Hall Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 as always Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullmental Alpinist Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 He is also good at painting word descriptions of tonal differences. He's unexcelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 He is also good at painting word descriptions of tonal differences. He's unexcelled. Good guys, , , you are pulling my foreign tongued legs and playing with my inquiring mind as I tumble semi-blindfolded forward in an attempt to look up 'unexcelled'. But I burn for it ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeselmer Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Hi all, I am bringing this up again to report back how my Hummingbird quest has turned out. I've found out that Tim Christensen's super Hummingbird (as shown at the start of this thread) is actually from 1967, and has a fixed bridge installed. Well, I found myself another 'Bird from the exact same year! :-) It's natural finish, and has been refinished some 30 years ago, and has a lot of wear and beating and some professionally repaired cracks. But the MOJO is sweet. I took it to my luthier, who repaired some loose bracing and installed a fixed bridge. He also setup everything, including adjusting the truss rod, which seemed to be really loose (maybe the guitar was not played for a long time before me). The result: I am getting close to the perfect Hummingbird tone I am hearing on the Tim Christensen videos linked in this thread! The guitar sounds warm and the trebles ring nicely. It is a really inspirational guitar to play :-) Now, what I am a bit shocked about is just how big a change in tone the fixed bridge made...is the change always quite big? Before, with the adjustable bridge, the sound was really really BASSY and BIG, and there was not that much midrange. Granted, the bass notes sounded thuddy and inarticulate and it wasn't the most natural sound. With the fixed bridge, the guitar sounds less bassy and more balanced between bass/mids/trebles. It sounds more natural in a sense, like a guitar should. The sound has a bit more midrange and overall is more focused and kinda tight, which is something I am not sure whether I like...I kinda miss the huge bass response and looser and sweeter sound of before. In a sense it is stiffer now. Now, this change might have also been due to a couple of other things: 1) tightening up the loose truss rod, and 2) lower action after setup. I dunno, what's your take on this? I do still really like the more natural and even sound I am getting now, but what would you suggest me to try to get back some of the bass and looser feel? And it would be great to hear everybody else's experiences on how fixing the bridge saddle has affected their tone (especially with The Hummingbird). Did you experience similar changes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 When I replace my adj. 1963 SJ ceramic saddle with a removable wooden insert with ordinary sized bone saddle, it gets a bit tamed. The sound might bend toward more 'normal acoustic guitar', but by that something genuine vintage Gibsonesq is lost. Notice I'm not talking against the fix. I have a 1964 CW with permanently fixed saddle that sounds very good. Might have more core than the SJ, but isn't especially bassy. Would like to have heard it before the job. Also have a 1965 CW born with the wooden adjustable. This guitar now has a full-size saddle carved in old-vase-ivory (removable, but not adj). The last months they both have been tuned one whole step down and capoed on second fret. They're quite different and the A/B goes on forever. The straighter headstock-angled 65 bein' most the exotic - the 64 so decent and healthy (well as healthy as these deers can be) The saddle variations are and continues to be a highly interesting topic as it influences the identity of the guitar so much. Did the luthier suggest the changeable version, mentioned in my first line. Anyway, , , injoy the old Bird. I'm sure you will have fantastic times together. Should there be a before/after sound sample, , , - guess not. . Then maybe a tape of the way it sounds with the new bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeselmer Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Thanks for the reply, interesting points there. No, my luthier didn't suggest a removable option. He's a brilliant craftsman, so I trust him. In hindsight, it would have been good to discuss this. Funny you should mention that some of your old Gibsons are tuned down. I just tried tuning the Hummingbird down half a step, and it sounds really great! It makes the bass sound deeper, and gives a looser tone, which I am liking. I find the tone more vibrant and breathing this way. And, because I fingerpick and strum only lightly, I don't have to hit the strings so hard. Which brings me to my next consideration: why does my Humminbird sound better with looser strings? And even have deeper bass? Shouldn't it be that heavier strings sound better and bassier, as they make the top of the guitar vibrate more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Great thread - I just tuned in for the first time. Happy for your Bird quest. EM7 great painting! Is the top torrefied? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-1854Me Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 When I replace my adj. 1953 SJ ceramic saddle with a removable wooden insert with ordinary sized bone saddle, it gets a bit tamed. Say what...? That was surely not an original attribute on that guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeselmer Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just found a video that shows the bridge and saddle of Tim Christensen's Hummingbird in closeup...could somebody tell if there's anything special about it? Why does the saddle look filed (or something) under the treble strings? Any idea of the material? It looks whitr and sometimes a bit greyish in the videos I've seen. The closeup is at around 1min point: (BTW, for once, the guitar doesn't sound so super in this :-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Say what...? That was surely not an original attribute on that guitar. 1963 - Thanks ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Thank you so much, Nick, , , , and bbg - just you gentlemen wait till you see me paint with paint ! I love this guitar painting EM7! Your very talented! If I had painted this oil on canvas while I was in Commercial Art School my teacher would have loved it!. Unfortunately he assigned me to drawing oranges and bananas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 EM7 great painting! Is the top torrefied? Hehe, , torrefied, , , guess it is. . ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Looks a little scared , don't know about torrefied though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I love this guitar painting EM7! Your very talented! If I had painted this oil while I was in Commercial Art School my teacher would have loved it!. Unfortunately he assigned me to drawing oranges and bananas! Wow - thank you, sir. The teacher in art-school didn't get my things. Not paintings, but the rest. And I admit some of the stuff was pretty out there. . . . . . . . . Remember him saying, "mmmmm, , , it must be a life-style. . .". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Looks a little scared , don't know about torrefied though It is quite mojoed and has a lot of stories to tell, , , , wonder how it transmits with that slim bridge. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Can you guys really tell the difference when these are plugged in? or even infront of a Mic? Just wondering here.. with the solid state age.. and computers.. I cannot tell.. unless Im actually playing the guitar myself acousticly... as for Mr Tim C.. I like the guitar playing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeselmer Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 About tuning down a Hummingbird: does anybody else here have a Hummingbird that likes to be tuned down half a step or more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Hi all, first post here. For some time, I have been really impressed by the tone of the Gibson Hummingbird, as played by the Danish singer Tim Christensen. However, I haven't found a Hummingbird that sounds quite like this brilliant - full-bodied and warm, but the highs still ring great. The ones I've tried have sounded too thuddy, lacking mid-range articulation and have sounded kinda too compressed. Too mellow, in short. Mellow is ok, but I still need the mids/highs articulation, Here's some sound clips (there might be two different Hummingbirds in these): What kikd of Hummingbird should I be searching for to get these tones? I know that Tim Christensen is fond of 1973 and 1974 Hummingbirds, so that might be a start. The kind that sounds good to you when you play it.... I think if you look at the big picture you'll find people that can take a $4,000 dollar Gibson and make it sound like crap without even trying...You'll also find people that can make a cigar box guitar sound like a $4,000 dollar Gibson the same way. I use Gibson as an example here only because that is the brand you ask about, it goes for any brand really, recorded sound also is very different than live sound in the sense that live sound is 'raw sound' If you spend your time chasing someone else's sound you'll never come to realize your own......jmho. - What type of Hummingbird is he playing? Anything special? - Is this sound a typical Hummingbird sound? - Why does it sound better than the current ones I've tried? :-) - If it's a 70s model - shouldn't the 70s models sound bad because of the extra bracing? That's what seems to be the consensus and that's why I've shied away from them. Cheers! The kind that sounds good to you when you play it.... I think if you look at the big picture you'll find people that can take a $4,000 dollar Gibson and make it sound like crap without even trying...You'll also find people that can make a cigar box guitar sound like a $4,000 dollar Gibson the same way. I use Gibson as an example here only because that is the brand you ask about, it goes for any brand really, recorded sound also is very different than live sound in the sense that live sound is 'raw sound' If you spend your time chasing someone else's sound you'll never come to realize your own......jmho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 The kind that sounds good to you when you play it.... I think if you look at the big picture you'll find people that can take a $4,000 dollar Gibson and make it sound like crap without even trying...You'll also find people that can make a cigar box guitar sound like a $4,000 dollar Gibson the same way. I use Gibson as an example here only because that is the brand you ask about, it goes for any brand really, recorded sound also is very different than live sound in the sense that live sound is 'raw sound' If you spend your time chasing someone else's sound you'll never come to realize your own......jmho. That'd be my honest opinion also . there's an inherent tone to all guitar makes but its the singer not the song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeselmer Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 recorded sound also is very different than live sound in the sense that live sound is 'raw sound' If you spend your time chasing someone else's sound you'll never come to realize your own......jmho. Yep, I agree 100%. I am not trying to totally copycat someone else's tone (and fingers). I just want to have a really good guitar and make the best out of it, and not have to worry whether another guitar might sound better. I don't have possibility to try out many vintage Gibsons to compare, which is why I am keeping the Tim Christensen guitar as a basis towards which I am trying to get. And in the meantime I acknowledge he's a monster player and can really make those guitars sing. Watching him play inspires me to try and get even better tones out of my guitar and learn more. BTW, I saw him in an acoustic concert a couple of months ago and the tone of this particular Hummingbird was exactly like its recorded sounds and the sounds on the videos I have linked. Even the two other vintage Gibsons he had (an SJ and another one which I've forgotten) sounded kinda thin compared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I keep my H'Bird tuned down a full step. Sounds 'better' to my ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I keep my H'Bird tuned down a full step. Sounds 'better' to my ear. You have to put 13's on for that ? My j45 is down half a step but full step makes it a bit floppy and buzzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeselmer Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 You have to put 13's on for that ? My j45 is down half a step but full step makes it a bit floppy and buzzy Do you have 12's on your j45? Ever tried other gauges when tuned down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Yeah , 12's. I've tried 11's , which I didn't like the sound of tuned to pitch , never mind tuned down. Although we're talking very slight differences. Have yet to do the 13's . but will one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeselmer Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 Yeah , 12's. Have yet to do the 13's . but will one of these days. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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