market these days I figured I needed help, so here I am. I see a lot of used Hummingbirds in my price range and I've wanted one since I was a kid but didn't have the bucks. For those of you that own them are you happy with it? Would you buy it again? I only get one shot at this so I want to be sure, you see my wife doesn't like the pick guard (Female Logic escapes me) so if I have to return it I will never hear the end of it.

 

I like to play the Blues, Southern Rock, some Country and Bluegrass.

 

 

 

Hi and welcome, I agree with euroaussie. If you are able to play one or two at a store try them out first. If not I say go for it, they are fantastic guitars. I had a 1996 vintage burst and now have a 1996 cherry burst and they were and are great guitars. Yes, if you go the vintage route you have to be careful, as I unfortunately learned the hard way about 70's gibson acoustics when I bought my 76' Dove. Just make sure if you buy online they have a return policy that if you don't like it or it doesn't feel right to you, you can return it. Good luck, have fun and let us know.....

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E-minor7

E-minor7

Posted
Posted

Aha, , , an interesting case for the Sherlock of the Board. While he gets his magnifying-glass up I hear Columbo comin' from the left :

Mister Geebson, , , can I put one more question. . . ?

 

 

I just say - Hello there, , , go out and try some Birds. Under all circumstances it will be worth it.

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