bertrandbrebis Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Hi, Thank you for accepting me here, this is my first post! I had this HB in 1973 and it was stolen from me in 1976. I have old photos of that time and I'm surprised by the inlays in the fret board and the white dots on the pick guard. Do you know what year/model of HB it is? Actually I'm still sad about losing that guitar to the point where I'm about to order the VCS 2019 model :-) It was my first guitar, it might be my last one! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Looks like the white dots might be covering up screws that are holding the guard down. And the square inlays were on some Hbirds hard to say the year. But I had a 76 with those inlays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrandbrebis Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 Thank you. I've never seen those white dots on HB pick guards. It should be end of 60s or very early 70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 The screwed-on pickguards were typical of 1968 or so for Gibson flat tops in general. The belly-down bridge came in about that same time, and some apparently had nickel tuner buttons rather than plastic keystone tuner buttons. The sources I have say that the rectangular board inlays came in about 1971, so that further complicates things. If the guitar wasn't new when you got it, you would have to say it was only a few years old, probably five at the most, and more likely 2-3. I don't suppose you have a serial number or other details, which might be more definitive? A Hummingbird was a Hummingbird in those days, with the only variants being the natural top versus the cherryburst top, as far as I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrandbrebis Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 My mother bought it new to me in 1972 or 71 (yes, I had a very nice mother!). All I have now of that guitar is a few photos unfortunately and a lot of souvenirs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Just throwing my opinion in...it sure looks 1970-71 or later due to the inlays. As to the guard..... I don't know if it would be physically possible to countersink the screws deep enough so you could cover them with an inlaid dot. I would speculate someone found a stack of leftover 1968-ish guards with screw holes in them and decided to drill them out to 0.250" and inlay a dot in place of the screw hole. Far fetched, but this is Gibson we're talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Dots could be decoration as well. Never thought of a countersink screw deep enough for the dot overlay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 1 hour ago, slimt said: Dots could be decoration as well. Never thought of a countersink screw deep enough for the dot overlay ksdaddy's guess--leftover screw-on guards modified for dots--seems plausible. Those guards were thick, so it might well be possible to countersink enough for a glued-in dot, particularly if the screws were left out. The screws themselves were tiny. Remember, they didn't even go all the way through the top. I originally had one of these screwed-on guards on the 1968 top (Gibson re-top) on my "original" 1950 J-45. The screws were about the same gauge as truss rod cover screws, but with flat heads. Maybe #2 or #3 gauge, no more than 1/4" long I think they were black, but can't remember with certainty. When I took the guard off to strip the cherryburst top, I remember thinking "these screws can't be all that's holding this thing on." But they were. The guards were thick enough to be semi-rigid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 1 hour ago, j45nick said: ksdaddy's guess--leftover screw-on guards modified for dots--seems plausible. Those guards were thick, so it might well be possible to countersink enough for a glued-in dot, particularly if the screws were left out. The screws themselves were tiny. Remember, they didn't even go all the way through the top. I originally had one of these screwed-on guards on the 1968 top (Gibson re-top) on my "original" 1950 J-45. The screws were about the same gauge as truss rod cover screws, but with flat heads. Maybe #2 or #3 gauge, no more than 1/4" long I think they were black, but can't remember with certainty. When I took the guard off to strip the cherryburst top, I remember thinking "these screws can't be all that's holding this thing on." But they were. The guards were thick enough to be semi-rigid. True enough. When I read what KS daddy was saying. It made sense. I recall having LG0s with the screwed on guard Never took them off to check though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Bert - I'd jump on getting a new H'Bird. Best way to get over 'the one that got away'. You need to forgive and forget. You'll find it opens up your mind to really enjoy playing that new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 The block inlays started in 1971, along with other Norlin Era changes such as double-X bracing, so your mom bought a ‘71 or ‘72 model. Totally agree that a recent issue Hummingbird would be a great way to go. Hope you happily end up with a new one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrandbrebis Posted November 26, 2020 Author Share Posted November 26, 2020 Thank you all for your help :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75 Hummingbird Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Hey ,welcome to the group . Gibson did indeed use up the old pick guards and fill the drilled hole with a bit of bling . You had a rare Bird there ,a transition piece for sure . Sad to hear it was stolen . Enjoy your new one . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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