2penny_hangover Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) Hi everyone, it's so great that this community exists! I am thinking about pulling the trigger on a Hummingbird online, the seller seems reliable but there are a few things that I'm not 100% sure about. I thought that maybe by the look of the burst, label and pickguard, some of the knowledgable folk here can verify that the model is indeed what the seller claims. Hummingbird True Vintage 2008 Faded Herritage Cherry burst. My doubts are: I expected the orange label inside to say HUMMINGBIRD TV, but instead it says just HUMMINGBIRD. I know there were some inconsistencies around 2007-2008 when the TV models were released. The case (cali girl with black interior) is one I've never seen before. The seller says he bought it from a guitar dealer in Japan, who told him it was the guitars original case. The tuners seem like those of the True Vintage model. The pickguard seems unusual. A bit faded closer to the bridge, but that could have been the player anchoring his pinky over the years I'm quite excited if this works out since I've always wanted an h'bird and these instruments are difficult to come by where I live at a decent price (this one isn't cheap though). I don't usually buy guitars I've never played before, but this seems like too good an oportunity to let it pass by. Besides responding to my obsessive compulsive querries, if anyone can share general thoughts about the 2008 TV models - I'd be very interested to learn more. Thank you all and keep on pickin'. (at first I didn't know if I like the 'yellow burst' but now I'm thinking it's just a regular herritage cherry burst photographed in direct sunlight) Edited October 25, 2021 by 2penny_hangover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Nothing I see suggests it is anything other than as represented. If it was built for the Japanese market, that might explain the difference in case details. It looks like a gorgeous guitar in beautiful condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Yes, it does look like an early TV 'Bird. Any of those early TV's, or HB Standards from that era would be most acceptable. The case, however, is not one of the light brown (tan) Cali Girl/TV cases that had the pink interior. Just a note: I, personally, had a bad experience buying from a Japanese seller- the photos did not reveal all of the many dings that the guitar had. Hopefully, my Japan purchase was an anomaly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2penny_hangover Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 (edited) Seems like I'm getting it 🥰 My girlfriend is going to give me the 'really, another one?' look. That's okay though, we've established that I have a compulsion, yet it seems the most healthy one yet. Thanks for the brilliant advice! 36 minutes ago, 62burst said: Yes, it does look like an early TV 'Bird. Any of those early TV's, or HB Standards from that era would be most acceptable. Do you mean that mid-late 2000s was a relatively good era in this regard? If so, I wonder what it's attributed to. I've a good feeling about the seller. He has been quite forthcoming with additional photos of fretwire, bridge and label. Besides, he's German (god bless web translation and online guitar markets). On a side topic - how does this fretboard look to you? Doesn't it seem a little bit... chapped? Edited October 26, 2021 by 2penny_hangover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Looks good to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 (edited) Ooow - congrats if it's on your way. Seems a serious case of bird-flu has got you and who would find that hard to understand. They are mesmerizing and 'different' guitars and if you don't know by now, you'll find out when it lands. Especially because you apparently have a flock of acoustics already (which ones btw. ?). What should be noticed is that it has what I call a black-ring rosette*. TVs typically have it the other way around and the b-ring is used on Standards. However I have a pair of 2012 TVs here - one of each. I see why you would be excited and look forward to hear more. Welcome to the Board - or should we say voliere. Lots of knowledge and good fun here. *the order of the black'n'white graphics. Edited October 26, 2021 by E-minor7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 (edited) Your impression that the fretboard looked to be a bit "chapped" is understandable- some filler/sealer is necessary when being used on guitars whose back and sides are built with it, but if it bugged you on the fretboard, maybe someone could recommend a fretboard conditioner product to lessen the effect. The case looks like those being used recently. . . here with a 2019 HB Ebony: the handle on your prospective 2008 (below): . . . the pull-tab on a 2019 HB Studio case: and the pull-tab on the case coming with your HB (below): Also- what is that 'bursted square guitar you're playing in your avatar photo? Edited October 26, 2021 by 62burst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2penny_hangover Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 7 hours ago, 62burst said: Also- what is that 'bursted square guitar you're playing in your avatar photo? That was my first acoustic guitar, an Ibanez AW-130, just like this one. I gifted it to my neice once upon a time so I no longer have it, but I get to play it whenever I visit. Got it around 1998 and it's still in good shape. A surprisingly rich sounding and very affordable instrument, also quite easy on the eyes. Seems like you're right about the case! Gibson is using different colors in different countries and years I guess. Funny I've never seen the dark brown model before. Regarding the fretboard, it does look a bit odd to me. Hard to describe. I won't fuss and just wait for it to arrive so I can see it unmediated. Will definitely update once that happens. And by the way, that's a fantastic looking Ebony bird there! Always wondered if they are diferent to Std. sound-wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2penny_hangover Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 14 hours ago, E-minor7 said: I see why you would be excited and look forward to hear more. Welcome to the Board - or should we say voliere. Lots of knowledge and good fun here. Thanks E-minor7! I'm enjoying myself for sure. I've been a fan of the birds since I picked up the instrument some 20 years ago 14 hours ago, E-minor7 said: Especially