Tekboy Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Hi all, I have what may be a 1973 neck on a 1969 Hummingbird body. I will post a bunch of pictures after I print out the criteria and take the pictures, and upload them to my computer, and figure out how to post them here. On another note, can anyone provide information about Artisan Series Hummingbirds, and who they were given to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 About the only thing I can say about necks is that if it is a 1968 it would have the skimpy 1 9/16" nut. Gibson went back to a 1 11/16" nut the following year. I have never even heard of an Artisan Series HB. There were, of course, Les Paul Artisans which were offered between the mid-1970s and early 1980s. I believe these were all made in Kalamazoo with three pickups and had fancy inlay down the board. As far as I know they were not presentation guitars but just commercially available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDuke Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Hi all, I have what may be a 1973 neck on a 1969 Hummingbird body. I will post a bunch of pictures after I print out the criteria and take the pictures, and upload them to my computer, and figure out how to post them here. On another note, can anyone provide information about Artisan Series Hummingbirds, and who they were given to? Do you mean Artist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekboy Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Do you mean Artist? I am not sure. There is an "A" in the first character of the serial number on the guitar. It is an "A" followed by 6 numbers. And it is a Hummingbird. A Cherry Sunburst Hummingbird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 It looks like a 70s Hummingbird to me. Why do you suspect the body is from 1969? The "A" at the beginning of the serial number was used during the early 70s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 I am not sure. There is an "A" in the first character of the serial number on the guitar. It is an "A" followed by 6 numbers. And it is a Hummingbird. A Cherry Sunburst Hummingbird. As KSdaddy says, A+ six digits (ie, A 123456) is a standard 1973-1975 serial number. The "A" has nothing to do with a model designation. The guitar should have the serial number stamped on the back of the headstock, and "made in USA", on two lines, stamped below that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekboy Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 As KSdaddy says, A+ six digits (ie, A 123456) is a standard 1973-1975 serial number. The "A" has nothing to do with a model designation. The guitar should have the serial number stamped on the back of the headstock, and "made in USA", on two lines, stamped below that. While the Serial Number is stamped on the back of the headstock, there is no Made in USA stamped on it. I am questioning the date, as it has a label inside saying Union Made In Kalamazoo, and it looks to be authentic. I should just go take the pictures, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Knowing Gibson, the Made in USA stamping person went to pee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 While the Serial Number is stamped on the back of the headstock, there is no Made in USA stamped on it. I am questioning the date, as it has a label inside saying Union Made In Kalamazoo, and it looks to be authentic. I should just go take the pictures, I guess. Yes, more pictures would be helpful. Remember that this is Gibson, so no specific combination of characteristics, whether it is those of the guitar or those of the serial number or label, is necessarily absolutely definitive. Gibson serial number characteristics, in particular, have been problematic in the past, as have labels in some periods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekboy Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Yes, more pictures would be helpful. Remember that this is Gibson, so no specific combination of characteristics, whether it is those of the guitar or those of the serial number or label, is necessarily absolutely definitive. Gibson serial number characteristics, in particular, have been problematic in the past, as have labels in some periods. It sure plays and sounds wonderful. I will try to get the proper light for the rest of the pictures. It reflects whatever is in front of it, it would seem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Knowing Gibson, the Made in USA stamping person went to pee. I like that. You have just added a description to our guitar vocabulary - the Needing a Pee Break Guitar. We used to call those guitars with strange quirks the Friday Afternoon Waiting for the Whistle to Blow Guitars meaning somebody must have been in an all-fired hurry to finish something up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 As KSdaddy says, A+ six digits (ie, A 123456) is a standard 1973-1975 serial number. The "A" has nothing to do with a model designation. The guitar should have the serial number stamped on the back of the headstock, and "made in USA", on two lines, stamped below that. It would not be difficult to determine if the guitar was built 1973 to 1975 as it will have the lower second X brace and a diamond shaped bridge plate that fills the entire space in between the two X's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekboy Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Well, after studying for the last two days, I am certain that it is a 1973 Hummingbird. I am just bugged about the "Union Label". At any rate, it plays and sounds like what I always wanted. :) The uploader says some of my files are too big, even though I am far below 500k for the post. MAYBE it will let me put them in another reply. EDIT: I figured it out. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekboy Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 By the way, I want to thank all of you, not only for your help, but for not "talking down to me". It means a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 The tuners sure are right for a 1973 with no indication that the earlier style Grovers nor anything else had been there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 By the way, I want to thank all of you, not only for your help, but for not "talking down to me". It means a great deal. We try to help here. That label is definitely early/mid 1970's. In 1969, the label would still have been the sold orange oval version. Based on the serial number and label, plus the visible characteristics, 1973 looks like the right call. The lack of a made in USA stamp on the headstock doesn't change this, even though that stamp is typical in that period. For virtually every Gibson "rule", there is at least one exception. Things like labels are good examples, especially for establishing timelines. More often than not, changes in label style occurred when the stock of older-style labels was finally used up, rather than on a specific date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekboy Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 The tuners sure are right for a 1973 with no indication that the earlier style Grovers nor anything else had been there. Those tuners are stiff and fussy. But it stays in tune remarkably well. I use Elixir strings and that may be part of it, but my experience is that where I live, anything away from the air conditioning usually makes staying in tune sort of problematic with many guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 When it comes to labels even after Epi production moved to Japan you could still find them sporting Union-Made in Kalamazoo labels. Guilds continued to use the Made in Hoboken labels for a bit after they had moved to Westerly, RI causing all kinds of confusion today. And so it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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