MichaelR Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Went to Guitar Center yesterday and the acoustic room to myself. Tried a whole bunch of acoustics and thought I'd sum it up..... The Taylor's - Nothing new here. great feel, well balanced, nice fit and finish, but I really get it now, I do. They left me uninspired. Nuff said. The Martins- played an HD 28 for a long time as it is similar to my SWD. Magical lows, great mids, Got that boxy sound. I'm glad I chose the SWD Breedlove- Sounded sonically very different than any other brands. Too different. The Gibsons- The Hummingbird is such a beautiful looking guitar, but I couldn't coax a sound out of this one. I found it a very quiet, flat sounding guitar. Moved on to the j45 and loved how balanced the sound was. Also how comfortable. Then, moved on to the best guitar in the room hands down. The AJ. WOW. The guitar sang. made me a better player instantly. Georgeous to look at and just a pristine instrument. Only available at guitar center. In the end, I left not understanding how anyone could bash a Gibson acoustic... Happy holidays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
music4love Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I purchased my Hummingbird from my local GC last week. I was very surprised at the nice selection of Gibson they had on hand. The selection included new , used, and vintage. The rosewoods and maples were nice nut it was their mahogany Gibson that won the show that day. Im not sure if it was because of the holiday season but not a one was su fferings from old strings.I had the acoustic room all to myself and was able to test each model with my vocals and a capo. Its nice to go when they first open on a week day. You can go hours without being interrupted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I often go into the acoustic room at GC...but I NEVER play anything...unless I'm lookin' to buy, I don't want to atumble on something I'm not prepared to buy! The wife told me the other day that she was depressed that she can't find a spot that there isn't some kind of insturment placed there....so I cleaned out a closet in our son's old room, and put almost everything in there....(couldn't fit the new PA, the Showman amp, the bassman amp, banjo and a few other things....but it's MOSTLY in there! Not as convenient, but she'll be happy to have most of her house back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 So, did you buy the AJ or were you just looking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I guess the Gibson bashers would ask if the other Gibsons sounded great why the hell the Hummingbird sounded so poor .... Gibson inconsistency ..lol ! Although Ill stick my neck out and have to say the HB along with the J-200 are the two models that I found most 'inconsistent' from the many samples Ive played around the world from the Gibson catalogue. There were many beauties but also quite a number of disappointments. I found the SWD to be the model to have the most consistency across all the samples Ive tried, actually still have not played what would be considered a 'bad' one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I guess the Gibson bashers would ask if the other Gibsons sounded great why the hell the Hummingbird sounded so poor .... Gibson inconsistency ..lol ! Although Ill stick my neck out and have to say the HB along with the J-200 are the two models that I found most 'inconsistent' from the many samples Ive played around the world from the Gibson catalogue. There were many beauties but also quite a number of disappointments. I found the SWD to be the model to have the most consistency across all the samples Ive tried, actually still have not played what would be considered a 'bad' one. I think the alleged inconsistency some here repeat here re. H'birds is, to a great extent, due to the fact that there are models like the H'bird Pro, which are not H'birds at all! When I've tried those at GC, they sounded flat similar to what OP reported above. The exact opposite of my TV. I think Gibson shot themselves in the foot building clearly different guitars and using the same model name. From a marketing standpoint, they should not open the door further to 'inconsistency' complaints, knowing that those who can only afford and entry level Gibson will buy one, even if it isn't named Hummingbird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelR Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 So, did you buy the AJ or were you just looking? The AJ compared favorably to my SWD. I also just don't have another $2500 sitting around....thankfully... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I guess the Gibson bashers would ask if the other Gibsons sounded great why the hell the Hummingbird sounded so poor .... Gibson inconsistency ..lol ! .... At some stores it's the time in stock - aging strings with a lot of play time. There's a GC in the Chicago area I've bought a couple of guitars from. They have a very nice climate controlled acoustic room. From what I've seen, the turn over on the more expensive guitars is a bit slow, as I check the factory year and some have been in stock for a long time. Also the choice of strings can make a large difference in your perception of the sound and feel. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
music4love Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 At some stores it's the time in stock - aging strings with a lot of play time. There's a GC in the Chicago area I've bought a couple of guitars from. They have a very nice climate controlled acoustic room. From what I've seen, the turn over on the more expensive guitars is a bit slow, as I check the factory year and some have been in stock for a long time. Also the choice of strings can make a large difference in your perception of the sound and feel. . I can see some truth in this. My hummingbird had been in the GC less than 2days. It was basically unplaced. The strings were fray and new. And as I stated before, most of the Gibson has fresh strings at that store. They all sounded pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I'm not surprised you enjoyed the AJ. I can't get over how good mine sounds. I've played very few guitars that I like better for fingerstyle, and it's a great all-rounder for flatpicking and strumming too. I agree about the inconsistency of SJ200s...I tried ten before I bought my former SJ200 in 2004, and they varied vastly...all nice, but some toppy, some big and bassy, some very brassy and mid-heavy. I found it amazing that a guitar could vary so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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