because you apparently have a flock of acoustics already (which ones btw. ?). Nothing to compare to some of the guys here, but here's what I got: Blueridge 341 12-fret K. Yairi YW-130 (a clone of a D28 from the 70's) Guild JF 30-12 - Cherry - Ca. 1985 - Made in Westerly Recording King Dobro Resonator RR50-VS There's also some other stringed instruments: Chechter Stratocaster from 1985 in Candy Apple Red. Les Paul std. 1981. Jazz Bazz Custom MiM (duff signature) Kentukki mandoline. I am thinking that once I have the bird, all but one of the current acoustics will need to find a new home. I would keep the one that differs the most from the bird. Probably the Yairi, because it sounds more like a Martin and the bird can cover my fingerpicking needs better than the blueridge 12-fret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 6 hours ago, 2penny_hangover said: I am thinking that once I have the bird, all but one of the current acoustics will need to find a new home. I would keep the one that differs the most from the bird. Probably the Yairi, because it sounds more like a Martin and the bird can cover my fingerpicking needs better than the blueridge 12-fret. Understood - thought the Y too. Yet the rest will be rather hard to pass on. Playing different and important roles as they do. I look forward to hear more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfish Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 I think 2008 was the start of the TV series, Ren Ferguson was the head of the acoustic division, some fine guitars were made under him. The rose wood on that bird ie the bridge and fret board, look like real nice wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 4 hours ago, philfish said: I think 2008 was the start of the TV series, Ren Ferguson was the head of the acoustic division, some fine guitars were made under him. In 2008 Gibson made 3 limited lines of acoustic TV guitars : A J-200, a J-45 and a Hummingbird. Only 167 of each saw the light of day and I actually had one of the Birds. Like the one above it too came in an alternative case - black w. yellow plush, covered in a brown canvas zipper-coat. It was a distinguished guitar, but not as good and birdish as the two 2012s that later flew my way and still live here in joyous harmony. Simply didn't drip the same nectar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 (edited) I believe that for a brief period before the actual intro of the "True Vintage" line, Bozeman had been making standards that were virtually TV proto-types. I snagged an official H'Bird TV, but was lucky enough a few years earlier to get an SJ200 which "I BELIEVE" is very close to the TVs. Of course, the TV line was followed by Vintage line, which was basically a TV with a torrified Adi top.. That's what I love about Gibson. If you've seen one, you've seen one ! 2 Penny Hangover - sounds like you did pulll the trigger on that Bird. How does she sound? Edited November 5, 2021 by fortyearspickn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 12 hours ago, fortyearspickn said: If you've seen one, you've seen one ! 🤩👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2penny_hangover Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 It arrived today! There was a delay with the delivery service due to holidays in parts of Germany and the bulkiness of the package 😉 The way this guitar sounds blows me away! She's certainly a keeper. I've done made my mind to sell all other acoustics, (save the dobro with high action for slide). She can bark, but also produce these beautiful overtones when finger picked gently. She's got all the bling and it's a bit much, but it is beautiful and starting to grow on me. So far, I find it to be a very loud guitar, even when finger picked. Not as light as I hoped. And it seems to me that the high mids and bass are more defined and pronounced than with any other acoustic I've played. She has that Jambo sound. I used to own a J45 std in the past and it was comparable, but the bird is lowder has more bass and just sounds more even across the fretboard. I hope to soon record with a condencer mic I have. The neck is good and chunky, reminds me of a Les Paul 58 neck. Playability wise, the action is great but I find quite difficult on my fingers. I've been playing 12 gauge strings before and I think these might be 13. Bending is not as easy as I want it to be. Action is low and I'll probably need to adjust the tross rod if I switch to 12 gauge strings 🔧👍 It's also possible that she just needs to be broken in. By the of it, she hasn't been played much and is pretty minty. She looks premium, especially inlays and wood. Tuners look like on TV models. The bindings are over the frets. The plate on the headstack is just black (no 'hummingbird' plate). The orange "Guaranteed" label says "Hummingbird" under model (not "Hummingbird TV"). Most curious - there's a pickup on it. I think it's the L.R. Baggs that comes with the Std models, but I should check. One thing that baffels me is that I'm still not sure if its a 2008 Standard or a TV, or something in between. I know there should be a slight difference in the bracing and I think that will be the final test. I am not particular about the model when it's such a good guitar, but if I ever need to sell, it would be good to know as what 😄 would also be good to know if I got bamboozeled, as I bought it as a 2008 True Vintage 🕵️♂️ On 11/4/2021 at 2:37 PM, fortyearspickn said: I believe that for a brief period before the actual intro of the "True Vintage" line, Bozeman had been making standards that were virtually TV proto-types For a moment, I thought that this 2008 bird might be one of those TV proto-types, which still had the amplification system but also some of the TV features. But doesn't 2008 seems quite late for making these, considering they Gibson sells TV since 2007!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2penny_hangover Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 Didn't manage to upload more photos. I think I exceeded my quota or smtn 🙁 will try again later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) 12 hours ago, 2penny_hangover said: It arrived today! There was a delay with the delivery service due to holidays in parts of Germany and the bulkiness of the package 😉 The way this guitar sounds blows me away! She's certainly a keeper. Well all flags up for the new Bird - it sounds as if the take off couldn't have been better. TV or Standard = as I recall it, the first have lighter/thinner back braces, not sure about the X etc under the top. My guess is a black-ring TV. No doubt the over a dusin years behind it have done something to the woods alrerady, but yes, now it needs to be played. Luckily you will lifting that task. Fly well together. 