MimingMinds Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 I just read a post by onewilyfool saying there was a lack of new guitars on the forum. So, considering I bought a Hummingbird Pro last week that I've quickly fallen in love with, I figured I'd post a few pictures and give a few words for those considering this exquisite instrument. Apologies to the moderators on the forum as I had a thread previously but it seems to have been recycled out. It's an absolutely beautiful sounding guitar with great low end response, nice highs, and a shimmering middle. I got it with 15 percent off the original price which was nice. But I have a few questions. Rosewood is a porous wood. There are small grain lines up and down the length of it and a slight gauge in it that I only just noticed. You can see the small ding under the low e string on the fourth fret in the picture. Here are my questions - are these pronounced grain lines normal? Is this telling me I should be checking the humidity more closely? I have a humidipak in there, but I'm a little unsure of this. I also want to shift up to medium gauge strings. Can I do this myself or would you recommend I have my luthier do a full set up to accommodate for the added tension? The action's perfect right now but I'm scared to mess anything up. All in all, I love this guitar and want to give it to my kids one day to play. So considering I'm 18, there are a few more years till that happens. Just want to make it last the long haul.
Buc McMaster Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 Nice guitar, sir! You are correct - unfinished rosewood is an open-grained wood. I would not be concerned with the divot you see in that photo........some grian is more open than others. You would do well to apply a good fingerboard oil once or twice a year. It is unfinished wood and needs a little love now and then. A humidifier is a good idea if you live in cold climates but humidity problems usually show up in places other than the fingerboard. I live near the gulf coast and have never humidified a guitar........you're environment may be different. Medium gauge strings should not be a problem. If you're not comfortable tweaking the guitar's setup yourself by all means enlist the services of a good repairman. If he/she will let you, watch what is done and ask questions so you understand the how and the why of acoustic setups. Congrats on a fine instrument!
davenumber2 Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 So is this guitar like the Hummingbird Artist just with a different finish?
MimingMinds Posted April 29, 2010 Author Posted April 29, 2010 from what i've read, that seems to be the case. I played the standard hummingbird next to the hummingbird pro and liked the latter's tone much more - the low ends were deeper. This is nothing against hummingbirds, just that particular guitar I played.
yaz1009 Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 Congrats on the new guitar. Sure is gorgeous! Must say - never had such a wonderful guitar at 18. Good for you!!
MimingMinds Posted April 29, 2010 Author Posted April 29, 2010 Hahaha, to yaz1009 i have two jobs at the moment. That combined with lots of lunch money and hungry days at school helped me get this beautiful bird. And my parents were nice enough to lend 100 bucks to the fund on account of some hefty scholarships for college next year. Thanks guys!
onewilyfool Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 VERY nice guitar.....when did Gibson go to White labels instead of the orange ones????
MimingMinds Posted April 29, 2010 Author Posted April 29, 2010 I'm not entirely sure. I was wondering the same thing. I'm maybe thinking its only for the special editions like Hummingbird Artist and Pro that Guitar Center gets exclusively. But I'm not entirely sure.
watchunglava Posted May 1, 2010 Posted May 1, 2010 #1 get a humidifier for the case . use a little oil on the board and bridge when you change your strings. fret dr, or pure lemon oil . virtuoso cleaner and polish for the finish. you should get a bone nut ,saddle, and pins made as well. a proffessional set up would be included with that , that guitar would play like warm butter over a buttermilk bisquit. experiment with strings till you find something you like .
Murph Posted May 2, 2010 Posted May 2, 2010 Very nice. Give that Rosewood a few years and it'll have all kinds of "dimples"..... Best to ya.
davenumber2 Posted May 3, 2010 Posted May 3, 2010 I have a 2008 J-45 with a white label. I think all Standard production models get a white label but they still use the orange for the TV's and custom shop.
whis4ey Posted May 3, 2010 Posted May 3, 2010 My new Dove has a white label ... maybe they have run out of orange paper?
MimingMinds Posted May 3, 2010 Author Posted May 3, 2010 watchunglava - got a humidipak the day i got it. and i played a show a few days back - and watchunglava - you wouldn't happen to be from watchung, NJ?
yaz1009 Posted May 4, 2010 Posted May 4, 2010 Great stage photo! Great looking guitar! Are you a Springsteen fan?
MimingMinds Posted May 4, 2010 Author Posted May 4, 2010 enough of one. i'm more into nils lofgren. that's guy knows where it's at. but i'm from new jersey so i should probably listen to more springsteen. and thanks doods!
Dove Histronic Posted May 4, 2010 Posted May 4, 2010 i'm more into nils lofgren I had a bunch of pre-Bruce Nils in the late 70's --- great stuff, or at least I thought so then... "I Came To Dance" "Back It Up" "Cry Tough" "Keith Don't Go" ============== Great lookin guitar by the way
MimingMinds Posted May 4, 2010 Author Posted May 4, 2010 Keith Don't Go is an incredible song. Nils is a family friend, so it's kind of a personal bias. He helped my cousin, another gibson aficionado, get his feet under him musically and career wise. Great guy.
eds111 Posted May 5, 2010 Posted May 5, 2010 Can you tell me the dimensions of the H-Bird Pro? Upper Bout; Lower bout; waist and body length. I want to compare it to my H-bird which I believe is bigger.
MimingMinds Posted May 6, 2010 Author Posted May 6, 2010 Its 16 1/4” wide body, fourteen fretter, and it should be about the same as your hbird. it's essentially the same guitar just with a different finish and pickguard.
larryp58 Posted May 6, 2010 Posted May 6, 2010 and it should be about the same as your hbird. it's essentially the same guitar just with a different finish and pickguard. Actually, it's a small square-shoulder body style. The same as the older CL, SongBird, and SongWriter series. The classic HummingBirds, Doves, Country Westerns were the full size square-shoulders. Still fantastic guitars with plenty of power to spare that only get better and better!
eds111 Posted May 6, 2010 Posted May 6, 2010 Larry, That's what I thought Mt H-bird is 11-7/8"; 11-1/8"; 16" Body length 19-7/8".
Watchdogg Posted May 6, 2010 Posted May 6, 2010 Congrats! Nice guitar. I played a Hummingbird Pro recently and it was a very, very nice mahogany Gibson, a bargian for the price. They also had a cutaway and another limited edition in cherry burst. I belive the primary difference in the Pro and previous Artist is that the Pro is longscale with an undesclosed pickup and the Artist is short scale with a LR Baggs pickup. I have an 2008 Hummingbird Artist the rosewood neck has seasoned well no issues, had it setup for (D'Addario EJ 17) mediums and it has really opened up beautifully. Although monikered as a "Hummingbird" this guitar is basically a mahogany Songwriter. If my house was on fire it would be the first thing I would grab. I am sure you will enjoy yours as well. Welcome to the forum!
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