Tom Petty's Hummingbird

[Jinder]

That’s a Lawsuit era Bird, probably a Terada or similar from the FujiGen Gakki plant, mid-70s. The logo would have been added at some point after it was sold by an optimistic owner hoping to pass it off as the real deal.

 

I had a Terada Dove for a while, tune-o-matic and all. Pretty but not a great guitar.

 

The best lawsuit era guitar I’ve owned was a Kiso Suzuki Hummingbird, wonderful guitar built by a high end Japanese violin manufacturer, super light and resonant.

[BC Mike 118]

That's a Lawsuit era Bird, probably a Terada or similar from the FujiGen Gakki plant, mid-70s. The logo would have been added at some point after it was sold by an optimistic owner hoping to pass it off as the real deal.

 

I had a Terada Dove for a while, tune-o-matic and all. Pretty but not a great guitar.

 

The best lawsuit era guitar I've owned was a Kiso Suzuki Hummingbird, wonderful guitar built by a high end Japanese violin manufacturer, super light and resonant.

 

Good info. It could fool some people without that knowledge & especially being a genuinely older guitar.

[J-1854Me]

Agree with most comments here.....

 

....but, do be careful about the 'baby and bathwater' effect when it comes to dismissing all Gibsons on the basis of the "three-screw trussrod cover".

 

Gibson actually did use that design in the Norlin era. For example, here's a 1973 J160E headstock sporting that very arrangement:

 

So -- yes, generally -- the 3-screw TRC = "suspicious", but is not ALWAYS proof of a "fake".

 

Fred

[62burst]

Good point, Fred. Also, the logo did look like that for a time during the "dark" days for Gibson acoustics. Unlikely to see a knock-off from that era.

 

Here's the logo from the eBay listing BCMike was looking at (although judging by the view through the soundhole, I don't see where the seller got rare "Maple" from):

 

 

Here's a 1978 Hummingbird Label (it's write-up on https://guitarchimp.com/products/1978-gibson-hummingbird-custom-ebony-black):

 

[Tyler A]

That’s good to know. I guess it’s like most rules, there are always exceptions

[62burst]

That’s good to know. I guess it’s like most rules, there are always exceptions

Yes, but with many of the imposters trying to look like a Gibson, in the ornamentation, and the label, they often go a bit far, adding things that aren't on the original. For example, the logo has some things in common, but the added "guarantee against . . . " some have it, some don't.

[OldCowboy]

Bridge is wrong, too.

[62burst]

Bridge is wrong, too.

Is that a plastic bridge on there? :

 

[OldCowboy]

Is that a plastic bridge on there? :

 

Possibly - my guess is maple with a coat of paint. And I've never seen an adj saddle from that era.

[SirNed]

Possibly - my guess is maple with a coat of paint. And I've never seen an adj saddle from that era.

 

I believe it's plastic that's made to look like wood (like some AV furniture from that era i.e. Atari 2600). I have an early 70s Ventura V-6 D-18 clone that has a plastic saddle like that...and it is adjustable. Guess they wanted to swipe designs from both companies.

 

The logo I mentioned above was the referring to the headstock inlay. I didn't notice the label details.