12 hours ago, 2penny_hangover said: Didn't manage to upload more photos. I think I exceeded my quota or smtn 🙁 will try again later Do try later - and send sounds too. Edited November 7, 2021 by E-minor7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) Yah, actual 'TVs' said so on the orange label. And had 'Hummingbird' imprinted on the TRC. And, of course, didn't have electronics on board. The case s/b a brown Cali-Girl one. Pink lining w/ "Gibson" spray painted on the outside in gold. But the tuners are right as is the p/g. You pointed most of these out in your original post, of course. If I were me, I'd put new one year old 12s on her and never look back. Since you don't seem inclined to be looking to re-sell it - doesn't matter if it's really a TV or not. But for the fact the seller lied. At the end of the day - A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet. G'luck Edited November 7, 2021 by fortyearspickn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) Three 2007 TV models here: J-185, J-200, and J-45 (had). None have "TV" on the orange label. '07 was the year Gibson was transitioning from the Historic series to True Vintage. You may have seen this older discussion on the forum: On 11/4/2021 at 9:37 AM, fortyearspickn said: . . . If you've seen one, you've seen one As 40YrsPkn suggested, it wouldn't be a great surprise if your guitar got built with the LR Baggs system ("Lyric" model?) , maybe by accident, or on purpose, but you might want to compare your install & wire stays and their location to that of a stock HB acoustic w/ the Baggs. None of my TV cases have the logo stenciled on the case lid, but rather, have the metal plate near the sausage handle (photo found on the web). Even though the Cali Girl cases weigh a ton, they are nice, and it's not uncommon that they mysteriously get swapped out for a more standard case when guitars that they come with change hands. Edited November 7, 2021 by 62burst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Exactly. That's what happened when I got my mint condition H'Bird TV. GC said the original owner, who only had it for a week, kept the case and brought the guitar back. I may have been thinking of the original Cali Girl Cases having the logo screen printed. I'm still thinking this guitar is one of the proto-types - basically the real deal where it counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2penny_hangover Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 Sorry to ressurect this post, but I've been having some issue with the guitar and it seems more right to put it in the context of the original post... It's been almost half a year since I got this h-bird TV and I've been getting a slight buzzing sound especially around certain notes, when I hit the strings harder or when I'm fretting higher up the neck. It sounded as if the buzzing is coming from the bridge itself. I'll say that the guitar is very loud and resonates like crazy, which makes buzzing a problem - even at times between the nut and fretted note. I never exprienced this on any other guitars and I've owned several J45, K. Yairi and Martins. Today I've changed the strings and had a good look inside the guitar... I'm not sure if what I found is in any way normal - there's a metallic place under the bridge, part of the amplification system (that shouldn't have been there) I guess. This plate seems to have been put before the holes for the strings were drilled in the top and the holes in the metallic plate are rather... nasty! I suspect that this is where the buzzing is coming from (but I'm not entirely sure). I'm not really sure what to do about and might just take it to a luthier, but wanted to ask around here first. Here's a gallery with some of the photos I took of that metal plate, the amplification system and the bracing: https://postimg.cc/gallery/629G57v Do you know what this plate is? Is it part of the amplification system? Can this be the source of the buzz? I can certainly upload more photos and videos I took, but I think these few photos capture what I'm talking about. P.S. I'd also appreciate if someone could tell me whether the bracing is scalloped like on a TV model or not 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Wow. That is strange. I'm not very big on onboard electronics, but it looks like some sort of copper foil tape, maybe put on there for grounding purposes. The previous owner might've had some electric hum/buzz that was an issue. You stated earlier that you had a good feeling about the seller. . . Maybe you could ask about it. But the only buzz you seem to be dealing with is fret buzz. . . have you been monitoring your humidity? With already low action, it doesn't take much to have the strings vibrating too closely to the tops of the frets, but yes, there is a lot of vibration going on in the bridge area, so any one of those foil shards could cause the noise you're hearing, too. It might be good just to get that off of the bridge plate. Also- maybe someone here has seen similar wire stays used for their Gibson factory-installed onboard electronics, but they're new to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 I think that was put on after the holes were drilled. That stuff is like a heavy aluminum foil (but made of copper most likely). you can stick it on and then effectively poke holes in it with the bridge pins even. you could certainly remove it, just be careful because it's easy to get it jammed under your finger nail and that'll wreck your afternoon 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2penny_hangover Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 6 hours ago, jchabalk said: I think that was put on after the holes were drilled That makes sense... I asked the seller if he knows anything about it. Most likely would try to remove this foil it as it seems to have been put after the fact and isn't a standard part of the pickup system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 I wonder if it's some kind of electromagnetic sheilding to prevent the sort of problem I described in this post? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.