ALD323 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 (edited) The new Gibson Hummingbirds, and the J-45's now come from the factory with tusk bridge pins, not the usual plastic pins they used to come with. It already has a Tusk saddle. These two combined, on both my Hummingbird and J-45 make for weaker base, shallow mids and thin highs, in my opinion. I had to remove the tusk pins, and replace them with ebony pins, and the richness was restored. I kept the tusk saddle. While I much prefer the look of the Gibson white ball pins, those two models sound poor with tusk pins in my view. The ebony made them deeper, richer, and sweeter for me. Edited May 31, 2020 by ALD323 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 On 5/31/2020 at 9:32 AM, Michael Dunne said: Hi guys Apologies, as I know this is a an old thread but I'm glad I've found this. I have a 2013 HB Modern Classic. I'm hoping this is the exact guitar you're playing. I an awful experience with mine and I am ready to give up, sadly. From the off, I noticed that the action was quite high. Along with the signature fretboard glue coming loose underneath the pickguard, I managed to get some advice and Gibson workshop in Manchester UK took a look. They fixed the pickguard, checked the action and changed the strings. Said there was no problem with action but I wasn't convinced. Like any player, I tried numerous gauge strings and settled on 11s/12s. Sometimes Martin LS PB, Nanoweb light etc. Continued to have the same problem. Took it to be looked at by luthiers who have set up several of my acoustic guitars. They confirmed the action was very high and were actually very surprised from this Gibson. They took a few off and replaced strings- D'addario 12s. It has come back with an even worse sound 'low E sounds dull' and strings are buzzing. Luther said have to be careful with these guitars as they're known for not reacting well to workmanship. I've given it 6 months. Good job we are in a lockdown as I've had alot more time to experiment with this guitar and I'm ready to give in. My EJ200 that cost £200 pound sounds and plays miles better. I record with a guy who repairs guitars and he said this guitar is cursed. Guess what ? The fretboard is beginning to peel off again. Is this a common problem with Gibson Modern Classics 2012/13 ? I know another artist who has had a similar experience and now plays a Martin D-18. Thanks Mick in the UK Liverpool actually, home of the Beatles 🙂 Hey Mick! It sounds like you might have a duffer on your hands. I've owned a few Hummingbird MCs and haven't had a problem with any of them. One was particularly stellar in comparison to the other two, but none of them were bad. It sounds to me like you would benefit from closure on this guitar...I would recommend seeking out a really high end luthier like Bill Pupplett, Graham Parker or Dave King and letting them have a proper forensic look at it. It could be down to loose braces (I suspect this based on your comment about it buzzing with a high action) or a fundamental problem elsewhere that could be fixed with some surgery. Does it still have the Baggs Element undersaddle pickup fitted? If so, I'd whip that out and look at replacing it with something like a soundhole pickup or a K&K soundboard transducer. I find undersaddle pickups are the primary culprit for poor tone. I used them for 20yrs+ but switched to Sunrise soundhole pickups a few years ago and was astonished at how much better my guitars sounded with the UST pickup removed. Wishing you the best of luck...one upside in all this is that a Hummingbird tends to hold its value as a used guitar, so if it never comes to life you can move it on and seek out something you will love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 Not surprisingly, the original poster seems to have left the building. My guess is his guitar suffered from Bird Flu, but hopefully is long recovered. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 4 hours ago, RBSinTo said: Not surprisingly, the original poster seems to have left the building. My guess is his guitar suffered from Bird Flu, but hopefully is long recovered. The original poster is still around - found a H-bird TV then and now primality flies a Dove. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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