Epiphone Hummingbird China / Indonesia

[sifran]

Hi there,

 

This is my first post.

 

I recently bought a Hummingbird acoustic (natural) second hand. My guitar was made in China, and if the information I found out about more recent serial numbers is correct then it was probably made in 2008 at the Qindao factory. The newer models I have seen are made in Indonesia. The construction of the bracing is slightly different, no strip of wood down the centre. The wood used for the back is much darker inside the guitar, quite different from the natural models I've seen from the Indonesian models. It is also a lot heavier, and the neck has a much more pronounced C-shape.

 

Does anyone have any info on when production changed countries and why there are such differences?

 

My guitar is a real beauty to play and sounds great. I was also lucky enough to find this guitar in pretty much brand new condition but whoever owned it before had changed the pickguard to an authentic gibson one (probably cost as much as the guitar did). I believe the nut and bridge saddle have also been upgraded. The bridge is not compensated at the b string, but intonation seems fine anyway.

 

Any info would be much appreciated, and I'm glad to be part of the forum.

 

Cheers

[milod]

Sifran...

 

First, Welcome...

 

I couldn't speak to the specifics of your guitar, but I'll say this, as I do elsewhere: If it seems to play itself, and the price tag and tone fit your needs, you have what you truly need to know.

 

No two guitars will be identical. The woods, the finish ... each is individual. If there's a slight difference between a given style of guitar, that's not necessarily surprising either if there were some differences in woods at some point.

 

But... interesting observation from you.

 

m

[sifran]

Hi , thanks for the reply.

 

Yeah, you're right. I'm certainly happy with my guitar. Especially after years of owning a Yamaha acoustic which was bearable at best. The other good news for me is that this Epiphone records really well.

 

What was also interesting to me was I tried various Gibsons costing over £2000, which seemed to have a much thinner and less lively sound, but again this would be pretty variable I suppose. One thing I can be sure about though is that the Gibson pickguard for the hummingbird makes this guitar feel much more luxurious.

 

All in all, it's quite a good time for buying guitars as long as you can try them first. I'm amazed that cheap guitars can sound so good, although there are plenty of bad ones too.

 

 

Cheers

[TommyK]

If there is a strip of wood, on the inside of the back, then it is probable that the back is a two piece back which is book matched and/or with a 'zipper'. between the two halves.

 

Darker wood inside is just varietal differences in the species of wood used. Trees of the same specie could vary greatly in coloration, due to location of the growing tree, whether higher or lower on a mountain slope or even on opposite slopes. Even within the same log, there is great differences in wood coloration. Heart wood generally looks darker than the outer growth wood.

 

If the saddle isn't compensated, but the intonation is spot on, then it doesn't need to be compensated.

 

As far as the necks go, they were made in different countries. The tooling and CNC programming are bound to be different. This is good evidence that Epiphone Specs are not set in stone for these detail features, like neck profile and as we've seen in the past, scale length.

 

It is also quite possible Epiphones are being made both in China and Indonesia, at present. There may also be some being made in the Czech Republic.