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Gibson Hummingbird Artist


Gio

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Hi everybody,

 

New Gibson owner. One hour ago I bought a beautiful Gibson Hummingbird Artist. My first Gibson (I own 2 Martins) and I think I bought a very good guitar. Lightweight, woody tone, very playable. And, I insist, beautiful, especially due to the shaded top.

 

I was looking for Info about this specific guitar or the Artist series but I couldn't find much. Can someone please waste a few minutes and explain the difference between this guitar and other Hummingbirds? It's not important and it will not change my appreciation of the guitar. It's just I love to know the details / history of my instruments.

 

And, by the way, I love to look at the Gibson logo on the headstock...

 

Thanks

 

Giovanni

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There was a threaed some time ago that talked a lot about the HB artist, you might want to search for this.

 

Basically the difference is that it is a HB with the shape of a Songwriter Deluxe, in mahogany b/s and short scale.

 

They seem to get a lot of good things written about them and represent outstanding value for money.

 

Hope that helps.

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Ahoj Euroaussie,

 

thanks, yes it helps to understand the differences between my HB and the others I've seen / played in shops so far.

 

The short scale is always one of my favorite features.

 

As for the body shape I will make a research about the different Gibson shapes to understand it better.

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Hi,

 

thanks everybody. I've played the guitar a lot over the weekend. And I love it. The playability is fantastic and the sound is very...Tom Petty ("Square One" from Highway Companion comes to mind, or "Wildflowers"). Dry and ringing tone.

 

Some pics (I'm a lousy photographer...).

 

P1050576.jpg

 

P1050580.jpg

 

A really fine guitar.

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Beauiful, great looking guitar, congrats !

 

Sounds samples pleeaseee ...

 

 

Hi,

 

thanks everybody. I've played the guitar a lot over the weekend. And I love it. The playability is fantastic and the sound is very...Tom Petty ("Square One" from Highway Companion comes to mind, or "Wildflowers"). Dry and ringing tone.

 

Some pics (I'm a lousy photographer...).

 

P1050576.jpg

 

P1050580.jpg

 

A really fine guitar.

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  • 1 month later...

An update: I had a luthier make a few mods: bone saddle, new pickguard, new LR Baggs M1 pickup (I didn't like the stock Element piezo pu) and new tuners (Waverly ivoroid oval buttons). He told me he had to work a lot on the frets; a couple of them were almost coming off the fretboard.

 

The pickguard is also much thinner than the original one, which is good.

 

The sound has improved a lot. I did all this because this guitar is a keeper. To my ears it really represents what I always thought the Gibson sound should be.

 

P1050611.jpg

 

I still need to order bone bridge pins (without dots) and then the upgrade will be complete.

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Looks outstanding, now a fully bloomed Hummingbird !

 

Really like what you did, i did very similar mods to my new southern jumbo and couldnt be happier.

 

The only thing i would do different wit your bird is make the tuners tulip then butter beans as they are so accociated with the HB.

 

Please send sound samples if you can, would love to hear her !

 

Congrats.

 

An update: I had a luthier make a few mods: bone saddle, new pickguard, new LR Baggs M1 pickup (I didn't like the stock Element piezo pu) and new tuners (Waverly ivoroid oval buttons). He told me he had to work a lot on the frets; a couple of them were almost coming off the fretboard.

 

The pickguard is also much thinner than the original one, which is good.

 

The sound has improved a lot. I did all this because this guitar is a keeper. To my ears it really represents what I always thought the Gibson sound should be.

 

P1050611.jpg

 

I still need to order bone bridge pins (without dots) and then the upgrade will be complete.

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Hi Euroaussie, and thanks for your comments!

 

The only thing i would do different wit your bird is make the tuners tulip then butter beans as they are so accociated with the HB.

 

Actually I have thought a lot about that. However I love Waverlies so much that I decided to sacrifice the original look of the headstock.

 

Besides they all come from Bozeman...they belong together... [wink]

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Giovanni -

 

I missed your original post (on vacation [smile] ).

 

Congrats on you new Bird. Looks great in the original pics. I'm a big fan of the subtle burst gradients. Yours is a beauty.

 

I like the mods you did.

 

The best thing is reading about how much you like it. Glad to hear you found a keeper. B)

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Hi BigKahune,

 

I really love this burst, I find it very warm. I also have a Martin 000-18GE with a beautiful so-called "1933 ambertone" burst: a joy to look at (and a fantastic guitar, by the way).

 

I bought the Hummingbird as a travel guitar: I'm out on the road 4-5 days per week. And in hotel rooms the guitar is a great comfort (it's not that dramatic obviously, but it helps to have the guitar with me).

 

When I first picked it up in the shop I thought it looked great and that it was pleasantly lightweight. But its tone is growing, even more so after the mods.

 

In a few minutes I will be loading the guitar in the trunk and leave for a 2-day trip!

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I've heard nothing but good things about the Hummingbird Artist. Played several of them at GC where in the last few months they have had numerous "artists" birds. Nice and warm sound. Sweet guitars. All seemed to have a very nice, low setup. Easy to play....If I didn't already have my Hummingbird, I'd definitly consider one of these.

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