Epi Frontier and Gibson Hummingbird

[zombywoof]

Has anybody ever compared an early 60s Frontier to a Hummingbird? Reason I ask is that according to Gibson's chief engineer back then, after Ted McCarty dropped a Martin dread on his desk and told him to make a version of it with Gibson on the headstock their first effort was not the Hummingbird but the Frontier.

 

So I am just curious (as I am still aching real bad for an early 1960s HB) - how much HB vibe does the Frontier have?

I am not even sure I have ever even seen a Frontier up close and personal.

[zombywoof]

Holy Crap forget it - just looked at what Frontiers are going for. Makes the HB look like a bargain.

[meanstreak]

lol I was gonna say that you are better off getting the bird as the Frontier is super-pricey

[Stubee]

Has anybody ever compared an early 60s Frontier to a Hummingbird?

Zomby, I haven't A/B'd them but have played several pre-'65 Birds--owned two nice '65s--but played only one Frontier. I think they sounded quite different. The Frontier was a maple back/sides, and I'll bet you know while there were some maple Birds, most were mahogany. The Frontier reminded me more of a Dove. Nice guitar, but I've only encountered one Dove that really grabbed me. A personal preference thing. Again, not an A/B comparison.

 

On the '70s Gibby mid-range: I've had a few and would actually agree that they are quite 'mid-rangey' and an be pretty pleasing in tone. Lots of build issues as noted. That said, I much prefer good Bozeman or, especially, early '50s Gibson dreads and that's what I ended up with after about 25 Gibsons over the years. But to each their own...